Look at that picture of Yadi and Matheny above.
We’ve been there. We’ve seen those looks. Dad, nose turned up. Can’t even look at you after he’s seen what you’ve done. Ain’t my son.
Mom, eyes bubbling with tears, fidgeting with her fingers to ease the stress. Wondering just where everything went so wrong.
The picture is pretty much the encapsulation of the Michael Wacha experience over the past 16 starts. 16 where he’s posted a 6.09 ERA and only won 4.
Our dude is lost. And there are no easy answers.
“In spurts,” Wacha said. “I feel it there. I feel like I’m on time for an inning, two innings, then something gets out of whack. I don’t know if I’m trying too hard. I’ve got to continue to work. I feel strong. I feel good. The arm feels great. The body feels good.”
A year after making 30 starts and providing the Cardinals with 3.0 WAR points en route to 17 wins and his first All-Star berth… this isn’t the way it was supposed to go.
Paired with a fully healthy Adam Wainwright and a newly acquired Mike Leake, Wacha was set to carry a heavy load for the defending NL Central champions in 2016. While the Cubs had spent years stockpiling bats, the Cardinals plotted their counter in the form of arms.
After seeing what Wacha was capable of in that magical 2013 postseason run, not a single Cardinals fan felt like the team was putting their eggs in the wrong basket. The old rivals were going to find out what wins games – offense or defense.
https://twitter.com/BBTN/status/735254168206749696
Since being lit up by the Cubs for 4 runs over 4.1 innings in the 2015 NLDS, Wacha has posted -0.7 WAR points.
I’ll let Derrick Goold make you feel even worse:
Wacha (2-5) lost his fifth consecutive decision and allowed at least six earned runs for the third consecutive start. He became the first Cardinals starter to allow that many in three successive starts since Mike Maroth in 2007. Those were the final three big-league starts of the lefty’s career. In his past six starts, Wacha has a 6.54 ERA and has allowed 55 baserunners in 33 innings. Seven of those came in the first inning Tuesday as the first-place Cubs sent 10 batters to the plate, three of whom doubled and two of whom walked. Wacha fell behind in the count to eight of the batters in the first inning, and just as swiftly plunged the Cardinals into a hole, vaporizing any spillover from the previous night’s euphoric win.
Yo.
Like Mike himself said, the issues aren’t physical, so there could be improvement on the horizon.
Not that he needs any more pressure to right the ship, but if the Cardinals hope to make the postseason in 2016, Wacha can’t keep stringing together duds.
This pretty much has to be the bottom.
Let’s hope it is.
Photo: STLToday
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