Yadier Molina drops comeback bread crumb with Instagram post
It's the juice that Cardinal Nation loves to squeeze.
There’s no doubt that St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina could put a paywall in front of his Instagram page.
If he has a complaint about a manager (hey, Mike Matheny) or a beef with a Gold Glove voting system, that’s where his thoughts go. It’s the new wave of connection between sports fans and their heroes/favorite players.
If Harrison Bader and Molina ever need a backup career, just keep posting on IG. Bader’s last post was him stretching out before a game at Busch Stadium with this caption: “Chachi Stretchington.” 12,093 people liked it. He has 171K followers.
Molina’s IG following: 912K, or over 912,000 people. This was his latest post.
Derrick Goold referred to the post as Molina sharing some thoughts. Thoughts as in a single baseball emoji. That’s power, folks.
If we’re hardcore looking for silver linings and hints, you can take away the home jersey and helmet. And you can look at tomorrow’s schedule and see Adam Wainwright pitching, because Yadi (and only Yadi) will just come back to the team without taking a single rehab at-bat. It’s not set in stone, but it’s happened enough times before to give it a 50/50 shot.
The questions surrounding Molina’s situation in Puerto Rico the past few weeks as he has rested an injured knee grew more odd by the day, but this could be a sign that the tide is turning for him. You can’t argue the fact that the Cards need him, and the feeling is mutual. He needs them too.
Andrew Knizner and Austin Romine can’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, and the team gave catching prospect Ivan Herrera two whiffs of a look in his recent call-up. Molina, if healthy and rocking a couple working knees, can at least help the pitch-calling, framing, and possibly a few clutch hits.
Or, it could be nothing and the man is simply cheering on his teammates. That would be best served with him in the dugout, something I am sure Molina knows full well can be a difference maker. Come on back, Yadi, for one last moment under the sun.
Other Cardinals and Blues news:
*David Perron probably isn’t coming back, folks. It stinks but the cap room is simply nonexistent. Blame the pandemic’s wicked cap ways, or the fact that Doug Armstrong has to extend quite a few players next year. Also, he could be cooking up a big trade. One could argue “Frenchie” has enjoyed a more consistent career than fellow winger, Vladimir Tarasenko. He was deadly during the Blues last three playoff appearances too. He’ll be missed. Go get the big money, Perron.
*Corey Dickerson homered Monday night. All is weird with the world again. He and the soft-hitting Knizner and Edmundo Sosa drove in three runs in a row early on in last night’s game. More of that, please.
*Albert Pujols needs to get hot ONE MORE TIME. He’s 6 for his last 14, including a home run and a pair of doubles. He’s now third all-time in extra base hits in MLB history. 700 homers is still far off, but he came within inches of #685 last night--and to the opposite field. He’s seeing the ball better in July, and needs to at least get that career batting average back up over .300. At the very least, he gets hot and gives fans a thrill.
Tiger Woods is always a threat, no matter the age. Michael Jordan was the same way. Pujols is in that category. Every time he steps to the plate, something amazing could take place. It makes a sometimes dull game more fun.
Thanks for reading. Follow @STLSportsDesk, the brand new Twitter account packed with my Cards/Blues takes, for all the goods.