St. Louis Cardinals: Waino’s performance was written on the wall

Adam Wainwright is one of the greatest St. Louis Cardinals ever, there is no doubt about that. However, the Cardinals shouldn’t be coddling legends if they truly want to win games.

It doesn’t give me a lot of joy to be able to say ‘I told you so’ in this case, especially because I am sure many St. Louis Cardinals fans love him, but it wasn’t hard to see this kind of performance coming.

Sure, it wasn’t 7 walks in 2.2 innings that Yu Darvish gave up in his debut this year with the Cubs, but Adam Wainwright is a shell of the pitcher he once was, and it has shown. He had his flashes of a resurgence in 2018, but this is what we have seen from Wainwright for the better part of two seasons.

His ability to throw strikes and get his body to cooperate with him at an elite level is fading away. We might see a few more gems spun by Waino as a starter, but it will be muddied by several appearances looking more like this one.

Adam Wainwright is one of my favorite players to ever don the birds on the bat, but Father Time is undefeated, and at some point, it’s time to accept that Waino is fighting a losing battle. I don’t think that it’s wrong or disrespectful to believe that based on what we have seen in recent years, Waino’s body doesn’t have enough gas to consistently cooperate with his mind

This is also a perfect year to begin to wind down Wainwright’s load. As has been reinforced in several different articles, the Cardinals have a plethora of candidates to fill that fifth spot in the rotation, and many of those names are significantly younger and will be more involved in the Paul Goldschmidt era in St. Louis.

These are the guys who should be given the opportunity to start in Wainwright’s place, as the results Wainwright is getting overall do not justify playing him over the younger talent who needs to develop.

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While he did get knocked around a bit in his 2019 debut, Dakota Hudson is a guy who should be given the opportunity to make his case for the fifth spot in the rotation, and Alex Reyes is another guy who the St. Louis Cardinals front office will surely want to give a few 2019 starts to. On top of that, Carlos Martinez is still a name in contention to return to the rotation when he gets healthy.

The Cardinals aren’t short on MLB ready pitching talent as they have been over the past several years. With guys in both the bullpen and the minors that are ready to start.

Additionally, my hope is that Waino will be able to more easily maintain that ‘oomph’ factor that he has when he is on, and that factor is usually a spark that isn’t sustained forever. As a reliever, he will hopefully be able to contain and maintain that energy that gives him that adrenal boost to compete at the highest level even with a body that’s worn.

If the St. Louis Cardinals really want to win not only now, but in the next several seasons, Wainwright is the guy to sub out of the rotation in this case barring significant struggles from another starter, which is unlikely. Wainwright’s mind is certainly still sharp enough to serve sporadic appearances as a reliever or even act as a sub in closer if need be.

However, his body just doesn’t seem physically capable of continuing to maintain an elite performance over a consistent and significant period of time. Adam Wainwright should be loved, appreciated, and respected for what he was, but that doesn’t mean the St. Louis Cardinals should force themselves to accommodate for what he is now.

Sure, he might rebound and have a couple of big games where we think that the Waino of old has returned. Those fountain of youth moments always seem to end as suddenly as they start though, as demonstrated throughout the past two seasons.

I am not afraid to admit that I love Adam Wainwright, and it was growing up watching his ‘Uncle Charlie’ curveball that he got his nickname from and the grittiness of Chris Carpenter that made me love and appreciate the art of pitching. But I am also not afraid to admit that even the greatest wear down after a certain point, and it is not a sign of weakness, nor is it anything to be ashamed of.

No matter how this season plays out, and no matter how he pitches this season, I will remember Adam Wainwright for the guts as a rookie in 2006, the leadership as a pitcher throughout his career, his dedication to the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis community, and that elusive table dropping 12-6 that made him one of the best pitchers in Cardinals history.

Adam Wainwright is undoubtedly a legend for his time with the St. Louis Cardinals, but this is 2019. The St. Louis Cardinals are ready to welcome the next generation of Cardinals pitchers, and it seems like its time to truly appreciate the time we have left with Waino before he rides gracefully into the sunset.