St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, Stephen Piscotty, was injured in an on-field collision on September 27 after attempting to make a play on a well-hit ball. The outfielder was running after a ball driven into the gap in left-center field when he stumbled and started falling. Center-fielder Peter Bourjos was also trying make a play on the ball, and as he lunged to make the catch, Piscotty's head drove straight into Bourjos' knee. Piscotty laid still on the field for a considerable amount of time, but was moving all of the body parts he needed to, according to Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny. Piscotty was carried off the field, strapped to backboard, and was able to wave his hand to a stunned Pittsburgh crowd, which then cheered at the sight.
Piscotty had a bruise on his head, but everything else seemed to be okay as all the tests were negative. Piscotty was later released from the hospital on Tuesday after being kept the night. It seemed to be a very violent collision, but luckily is okay. Many of the players were concerned including teammate Matt Carpenter who said he thought that Piscotty was paralyzed after first sight of the collision. Luckily, the 24-year-old rookie outfielder has avoided any serious injuries and is doing fine now.
This injury comes at a time when they are already thin due to other injuries and are about to enter the post-season. Piscotty was coming into his own after his July call-up and was batting .310 in the 61 games he has played in this season. Now, he is added to the list of Yadier Molina, Carlos Martinez, and Adam Wainwright, all players whose postseason health is in doubt. The Cardinals may be okay though as they have had to deal with major injury problems over the course of the season. The team has been without Adam Wainwright since April and has lost players Matt Holiday, Matt Adams, and Randal Grichuk for extensive periods of time. Still, the Cardinals have won an MLB-best 100 games and have clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The team is going to have to get more production from other areas if they do not get Piscotty back for the postseason, but for a team that has done it multiple times before, I don't see it as a problem. I believe they are still favorites in the National League this postseason, as they have been the best team over the course of the year and have looked anything but weak. Expect to see top-notch pitching as that is where they have been very dominant in recent years. Even though they may lose some production at the plate, their pitching is good enough to carry them through to the finish.
The postseason starts with one-game playoffs on October 6 and 7.
