Game Over

And, no, this is not a post about the truly woeful (and damn near unwatchable) Blues. (I'm so pissed I cannot speak rationally about them.)

Nope. This time it's the Cardinals whose chance for a successful season has just vanished. Read and weep:

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has flown back to St. Louis this morning to have his right elbow examined this afternoon after he experienced discomfort in the joint.

General manager John Mozeliak said he believes it is a "significant injury" and the early word is "not encouraging."

Tommy John surgery is one alternative to repair the damage for which Wainwright is being checked.

"After his bullpen on Monday, he did feel something in his right elbow," Mozeliak said. "I can say just based on the initial evaluation from our training staff, things do not look encouraging. But before we jump to any conclusions, we'll just wait until the re-evaluation this afternoon."

Mozeliak said there would be an update Wednesday afternoon.

It won't be an "update," it will be a confirmation. In all the years I've followed baseball I've never once seen this set-up not lead to season ending surgery.

Wainwright only has himself to blame, really. He jinxed himself:

A checkup in November, however, assured him and the Cardinals of the joint's stability and structure, and even a few weeks ago, as spring training started, Wainwright insisted that he wasn't concerned about the joint.

"My ligament is intact and strong," Wainwright said in a Feb. 10 Post-Dispatch story. "It's not like it's ready to pop."

Great.

The Cardinals will not actively suck, but their margin for real success is razor thin. It will mostly depend on people like Ian Snell, but the reality of the matter is neither Wainwright or Chris Carpenter are replaceable.

Depressing for fans (and I'm sure no picnic for Waino.)