St. Louis Cardinals fans were concerned about starting pitcher Adam Wainwright after he deactivated his Twitter account following a loss to the Cubs in London.
If Cards fans thought they were taking this season to heart, look no further than team legend Adam Wainwright as to the impact a disappointing campaign like this one can have on the players. For Waino, a player who could have easily retired last season with Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina but opted to come back, it's safe to say this is not what he expected.
FanSided's Alicia de Artola put it best when describing Wainwright's recent struggles:
"Wainwright tried to hold off the clock but its clearly caught up to him. It's no surprise for a 41-year-old have his game decline. It's just a shame he didn't hang up his cleats before it got to this point. Now Oli Marmol and company need to have a serious conversation about Wainwright's place in the rotation. The current status quo isn't cutting it."
After his most recent start in London against the Cubs with the entire world watching, Wainwright admitted how lonely it can feel at the bottom of the NL Central.
"I'm pretty sad about it, honestly," Wainwright said, per the Athletic. "I pitched terrible trying to make Cardinals fans, but we didn't make any today because of me. That whole game was my fault. I pitched terrible, I put our team in a bad spot and we lost the game because of me."
Cardinals: Why did Adam Wainwright delete his social media?
Adam Wainwright deactivated his social media account, but hasn't yet detailed why that was the case. One can presumably assume he needed a break from all the noise, which for some Cards historians, might sound familiar.
In his final season with St. Louis in 1975, Bob Gibson was offended when the Cards manager pulled him from the rotation. Per Gibson, he had "reached his limit." As Bernie Miklasz wrote:
"The top two two starting pitchers in Cardinals history are Gibson and Wainwright. The greatest of the greats can have a hard time letting go, and it's a story as old as baseball itself. If Waino doesn't improve, what will the Cardinals do?"
Hopefully, St. Louis doesn't have to cross that bridge. But for now, a break was needed, in one form or another.
