Boo birds during Adam Wainwright's St. Louis Cardinals retirement ceremony? We know he's had a bad season, but come on!?
Don't worry, Cardinals fans... The boos weren't for Wainwright. St. Louis fans are much smarter than that, and Wainwright's 18 full years with the Cardinals would never warrant boos during his retirement ceremony no matter how bad this season went.
There were some that rained down at Busch Stadium, though, only not for Wainwright... They were boos directed at John Mozeliak, Cardinals President of Baseball Operations.
John Mozeliak probably earned his boos from Cardinals fans this season
John Mozeliak, on the whole, should be considered an adequate baseball executive. He has been the team's leading executive on baseball decisions since 2007, a period of time that has cashed in a World Series for STL and nine other playoff appearances, including another National League title and two other visits to the Championship series (four total NLCS appearances since 2007).
This year, though, was remarkably miserable. Cardinals fans, used to their team competing year-in and year-out, were lifeless from the start of the year and essentially punted on the season by the trade deadline, sending players out instead of buying to try to field a more competitive roster.
It's rare that the Cardinals are waving the white flag at the deadline.
Mozeliak's decision to continue retaining Oli Marmol has been the source of questions, too, as fans have generally been displeased with Marmol's decision-making as manager.
Does Mozeliak deserve the boos? Maybe. He's only receiving them because he failed to reach the very standard he help set in previous years. It's a catch-22 for Mozeliak. Let's come back and judge this one in a few years.
But hey, it's one of the few times Cardinals fans may be able to let themselves be heard about how they feel on this season. Let it out for Mozeliak while you can.
As for Wainwright, today is his day. Enjoy it, Uncle Waino... You've earned it.
