Cough.
Cough, cough.
Trevor was hardly ‘kingly‘ in the 9th inning of Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Attempting his 45th save of the season, he promptly stripped Lance Lynn and the Cardinals of a win.
3 outs from a death blow to the Brewers season… the Brew Crew came off the ropes swinging.
Ok – try to take this gas can of a 9th out of the equation. Just put a pin in it for now. And try to picture a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. On the road. In, say, LA.
How confident are you when Rosenthal steps on the mound? 80%? 50%? Truth be told, he’s only actually blown 6 saves in 2014. So he’s not the worst closer ever, despite what you’re feeling today.
But we’re a couple of weeks away from postseason baseball and the Cardinals have a closer according to everyone with the Cardinals… but do they?
There aren’t any stats to prove out this thesis – but I’m confident that a 45 save closer has never been so shaky for longer than Rosenthal.
Since June he’s been dodging bullets like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix.
He’s somehow maintained his role as the stopper, though. And manager Mike Matheny looks to be riding his horse come hell or high water.
The game was what it was: A loss. A missed opportunity. A bad no-decision for Lance Lynn. An offensive stagnation.
But at the end of the day, we’re back to where we seem to always have been with Trevor Rosenthal… wondering if he’ll be able to put the game away in the 9th inning when the playoffs start.
Photo: STLCardinalBaseball.com
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