Cardinals Rumors: Willson Contreras draws a line and crosses it himself
The St. Louis Cardinals ran into an iceberg a long time ago, but that doesn't mean their season won't have its fair share of heated moments.
In Tuesday's loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates, catcher Willson Contreras got himself ejected and left the field in dramatic fashion.
At the top of the seventh with bases loaded, Contreras struck out following two questionable strikes during his at-bat. The snarky Contreras drew a quick line in the dirt with his bat as he left, showing the umpire, Brennan Miller, the imaginary edges of the strike zone. The ump instantly ejected him, causing Contreras to walk back to home plate and draw an even bigger strike zone in the dirt.
Contreras then spiked his bat and threw his helmet to vent his frustrations. The Cards were losing 6-3 at the time.
As if that wasn't enough volcanic emotional spillover, manager Oli Marmol and Jordan Walker got ejected later that game, too. It would certainly seem like tensions are running high in Cards camp and the deadline sellers are sick of losing.
In Contreras' defense, at least one of his called strikes was questionable. Plus, the three-time All-Star didn't do much to get ejected, he merely drew a line in the dirt.
After the Cardinals hit the bottom, one would think the only way to go is up. Turns out there's another way, and it's simply getting angry.
Cardinals Rumors: Adam Wainwright continues to rue this year's disappointments
Adam Wainwright isn't getting any closer to the big 2-0-0.
Tuesday's loss to the Pirates dropped the Cardinals to 17 games below .500, and they're still plunging. It's been two months since Wainwright, who is two victories away from 200 career wins, last won a start.
Disappointment after disappointment, it's understandable to see Wainwright feel more jaded about his legacy with every week that passes. In his most recent loss, Wainwright allowed six runs on seven hits, delivering a particularly poor fifth inning.
Waino told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"It's been a weird year. It's been a funky year. We haven't had a year like this since I've been here. If you have only one of these every 18, that's not a terrible ratio... It's driving me crazy. It's not how I wanted to go out." Adam WainwrightAt the time of this writing, the Cardinals are beating the Pirates 5-1 in the final game of the series, which means Wainwright could soon be just one win away from the 200 milestone.
From his perspective, he's still ruing his inconsistent performance on Tuesday and this whole past year.
The veteran said he "felt in complete command of everything" yet still got beaten in the Cards' last two games. "What do I tell [our fanbase]? What can I say?"
The Cardinals are going through one of their most painful seasons in history in which everything that could have gone wrong did. They have six more weeks to help Wainwright end his storied career with 200 sparkling wins, the sole glimmer of excitement in this final stretch of the year. Up next, the Phillies.
Cardinals Rumors: Wake up! Acquiring Blake Snell is nothing but a dream
Padres star Blake Snell ia a member of the Cardinals' wish list of desired starting pitchers to acquire for next year. Too bad he's just a pipe dream.
Fansided's MLB insider Robert Murray gave Snell's potential fit in St. Louis a 4.5 out of 10 citing the Cards' unwillingness to get into a bidding war as the main reason Snell won't become a Cardinal.
Snell, who is managed by well-known agent Scott Boras, will be in line for a humongous payday after this past season, in which he's maintained a 2.73 ERA. Teams are expected to fight over him, but the historically cheap St. Louis Cardinals may stay out of the brawl.
Snell and any other top-performing starting pitcher are equally out of the Cards' reach this winter unless Bill DeWitt decides he wants to shell out the cash. Enjoy the fairytale illusion while it lasts.
