ST. LOUIS — A good soul can always admit when they are wrong. Part of being human, right? Well, I was wrong about Adam Wainwright. Two years ago, I thought he was done. These days, he looks like an ace again.
A week ago, Wainwright pitched a complete-game victory against the Cleveland Indians, helping the St. Louis Cardinals avoid a sweep and bring a halt to a recent stretch of play that included five losses in six games.
Part of me wanted to write about his exploits that day, but another part said "wait a minute and let's just see if he can do it again". After all, doubt is always a part of a sportswriter's mind when it comes to aging pitchers. Sooner or later, the parts will cease to work and outs won't be recorded.
Well, Wainwright did it again. While nine innings weren't found in the veteran Cardinal's satchel this time, he gave the Cardinals 6.1 innings of strong pitching. When you shut down the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field, 6.1 innings can feel like 8 in a weird yet satisfying way. Wainwright escaped early trouble, leaving the bases loaded in the second inning.
Armed with essentially two pitches during those early tense moments, Wainwright kept pounding the strike zone with 90-92 mph two-seam fastballs and curveballs. The Cubs bats, including hot-hitting Ian Happ, couldn't get a handle on it. Wainwright walked a batter and hit another one, leading to a Jason Heyward single. But then he struck out Steven Souza Jr., got Nico Hoerner to line out, and induced a force out from Happ. Inning over, zero runs crossed.
The Cardinals would score four runs over the next two innings and put the game away, but Wainwright's gutsy pitching allowed them the chance to find those crooked numbers. At 39 years old, Wainwright is pitching better than he has since 2014-15.
It was the unfortunate Achilles heel injury that short-circuited his career back in the first month of the 2015 season, an at-bat went awry once he stepped out of the box to run to first. Wainwright found his way back in 2016, winning 13 games and pitching 198.2 innings, but he also allowed 220 hits and a career-high earned run average (ERA) with a 4.62 mark. It's almost like a different pitcher showed up.
The next two seasons weren't much better. Injury and ineffective performance followed Wainwright around, as he won just 14 games, but the ERA grew up to nearly 5.00 in the process. Temporary flashes of greatness were shrouded by a bad stretch of starts, He made a start on Opening Day at Busch Stadium in 2018, and couldn't finish three innings. Was it over?
Nope. Wainwright came to camp in 2019 claiming newfound health and followed through. The ERA and WHIP remained high, but the performance improved drastically, especially down the stretch. Wainwright was one of the few Cardinals NOT to get rocked by Washington in the NLCS.
2020 has been something else, though. Wainwright throwing baseballs to Yadier Molina, leading to wins, is always going to be a pleasure. But he is 4-0 after Saturday's maverick work at Wrigley, a place where he has struggled in recent years. The ERA sits pretty at 2.68, and Cy Young aspirations, while still quite distant, sit in the balance somewhere. The fact that we are mentioning Cy Young with Wainwright at all is remarkable. Getting a few votes would be a win.
After all, pitchers don't fare this well as they edge this close to 40, unless your name is Bartolo Colon. The 47-year-old Cy Young winner showed dominance at age 39-40 in Oakland, even putting together a solid 3.43 ERA/3.99 FIP in 2016 at age 43. Wainwright is entering that territory and giving credence to the idea that he could throw baseballs to Molina in 2021, hopefully in Cardinal Red.
Here's the thing, folks. One day, they won't be throwing baseballs to each other. Like a circus act bound to a town for seemingly an eternity, it will pack up and go home one day. Elbows and knees will do their thing eventually, and shut the whole thing down. A decade and a half of catch, including 2,000 games for Molina and over 2,100 innings of work from Wainwright, will be immortalized in a couple red jackets. But how about some more winning first? What if Wainwright can keep slinging innings and collecting wins for the Cardinals? A smart team keeps him around. Find me a better or cheaper fourth or fifth starter.
Wainwright may not win a Cy Young this year, but he's showing an ability that reminds me of his work 6-7 years ago. That's Cy Young-worthy in itself. A sight that any loyal Cardinals fan hope can continue for at least another season. Baseball is a game that constantly redefines the concept of ordinary. One that surprises and makes one get romantic.
Brad Pitt's Billy Beane was right. It's hard not to get romantic about baseball. Adam Wainwright is living proof of this notion.
He's still got it, and the Cardinals are better for it.
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