Cardinals Complain About Afternoon Shadows At Busch Stadium

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Brewers starting pitcher Randy Wolf and evidently the
Busch Stadium shadows baffled Cardinals hitters in the 4-1
afternoon loss on Monday afternoon. - Photo courtesy of
Getty Images
After the St. Louis Cardinals lost Monday afternoon's matinee against the Milwaukee Brewers, several big name players were suddenly talking about shadows.

No, the Cardinals were not talking about the enormous shadow that the Brewers have cast over the them in the National League Central Division.  The Brewers have now built themselves a virtually insurmountable 10.5 game lead in the division race.

Instead, the Cardinals were complaining about the shadows being cast by the late afternoon skies at Busch Stadium.

Slugging first baseman Albert Pujols was voiceful in his distaste for the late afternoon start and went to the Cardinals organization about moving the late afternoon games to a different time slot.  Here is just a sampling of what Pujols told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after Monday's pitiful loss.
"I can never remember a game that bad.  From the second inning on, as soon as that shadow goes from behind the catcher to in front of the plate you'd better be on top and score some runs. Because after that it's pretty over."
"I don't want anybody to read it wrong. I don't want to disrespect the job (Wolf) did. He did a pretty good job. He kept the ball down.  It wasn't fair for us to see. And it wasn't fair for them to see." 
The Cardinals mustered just one run on four hits in the uninspiring loss.  And Pujols was not the only Cardinals star to mention the shadows.  Outfielder Matt Holliday also told reporters that the shadows bothered him as well and would like to see change in the future.
"If you can't see spin on the ball, how are you going to hit?"
"Any 3 (p.m.) game that is not mandatory should be changed.  I think Fox, MLB and the Players Association should look at moving the national game of the week to 7 (p.m.). If you're not ahead in the third inning, if the hitters can't see the ball, it makes for a noncompetitive game once the shadows set in."
To Pujols and Holliday's credit, Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun also commented on the shadows after the game.  But Holliday, Pujols, and the rest of the Cardinals will be hard-pressed to find much sympathy around the rest of Major League Baseball.

Over the past several years the Cardinals have built themselves quite a reputation and it is not a pleasant one.  Many believe, (see Brandon Phillips) that the Cardinals complain too much and there is plenty of recent evidence to back-up the claim.

Earlier this season manager Tony La Russa insinuated that the Brewers may be using special signals in their home ball park and was irate after the Brewers hit Pujols on a high and tight pitch.  At this point most baseball fans know about last season's scuffle with the Cincinnati Reds.

This latest round of complaining just solidifies what many others around the league already believe.

Maybe if the Cardinals were not so worried about the shadows at Busch Stadium they would not be stuck in the shadow of the playoff bound Milwaukee Brewers.

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