In the midst of what I will refer to as “Yadi-gate”, it’s easy to get a little lost in all of the hubbub surrounding it. It’s easy to think that the umpire was wrong (well, because he was), Yadi probably shouldn’t have gotten so close that his spit was hitting said umpire, Matheny probably shouldn’t have said what he said about the umpire in the post-game press conference, and Yadi probably shouldn’t be suspended for a game (appeal has been filed). Again, it’s easy to get caught up in all the hype, but at the end of the season when we’ve all but forgotten about Yadi-gate, it’s how the team does. In a nutshell, these guys are crazy awesome!
Who woulda thought, at this point in the season, this team would be 38-19 leading all of Major League Baseball? We’re looking at the beginning of a season with both Carpenter and Motte out for pitching, Furcal out at short, and a bunch of guys that we had briefly heard of coming up from the minors. As a fan, I was afraid of injuries to players like Beltran, who we all know is a seasoned veteran. Instead, he’s donging dingers out of the ballpark (tonight, he hit number 13). I was afraid that Kozma’s bad luck from the ending part of the Cardinals’ playoffs last year would carry over. Good news, it didn’t. I also thought maybe Matt Carpenter would just be a quiet guy who would see very few games. Instead, he’s batting .321 with his on base percentage at .398, his slugging percentage at .460, and has become a solid presence as the Cards’ lead off man. Let’s just say, and you will never again hear me say this, I am glad I was wrong.
In a game where there are a few little-known players who make their presence known throughout each season, we’re looking at a whole bunch of those players who are coming up and getting playing time with the Cardinals. I know he’s not exactly new, but look at Shelby Miller. He’s pitching like a beast, and showing no signs of stopping. Mujica? Wasn’t he somewhat of a set up guy in seasons past? He’s sitting at 17 saves. Plus, they’re bringing in guys off the bench who aren’t even starters! Dirty Dan Descalso, anyone?
Tonight, the Cards beat the Diamondbacks handily, who are leading the NL West as we speak. At the risk of being dramatic, I’m going to go ahead and say that we could be witnessing history in the making (at least history that is important to us Cardinals’ fans)!
Go Cards!
2 comments
Nice piece
If getting too close that causes spit to hit the umpire then there are a lot of people out there that need to stop talking cause it happens all the time. I hope the Cardinals never have that umpire again. He needs to go back to school.
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