After making it clear Wednesday that he knows some don't speak for all, Adam Wainwright explained why the online reaction to his recent struggles led to him pulling the Twitter plug.
"If I'm going to get out of this hole and help this team win more games, I need 100% commitment," Wainwright said during comments on his weekly radio appearance on 101 ESPN. "I've got to be 100% committed to the idea I'm going to be great. That's what I've always done, and that's what I need. That's what it takes for me to get out. I can't do that if I've got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hate mail coming my way, and I'm reading them. And I try not to read them. You don't want to. But people keep (mentioning) me, so I do see it. They are taking cheap shots, too, like I've never done anything in the city before."
Wainwright has declined to comment further on the matter, but the lengthy explanation he offered on the radio said it all.
He's tired of the negativity. It was affecting him negatively. Time will tell if removing the addictive bird app from his life can make a difference on the mound. We'll see.
Without a doubt, Wainwright brought some of the criticism upon himself, considering he challenged Twitter detractors in late April with a promise to, "put the war paint on" and prove them wrong.
The 41-year-old veteran who returned on a one-year deal worth $17.5 million — much of it was deferred money — has not done so as often as he hoped.
He has a career-worst 6.56 ERA through nine starts. The Cardinals have won only four of those nine games. Wainwright has checked the quality start box, pitching at least six innings and allowing three or fewer earned runs, just once. It happened on June 17 in an encouraging win against the Mets, the 198th of his 18-season career. But the next time out, in front of an international audience in London, he allowed seven earned runs in three innings in one of the most deflating Cardinals losses of the season.
Wainwright's opposition is averaging .348 against him while posting an on-base plus slugging percentage of .962. Both are career worsts for Wainwright. To put it in context, against Wainwright this season, hitters are basically Atlanta star Ronald Acuna.
I could go through more numbers, but you get the picture, and it's not pretty.
When Wainwright's performance fell off in September of last season, this continued struggle is what some feared could happen if Wainwright didn't join Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols in riding off into the retirement sunset.
And if we have learned one thing about Twitter, it's that there is no better place to go to gloat about an accurate sports prediction.
Wainwright has been hearing from that crowd often this season.
Twitter is great for reminding the world of called shots, for blaming and venting, and not very good for convincing anyone to consider an alternative point of view.
Such as ...
Hasn't Wainwright's disappointing season been made a lot worse by the fact the Cardinals did nothing to upgrade their rotation this offseason?
If the front office had been honest about Steven Matz's ceiling (he's now in the bullpen), Dakota Hudson's outlook (he's not pitched once in the majors this season), and so on, they would have been a lot more likely to bolster the rotation from the outside. And that would have given them a lot more wiggle room if Wainwright trended in the wrong direction. Instead, the Cardinals' rotation, and it's not just Wainwright, has become a weak link.
Realistically, Wainwright should have been asked to be the feel-good fifth starter on an improved rotation who just had to give his team a chance to win when he took the mound. He has been able to do that at times. He has pitched at least five innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs in five of his nine starts since he returned from his World Baseball Classic injury. Those are not unwinnable games. But the Cardinals have not been winning enough games in general, so there hasn't been much feel-good to go around. The blame game has bruised everyone, including Wainwright.
Never mind that his contract, of which a reported $10 million is deferred, didn't stop the Cardinals from adding rotation help this offseason. That narrative is fiction believed by those who have convinced themselves the Cardinals' payroll is the same thing as a league-imposed salary cap. It's also worth noting that it wasn't Wainwright the Cardinals pointed to this offseason when they were asked why they didn't make a big rotation addition. That was Jack Flaherty, whose inconsistency has limited him to just four quality starts, and who did not pitch in London because of a sore hip.
It's hard for me to fault Wainwright for believing he had enough gas left in the tank. If he didn't think like that, he never would have become a Cardinals hero in the first place.
It's hard for me to fault the front office for bringing Wainwright back if he wanted to give it a go, and for paying him market rate for his services.
That said, it's absolutely the front office's responsibility to be honest about the strengths and weaknesses of a roster.
Here's how this should have played out internally: Guys, we're bringing Wainwright back for one last ride. We are hoping for the best, but we must guard against risk. Let's make sure this rotation is built accordingly. Let's minimize the chance of a painful backfire.
Instead, the Cardinals crossed their fingers and hoped for the best while accusing those who questioned the rotation's potential of having negative agendas. The result is a team now playing catch-up in a bad division.
The Cardinals used their heart to bring back Wainwright. The problem was they forgot to use their heads, their trade chips, and their dry payroll powder to strengthen the rotation around him.
Wainwright has two options moving forward.
Finish the unwinnable battle against Father Time as best as he can, or throw in the towel before the season ends. There is honor in the former but no lasting shame in the latter. Not really.
We rarely remember how the greats go out. Retirement seasons like Albert Pujols' are incredibly rare. See Yadier Molina's shaky sendoff for evidence. See Bob Gibson's 5.04 ERA in 1975 for more evidence. We talk about Gibson's 1.12 ERA. We don't talk about 5.04.
No matter what venom is spewed Wainwright's way the rest of the way, he will go down as one of the all-time great Cardinals, and some of the same folks who are piling on him now will be standing and cheering when he enters the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Perhaps even earlier, actually, if he can white-knuckle his way to 200 wins.
There's a great piece of advice former Cardinals pitcher turned broadcaster Ricky Horton often passes along to players. Instead of striving to prove your critics wrong, seek the joy of proving your supporters correct. Hopefully, Wainwright can find that road through the finish line.
