Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
The St. Louis Cardinals messed up big time. They lost their best player for two crucial weeks and didn’t do a thing to replace him. When Yadier Molina went down just before the trade deadline, most were shocked the Cardinals didn’t do something to replace him. Instead they stood where they were and watched their lead in the National League Central shrink then disappear. Now however Molina has returned and it looks like the Cardinals didn’t mess up so badly after all.
Going into play against the Chicago Cubs on Friday the Cardinals are three games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. They just came off of a great series where they did what they had to do and the Pirates did what they had to do. By winning one game of the three-game series the Pirates kept a nice lead while the Cardinals made some ground up and made a statement by winning two of three in dramatic fashion. Molina was there for the final game of the series and threw out a key base runner trying to steal third in the first inning.
Yes, he is back and yes it is that big of a deal. Without Molina the Cardinals are a good team with potential to be great. With him they are great period. They will lose games and they might not still be able to catch the Pirates or keep the Cincinnati Reds at bay. What they will do from here on out is the absolute best that they could have ever done. The only question that remains is how big of a deal were those two weeks without Molina? That will be answered over the next month and a half.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
