The Woes of Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals

Adam Wainwright firing a pitch for the Cardinals in 2010. 
Courtesy of TheSportsKraze

Earlier this week, it was announced that St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright would miss the entirety of the 2011 season, and possibly some of the 2012 season, due to a right elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110224&content_id=16720738&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

This comes as a huge blow to a Cardinals team that had been depending on another great season from the southpaw from Georgia. After all, he's finished in top three for National League Cy Young Award voting the past two seasons, accumulating 39 wins and 425 strikeouts. 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wainwad01.shtml

Many critics had figured the Cardinals would be very competitive in the NL Central Division this season, though those views could now be entirely skewed due to this untimely injury to one of the game's great young pitchers. 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110223&content_id=16717554&c_id=stl&partnerId=rss_stl

Despite the untimely injury to Wainwright, the Cardinals still have a shot at making a run for the pennant this season. They still have three time Most Valuable Player Albert Pujols for at least one more year, Matt Holliday drove in 103 runs last year with 28 home runs, and they still have three elite starting pitchers in Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, and Jake Westbrook. The same cannot be said for the often erratic Kyle Lohse. 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pujolal01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/2010.shtml

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=stl

Now the team must deal with figuring out who will take the now open spot in the rotation. At least one source is pointing to the Cardinals filling out the rotation from within the organization, though there are still a few free agent starting pitchers available. Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Bonderman could fit the bill in this situation.

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110224&content_id=16721990&vkey=news_stl&c_id=stl

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/hot_stove/y2010/free_agent_tracker.jsp?fastatus=unsigned&subscope=pos&teamPosCode=S

There are a number of options within the organization. Ian Snell started eight games for the Seattle Mariners in 2011, though he posted an unimpressive 6.41 ERA. Miguel Batista has started over 200 games in his career, though he served primarily as a reliever for the Washington Nationals last season and is now over the hill at age 40. It would seem that the most intriguing candidate for the job would be Kyle McClellan, who has trained to be a starter for the team before. 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/snellia01.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/batismi01.shtml

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/5723840b-0b75-5d51-aaa5-07a549083433.html

Ian Snell could be fitting the bill of starter for the Cardinals this season. 
Courtesy of Zimbio.com

Surely, Wainwright's injury is a huge blow to the great National League team. However, given the masterful work of pitching coach Dave Duncan in the past and the team's potent offense, there still is a chance for this team to make the playoffs. Don't expect the Redbirds to throw in the towel early.