22 CARDINALS MAGAZINE CARDINALS MAGAZINE 23

By JIM GILSTRAP

Wacha and Waino.Say it once, twice, three times. Let it roll off the tongue. Or

have some fun and try it really fast. Either way it sounds good, doesnt it?

Wacha and Waino.Where there was one, there was the other last season. Or so it

seemed. On facing pages in the teams media guide, there they were, Michael Wacha and Adam Wainwright. Mere coincidence? Not exactly. Credit the alphabet for that positioning.

They lockered next to each other when Wacha, the 2012 first-round draft pick, was first called up to the big leagues last May. Pure happenstance? Not with Mike Matheny assigning the stalls.

They followed one another in the postseason, Wacha in Game 4 of the Division Series and Wainwright in Game 5, winning back-to-back elimination thrillers that propelled St. Louis to the NLCS. Good planning? Yes, and good karma.

Wacha and Waino.Were it up to The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, theyd

be joined at the hashtag: Tall, dark, handsome Cardinals starters we love #WachaAndWaino.

Stationed on our spring training set, theyre more like Johnny and Ed, with Wainwright, the eight-year veteran, cracking one-liners and Wacha providing the laugh track. Its sit-down comedy at its finest and one of the many ways Wainwright connects with the clubs younger pitchers.

They look up to him and he knows it. And this year more than ever, because its officially his staff after Chris Carpenters retirement, he will be called on for pearls of wisdom, drops of Jupiter whatever gets the job done when Wacha and his young mates need a shoulder or a swift kick in the pants. Or maybe a scouting report on a hitter or a hands-on demonstration of a different grip.

Wacha and Waino. Its possible one big righthander could be mistaken for the

other Wainwrights seated on the left for this early morning chat with their similar frames (Waino stands 6-foot-7 and Wacha 6-foot-6) and boyish, sometimes bearded looks, even though their ages, 32 and 22, reflect 10 years difference.

A COUPLE OF BIG Ws

The names Michael Wacha and

Adam Wainwright make for

nice alliteration; the compatible

personalities add equal parts

laughter, lessons and life

stories of what it takes to

win in the big leagues

CARDINALS MAGAZINE 29

Adam Wainwright needed more than nine innings to realize he could win in the big leagues. He needed 18 holes.

Back in 2005, his second year in the Cardinals organization, Wainwright was still searching for his fire as a pitcher. Hed find it on the golf course with Chris Carpenter.

That golf outing, Wainwright says, really just changed my whole career. That experience is so vivid and has been so vital for me.

A first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2000, Wainwright frequently talked baseball with Greg Maddux and played golf with John Smoltz, but he was more awestruck during time spent with his boyhood idols than attentive to them. He didnt become a serious student until years later, after building a relationship with Carpenter.

That day we played golf with two other people ... Im not sure either of us said anything to them the entire time, Wainwright recalls. Carp and I talked about being a competitor, the importance of mental strength, and where he was and where hed gone and what made him great now as opposed to where he was before.

For the first time my ears were ready to listen, and it sunk in. It was so impactful. I just pray that I can have a moment like that with somebody, to affect a career like he did mine. If thats with Michael (Wacha) I hope its with all of them.

Wacha characterizes Wainwright as more of a leader by example based on their first season of interaction, but Wainwright promises: Our one-on-one time is going to come this year. Talk to Wacha about it again this time next season, Wainwright suggests, and I feel like hell have better answers.

Thats because Wainwright, despite being the staff ace, was careful not to overstep his boundaries last season. Even though he had a certain level of experience and standing in the clubhouse, he also knew it was still Carpenters clubhouse.

Now that Carpenter has retired he wont have an everyday presence with the team in his role as special assistant to the general manager.

Last year I wanted to be mindful and respectful of my elders, Wainwright says. Chris Carpenter was my mentor, and he was still on the scene. Now Ill feel more comfortable speaking up and

doing those kinds of things.Not that he would have taken offense

to anything I said because I learned from him and it would have just been an extension of him. But I think it was important for me to show him that he was still the man in there.

Sometimes, subtlety suffices. Shelby Miller recalls Wainwright texting

his support back in 2012, when Miller was mired in a tough stretch at Triple-A Memphis, and lending a hand again last year when Miller was struggling at midseason as a rookie.

He was there, whether it was to try to fix something in the bullpen or mentally, Miller says. Hes a veteran and I have only one year in the big leagues, but I feel like Ive known him forever. Wainos always going to be here for this team.

And for this city. And organization.I hope when we look at these young

guys that they feel the same sort of pride going forward that I do, Wainwright says. I just want to be faithful to Cardinals fans and a blessing to the city of St. Louis. The Birds on the Bat mean more to me than almost anything in the game of baseball.

Jim Gilstrap

28 CARDINALS MAGAZINE

World Series as examples of when he just didnt pitch well. He explains, as Wacha listens intently, how quickly it can turn: Im hitting both sides of the plate with sink, Im cutting it, curving it, changing it, commanding it, and the next time out its ... like, what happened? You have to stay on top of every little thing.

