The Unsolved Mystery of Shelby Miller

The St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up did nothing to resolve the mystery of why Shelby Miller was a non-factor during the postseason.
Oct 4, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller (40) throws to a Pittsburgh Pirates batter during the eighth inning in game two of the National League divisional series playoff baseball game at Busch Stadium. Pittsburgh defeated St. Louis 7-1. Image Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Miller, one of three Rookie of the Year finalists, was upset about not pitching but he’s put it in the past. He did not ask Mike Matheny after the World Series ended, nor does he plan to do so now.

“Let it be a mystery,” the pitcher said, “unsolved.”

It does make one question where he fits in the pitching rotation.

"“Wacha was doing great, Joe was having a killer end of the season, and Lance was a guy who’s been around that kind of atmosphere and pitched in that,” Miller said. “If you’re asking if I’ve lost my role as a starter or anything like that, I don’t think so. We’re going into camp battling just like I pretty much did last year — with even more guys. We’ll see what happens.”"

Wainwright has his back though. When asked his thoughts on Wacha, he turned it right around and praised Miller.

"“I think it’s lost in the shuffle,” Wainwright said. “I think we all get caught up in flashes of greatness when we had guys who were great all season.”"

Wainwright has also taken on a role as a mentor of sorts to the Texas native.

Waino, Miller, and Wacha are only part of the pitching depth as the Cardinals head to Jupiter for Spring Training next month. Add in Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia, Carlos Martinez, and Tyler Lyons to the mix and that is eight guys that are capable of starting–or serving as the #1 or #2 starter with another team.

One final word from Miller:

"“I wouldn’t say October is going to motivate me any more than the regular season did,” Miller said. “I wish I could have pitched more. But at the same time, the season I had last year is going to push me even more. I had a good season, and I want to be that much better. I want to win 20 games next year somehow. I want to be part of winning a World Series and all the good things and all the right things you want to say. It’s tough not to get to pitch in the postseason, but we had a good thing going.”"