Last week, the entire City of St. Louis was overcome with joy when Adam Wainwright picked up career win No. 200 for the Cardinals. He delivered his best performance of the year, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers as the Cards won 1-0.
However, it was later revealed by John Denton that Wainwright almost didn't make that start. As a result, the veteran right-hander was skipped in the last turn through the rotation. He was dealing with a bout of back spasms prior to the start he made against the Brewers.
Fortunately, he pushed through the pain and overcame a bad bullpen session to pitch his best game of the season. However, there is now doubt over whether or not the two-time World Series champion will pitch again.
When the decision was made to skip his turn through the rotation, manager Oli Marmol stated that if Wainwright were to pitch again, he would do so during the team's final home series against the Cincinnati Reds.
St. Louis is already eliminated from postseason contention, so he won't be pitching any meaningful games for the team. But it is uncertain if he will ultimately take the mound one last time.
There is certainly merit in giving him one more start and giving the fans a chance to say goodbye to him. The final weekend of the season will be a celebration of the 42-year-old's legendary career. He'll have a postgame concert and a ceremony.
In this piece, we'll examine the pros and cons of the Cardinals possibly giving the right-hander one more start or appearance.
Why the Cardinals should give Wainwright one more start
Wainwright already got his 200th win, and his career is almost at its end. If he wants to pitch again and feels good enough to do so, then the Cardinals may decide to let him take the mound one more time.
It may not be the longest of outings, but it doesn't have to be. The Cardinals could let him go an inning or two and give him an opportunity to walk off the field to a standing ovation and tip his cap to the crowd one last time.
It obviously has not been a very good season for Wainwright, who is 5-11 with a 7.40 ERA. He went almost three months without recording a win from June to September. But he looked better in his previous two starts.
Again, the Cards aren't playing for anything, so the stakes are low. There's not a major risk involved unless he's physically unable to pitch.
Wainwright has battled back from countless injuries, some that were potentially career-threatening. Fans would certainly love the opportunity to watch him take the mound just one last time, even if it's a brief outing and he's limited to a certain number of pitches.
It might be fitting for him to make one more start and have the fans cheering him on, and it would certainly add to the festivities of the final weekend.
Why the Cardinals shouldn't let Adam Wainwright pitch
While it would be nice for the Cardinals to give him one more start, there are certainly reasons why they may shy away from it.
An argument could be made that since he pitched so well in his last start, it might be best to let him end on a good note without running the risk of him having a bad start to wrap up his career. While yes, the Cards don't have anything to lose and there isn't a huge risk, he may not be healthy enough to pitch.
If he truly was in so much pain before his last start, then there is a risk of him getting hurt in his final start, which would sour his final moments as a member of the organization. It might be better to just give him a random at-bat, which has been discussed internally. That way, he can still tip his cap to the fans and get a nice standing ovation.
The Cards also already have a special weekend planned for him, so they'll have the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to the franchise legend. So even if he doesn't pitch, he can end his career in a positive way.
