Shildt fumes, Yadi hurt and St. Louis Cardinals season takes another weird turn
In an unprecedented season proceeding on certain ground and making as-of-yet undefined demands on those in the game, the St. Louis Cardinals season may have reached its inflection point on Tuesday night at the precise instant the bat of Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun connected with the wrist of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
The call on the play was catcher’s interference, just the third time — and first since 2006 — Molina has committed such an infraction in his career.
What followed was a distinctly socially together clearing of the benches which saw an irate manager Mike Shildt vehemently expressing his displeasure toward the Milwaukee dugout.
“Not gonna take any chirping out of the dugout,” Shildt said. “We don’t start things but we’re not gonna take it. Heard something I didn’t appreciate.
“I will always have our players’ backs. I will especially have a Hall of Famer — and a guy that has the most physical, mental toughness that I’ve ever managed and may ever manage — I will always have his back.”
Molina was not available for comment on Tuesday night.
Shildt emphasized that he wasn’t leveling any allegations against Braun, the long-time Milwaukee fixture who homered in the first inning of Tuesday night’s 18-3 drubbing by the Brewers. He did, however, point out that there was an exchange of words between him and Molina just before the incident occurred.
A review of the Tuesday night’s Fox Sports Midwest broadcast defines the contours of that conversation. Braun, with his team leading 12-2, takes a 2-1 pitch from Cardinals reliever Rob Kaminsky that appears to be low. Home plate umpire John Bacon called the pitch a strike.
“No, no, no, that is not a strike,” Braun said, as picked up by the field microphones. “Just because he (Molina) gets mad at you, that’s not a strike.”
The broadcast captured Molina with his eyes pointedly looking away from Braun, in the right-handed batter’s box, and toward the Brewers dugout on the first base line. His lips are moving but his voice is not audible.
On the next pitch, Braun lunged for an offering from Kaminsky and barely made contact to tap a foul ball. The following pitch was a fastball higher in the zone, and Braun made flush contact with Molina’s arm just behind his catcher’s mitt.
As Shildt came out to check on Molina, he heard a comment from the Milwaukee dugout that he described as an insult, “more directed at me, quite honestly.” Shildt acknowledged he had been staring into the Brewers dugout.
“With the mask on it’s hard to really appreciate what people are intending,” Shildt said. “I can hear great, though. My hearing doesn’t suffer at all with the mask on.”
Shildt declined to identify the person he heard or explain what they said. Brewers manager Craig Counsell, who was ejected along with Shildt, told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that the two had “a miscommunication.”
Video of the incident seems to show— with masks in place — Shildt directing his ire at Counsell as Brewers personnel stand between them.
After the two teams dispersed, Shildt signalled to the dugout for Matt Wieters to enter the game at catcher to replace Molina. He talked with Molina at home plate, and Molina made clear that he would not leave the field.
Third baseman Matt Carpenter came down from his position to speak to Molina, with Wieters standing on the top step of the dugout in his shin guards and chest protector, but Molina simply received tosses from Kaminsky to test his wrist.
Molina would leave the game two innings later and eventually have his left arm x-rayed. Results were not available on Tuesday night.
“There’s some discomfort there, for sure,” Shildt said. “This is something that we’re hopeful is not going to prevent him from going forward, but if Yadier Molina’s in discomfort, something’s wrong.”
The Cardinals have reached a point in their schedule where the road ahead may be less arduous than the strain of that which they’ve already traversed.
The team left for Milwaukee on Sunday evening with less than 24 hours notice that they needed to be prepared to spend the next 50-plus days living out of a suitcase. MLB’s postseason plans will require all teams to commence a hotel-based quarantine as of the last day of this current trip, and from there send National League teams to a hub site in either Arlington, Texas, or Houston. after the wild card round of the playoffs.
Pitching depth is running thin, Molina’s status is uncertain, and second baseman Kolten Wong was a late scratch from Tuesday’s game with discomfort in his left side. The Cardinals, who have come out of a significant coronavirus outbreak and subsequently managed to dance through this season’s unique rain storm, may now be facing a deluge.
“It’s not ideal,” said Shildt when asked about the current state of his bullpen. “Nothing’s ideal about what we’re dealing with, quite honestly.
“We’re not here to make excuses, we’re here to find solutions. We’ll find the best solution we can possibly find and will continue to do so.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 9:35 AM.
