Last year it was Adam Wainwright. This year it's Chris Carpenter.
St. Louis Cardinals fans probably weren't holding their breath on Carpenter's return at this point, but today the bad news finally came down: Carpenter will miss the rest of the season after undergoing another shoulder surgery, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
Even without Carpenter, the Cards starting pitching has been a strength this year. Lance Lynn is an All-Star after opening everyone's eye in his move to the rotation. Kyle Lohse continues to get it done somehow, as does jake Westbrook. Wainwright is coming along, and he's healthy, which is the most important thing. Jaime Garcia, who hadn't been at the top of his game anyway, has been on the disabled list, but his replacement - 24-year-old Joe Kelly - has been respectable pver four starts.
Still, Chris Carpenter is a different beast. St. Louis leaned on the Ace heavily late last year as the Cardinals hunted down the slumping Atlanta Braves to win the NL wild card, and then the World Series. Carpenter won 16 games in 2010, and he won 17 games - and finished second in the NL Cy Young - in 2009.
St. Louis is pitching well enough that they should be okay without him, but the concern now is whether or not Carpenter - who will be 38 next season - will ever again look like the pitcher that Cards fans remember.
Carpenter's rehab had been progressing in fits and starts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss wrote earlier today, and Carpenter wanted to get the surgery out of the way now rather than delaying and threatening his ability to pitch next season.
The Cardinals spun their wheels a bit in June, but are still 42-28 and just 2.5 games behind Cincinnati in the NL Central. The Cardinals are in fine shape to make a run, and won the Series last year after losing Wainwright, a 2011 20-game winner, for the entire season.
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