Thirty-eight-year-old Adam Wainwright spun by far his best game of the spring on Thursday when he worked five scoreless innings against the Miami Marlins. It will be his last spring training game for a while in what might be his last season.
"It's not optimal," said Wainwright, after he had packed up his car at the Cardinals' facility. "But it's not optimal for anybody. There are guys who are about to make the team, who are about to step their foot into the door. ... I feel worse for them than for me. Don't feel bad for me. I've had a great career. So, if it ended tomorrow, I sail off into the sunset. The guys I feel bad for are the guys who are getting their first opportunities."
Preparing for the fact that there will be no baseball for at least a couple of months, Wainwright, only half-joking, said, "I botched this spring. I should have saved the way I felt the other day for the second spring, whenever that is, because I was feeling playoff-baseball kind of mojo. I was really feeling pretty good."
