Summertime, for most of us, means vacation time. For kids of all ages who attend school, summer is a roughly two-and-a-half month break from book work. For those of us who work for a living, summer means time for a vacation to get away from the workplace and relax. For baseball players, the All-Star break is their vacation unless, of course, they have been selected to play in the All-Star game.
There are 5 Cardinals who are going to the All-Star Game this week. They have played an excellent first half and deserve to go. Despite the Cards having one of the best records in baseball, there are still some issues with certain Cards players. These players need to take the All-Star break to rest, regroup and/or rejuvenate.
1. Matt Holliday – Matt’s right hamstring cramped up on him while running to first base during a game last week. He has been on a day-to-day basis since then. The All-Star break will help him rest his hurting hammy and hopefully avoid a trip to the disabled list.
2. David Freese – Freese has looked terrible at the plate lately. He will not take a walk. It doesn’t matter how you get on base, just that you do get on base. If you don’t get on base, there is no possibility of a run, and without enough runs, you don’t win.
3. Jon Jay – Jay doesn’t look so great at the plate either. If it weren’t for Jay’s errorless streak, Taveras comes up from Memphis (that is, if his ankle holds up).
4. Lance Lynn – Lance can’t win on the road. There is always one inning where opposing batters seem use him for batting practice. That’s okay if our offense can make up the runs given up. A short break may help him get his head together.
Even with the minor difficulties listed above, the first half of the season has been great. The Cardinals have nothing to be ashamed of. They had the best record in baseball for a while. The Cards had a June swoon that appears to be reversing itself. The interleague series did not go well this year, unfortunately.
I’m looking forward to the second half of the season. The possibility of Chris Carpenter returning is intriguing. With the exception of a long road trip at the end of July (Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati), most of the remaining games are at home, and the Cards play best at home. And is John Mozeliak done wheeling and dealing? The trade deadline is July 31.
For those of us who love Cardinals baseball so much that we don’t know what to do with ourselves when a game isn’t being played, the All-Star break is too long. But for those players not participating in the All-Star festivities, it’s time to go for them to go home to their families and enjoy a little R&R time so they’re ready to go for the second half of the season and hopefully, a playoff run.
I’ll enjoy tonight’s game, hoping to see Adam Wainwright pitch another masterpiece. The All-Star break will help me look even more forward to Friday night’s game and the resumption of the season. I hope it will for you too.
Thanks for reading! See you next time!
Diane
