The St. Louis Cardinals have struggled throughout the 2013 World Series. The team’s offense has been nonexistent, the defense has been questionable at times and manager Mike Matheny’s decisions have left many people scratching their heads. Now they head back to Boston for Games 6 and 7, and even that is anything but routine.
Derrick Goold of StlToday.com reported from Boston about a mechanical failure on the team’s plane that would take them to Boston:
The Cardinals’ charter flight from St. Louis to Boston was delayed more than four hours by a mechanical issue that kept the plane grounded. The team waited for the glitch to be fixed, and eventually had to consider getting a new plane to make their way here for Game 6 of the World Series.
Players and coaches have reported that spirits remain high and that they are thankful the team allows their families to travel with them. The inconvenience of delayed travel is something most people can certainly be sympathetic to. The real question remains as to what effect it may have on the team going into a crucial Game 6 against the Boston Red Sox.
Michael Wacha will draw that start and put his stellar postseason performance on the line for one more game this year. The rookie has been nothing short of phenomenal to this point in October. He has faced the adversity of a struggling lineup throughout the playoffs but will now face a disruption in his preparation schedule.
Players like Carlos Beltran and Allen Craig have been battling through nagging injuries so far in the Fall Classic. Sitting on an airplane for hours on a runway cannot be doing wonders for the stiff muscles and bruised bones they have sustained. Both sluggers will need to be fresh, loose and ready to contribute if the team hopes to force a Game 7 this year.
The good news, according to Goold, is that the Cardinals were not set for a workout today in Boston. The delayed flight is more of a nuisance than anything. It will not provide much of a distraction from the plan going forward.
It has been a strange World Series to this point. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has gone as far as to call it the “Weird Series” based on the unorthodox incidents in the games to this point. The Cardinals plane breaking down seems to be just another strange occurrence thus far.
Either way, the Cardinals plane will be up and running in the next few hours.
Fans hope the offense will follow suit tomorrow.
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