The Cardinals showed some mercy and have shut down Anthony Reyes for the season.  Reyes was a huge disappointment for the Cardinals this season.  In 22 games (20 starts), Reyes was 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  He worked 107.1 innings and he allowed 108 hits, walked 43 batters and whiffed 74.  Reyes was a pitcher the Cardinals felt they could build their rotation around but now he’s just another question mark heading into the off-season.

Cardinals’ starting catcher Yadier Molina will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery on Monday.  Molina bounced back and had a solid season in 2007 after an off year with the bat the year before.  Molina played in 111 games this season for the Cardinals and he was 97 for 353 (.275 avg, .708 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 6 homers and 40 RBIs.  Gary Bennett will replace Molina in the starting lineup for the most part.  He has played in 57 games this season for the Cardinals and he is 34 for 148 (.230 avg, .578 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs.  Kelly Stinnett will serve as the backup for the Cardinals the rest of the way.  Stinnett has played in 21 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 13 for 72 (.181 avg, .477 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs.

Mark Mulder has been shut down for the rest of the season and he will need additional surgery to his left rotator cuff which will cause him to miss most of next season.  Mulder was awful for the Cardinals this season.  In 3 starts, Mulder was 0-3 with a 12.27 ERA and a 2.64 WHIP.  He only pitched 11 innings this season and he allowed 22 hits, 4 homers, walked 7 batters and whiffed 3.

Adam Wainwright had a rough time in the first half of the season as he was converted back into a starting pitcher.  But, if the second half of the season Wainwright has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.  In 12 starts after the All-Star Game, Wainwright is 6-4 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.  In 79.2 innings in the 2nd half of the season, Wainwright has allowed 77 hits, walked 23 batters and whiffed 61.  Wainwright has now started 29 games on the season and he is 13-11 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  The Cardinals have lost 9 of their last 10 games pretty much ending all hopes of creeping into the playoffs to defend their World Series Championship of 2006.  The Cardinals are now 70-80 which has them in 3rd place in the National League Central, 8 games behind the Cubs and Brewers.

With injuries mounting the Cardinals are starting to fade.  They have lsot 5 games in a row which has them four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.  It’s amazing to me that the Cardinals are even in the hunt at 69-73 on the season.  Hopefully, the Cardinals will try to fix the starting rotation for next season and quit messing around with making relief pitchers starters.