PART 2: Major League Baseball - St. Louis Cardinals in 2011
Overcoming the first challenge that the Cardinals confronted in the form of the starting pitcher Adam Wainwright’s departure, the squad came in the regular season with a start that did not reflect well on the team’s performance.
This National League team suffered a setback that did not apparently seem easy to compensate. Their record was 2-6 in the first eight games where they were trailing behind the Cincinnati Reds. For a team which had lost an important pitcher, this start was
morale-weakening.
There were already a host of questions on the team’s ability of hitting. This was something that the team’s former manager could not stand easily. Frustrating as it was, there came a time when Tony La Russa came up with an angry response to this question.
“Are you going to tell me that Yadier (Molina) doesn't drive in big runs, you going to tell me Albert (Pujols) can't hit, you going to tell me the second baseman and shortstop can't hit ... you think Matt (Holliday)'s going to hit? You think Colby (Rasmus)'s
going to hit? You think (Lance) Berkman is going to hit? The answer is no to all those things?”
The all-encompassing issue that the team did not have any strong hitting in the start was somewhat unfair. Unfair as it was, however, it was a reality that despite the presence of some of the heavyweights in their hitting, the Cardinals were barely able
to handle this challenge effectively.
If that alone was not enough, another unexpected and worrying unfortunate development hit the Cardinals once again. This time it was not anyone else but the accomplished slugger, Albert Pujols, who got reduced to disabled list.
The first baseman for the Cardinals and also considered to be the backbone of the club was down with a forearm injury. If the news of an injury was not a blow in itself, what came as a shocker was the test result that said he would be out for a month.
Nonetheless, the frustrating stumbling block in the form of the team’s back-to-back defeats did not last long as the news of Albert Pujols’ return was announced merely after 14 days of his injury. Albert Pujols’ return bode well for the team as his bat punished
every ball that came his way.
However, the team had to bounce back to avoid any embarrassment. It had to fight the battle, and it eventually did. Albert Pujols, like all other strong hitting team-mates, wonderfully exhibited a strong game. The player, when the season came to its end,
had already had a .353 batting average, which was one of the best despite the string of injuries he had to bear throughout the season.
Continued in PART 3
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