It really is just a game
It’s been just over a week since my last post, eight days that have been among the darkest in Cardinal history. In the end, the events and reasons that led up to the car crash that claimed the life of Josh Hancock are what no one wanted to hear. But despite the controversy and crizitcism that’s been flying around the baseball and media worlds since last Sunday morning, that fact of the matter is that a young man still lost his life far too soon.
The team, as they did in the immediate aftermath of the death of Darryl Kile, struggled, getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals said "good-bye" to Josh on Thursday, in his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. The came home on Friday to play the Houston Astros, winning for the first time in a over a week. The final score of the game was 3-2. Hancock’s uniform number was 32.
In the midst of an already tough week, the Birds announced Saturday that ace Chris Carpenter will miss three months thanks to elbow surgery.
Can the Cards pull out of this "slump" that they’ve been riding since the beginning of the season? Can they pull themselves together, as they did after Kile’s death, dedicate the season to Josh, win the Central, and make a descent showing in the playoffs? Can they overcome the multiple injuries they’ve been handed? Only time will tell. But for now, once again, we’re reminded that ultimately it is just a game and that there are in life, things more important than the game of baseball.