Wainwright cannot return

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will not be available during the 2011 season due to an injury. As he threw batting practice earlier this week, his elbow became increasingly stiff. Eventually, he could barely move it and was examined. The general manager of the Cards spoke, saying the early examination were not promising for the star. Wainwright finished second in NL Cy Young voting last year, but seems to be out of luck this year. The 29-year-old will miss 2011, according to reporters, due to Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately for the Cards, this will put tons of pressure on their other ace Chris Carpenter. After all, the St. Louis team has been depending mainly on two things to carry it: Carpenter and Wainwright, and the middle of the lineup. Luckily, both Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols appear to be healthy thus far. I think that Wainwright's injury was a big blow, but I feel that with the right steps taken, the Cards can still make this a productive season.

Trivia
Wainwright's 20 wins last year were a career high, and his 11 losses were the second-most in his career.