Ever since Adam Wainwright made it back from his Achilles injury, the St. Louis Cardinals have taken a 'wait and see' approach.
After some more bullpen outings over the weekend, however, Waino seems to have left a very strong impression on the club and manager Mike Matheny.
In the Cards' first game of a doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, Wainwright threw a shutout inning in the eighth that Matheny later described with the word 'great' when speaking with MLB's Jennifer Langosch.
She added that even though Matheny said there's a 'zero percent' chance Wainwright will be called upon to start either of the first two NLDS games against the winner of the Chicago Cubs/Pittsburgh Pirates Wild Card matchup, he's confident the veteran will have a role in the team's postseason plans.
"There's no doubt that he's going to step up when we need him as long as his body is cooperating, and it looks like his body is cooperating," Matheny told Langosch.
Waino more or less said the same, though he was diplomatic about it all: "I've done all I can do. I won't have hard feelings if I don't make it because these guys have been busting their tail all year. I've done what I can do and I have no regrets about anything that has happened. I just feel incredible pitching again and I'll be ready either way."
It seems hard to imagine the Cardinals wouldn't include Wainwright on their postseason roster, especially considering Carlos Martinez won't be around. Wainwright's done more than enough to warrant a spot, and he'll find out soon whether or not that's the case.
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