Wainwright, coming off his second season as Cy Young runner-up and third of 19 or more wins dont forget the two Gold Gloves feels on top of his game, reasoning that 32 isnt old on most pitching staffs, with the Cardinals among the exceptions. He explains his body is stronger than when he began seasons at 25, 26 or 27 because the experience of being a big-

league starter has provided a road map for his physical preparation.

Five seasons he has pitched more than 200 innings (counting postseason), including his last four in a row sandwiched around a year he missed because of Tommy John surgery. Wacha, meanwhile, threw 18013 innings last year between St. Louis and Memphis. One of the challenges he faces in Year 2 in the big leagues is being able to take the ball every fifth day, despite aches or pains or subpar stuff, and compete over the course of a full season against hitters who will become more familiar with him.

Hes so physically gifted that I think when he gets done with this season what hell find is that hell be mentally exhausted because its 33 or 34 starts and postseason ball on top of that, Wainwright says. Youre looking at 200-plus innings. And over time his body is going to be built for that, as strong as he is already.

The guys who really do great in this game are the ones who can sustain their mental toughness through all that, stay positive and show up every day ready to dominate.

No one was more dominant down the stretch, Wainwright professes, than Wacha. Sure, he has room to improve Not just my curveball but command and control of my other pitches (he worked on a cutter in the spring), and my fielding and bunting, Wacha allows but theres no need for an HGTV makeover.

Michael has a good breaking ball that he needs to throw for strikes when he wants to and under the zone when he wants to, Wainwright says. He did that the last month or two of the season better than anyone.

To throw as hard as he does and then his changeup is amazing because it looks just like his heater. But if he can also throw something that isnt straight, something big and bending that changes hitters eye level, slows them down, gets them off-balance ...

Wacha and Waino.Sounds good, doesnt it?Wacha and Waino and wins. Lots of wins.Sounds even better.

Jim Gilstrap is a staff writer for Cardinals Magazine.

Wacha didnt envision a near no-no in a must-win Game 4 of the NLDS, but he found his focus early, silencing a boisterous PNC Park crowd and stiff-arming the Bucs.

The normally reserved Wacha burstinto Waino-like emotion after a keysixth-inning stand in NLCS Game 2.

PLAYING OUT OF THE ROUGH

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No, no, no, Wainwright jumps in. No mistaken identity. That just doesnt happen.

Waino: The young boys and girls and youth of the world love Mikey. I get the older women. If youre 70-plus and female, you love me. Thats the only group that really follows me.

Wacha: Whats that line you always use?Waino: They say, Can you sign this and

put your number on it? I say, Home or cell? They love that.

Wacha: Thats a good one, home or cell.Waino: It kills em every time.Cue Carson and the phantom golf swing.

A QUICK STUDY So, Michael Wacha, whats it like for

a rookie to have Adam Wainwright, master of slapstick and one of the games few remaining big curveballs, as a mentor? Always quicker to the punch line, Wainwright chimes in.

Hes the NLCS MVP, the Cardinals ace reasons. Whats he going to learn from me?

Born in Iowa and growing up a Cubs fan despite moving to Texas at an early age, Wacha was watching Wainwright long before he was drafted by the Cardinals and the two took the field as teammates last year in spring training.

Waino: So you hated me.Wacha: No, I didnt hate you. I was

like, Man, that guys good. Shutting down the Cubs all the time. I knew the Cardinals were always in contention, always knocking the Cubs out of it. Whenever I got drafted, I couldnt have been happier.

He brought a nasty changeup and big fastball from his three years at Texas A&M, but as Wainwright relates, Usually you draft somebody and its like, See you in six years. After spring training, we saw him in a couple of months, so we really didnt have long to learn about him. We didnt know he was that great.

While Wacha was blowing away everyone in his first spring training he struck out 15 batters in 1123 innings and didnt allow

an earned run and trending high in the twittersphere, he kept a low profile, said the right things and watched Wainwright. Everything about Wainwright: His bullpens. His live batting practice throwing. His fielding. His bunting. His running.

When Wacha arrived in St. Louis, the relationship became more personal, with the two as next-door neighbors in the clubhouse. But it wasnt like he was inviting himself over for dinner every night. He still gave Wainwright plenty of space, observing how he arrived early to the field, how he prepared on his days to pitch and the work he put in between starts.

Wacha noticed something else: He really doesnt shower that much.

The two also shared trade secrets.Id ask him how he held his changeup,

Wainwright says, and hed ask me how I held my curveball. Wed go over that and how much pressure you put on the ball and where you release it.

Wacha recalls Wainwright frequently stopping by the video room to answer questions about what to look for from certain hitters. Wainwright remembers it differently: I said, Hey, if you need any help, let me know, and he said, Nah, Im good. I got it.

Wacha: I think I remember you saying, What are you going to do different (now that youre here)?

Waino: I always say that to guys when

they get to the big leagues.Wacha: I was like, Nothing. Waino: Perfect. Thats the right answer.

Guys go, Well, I need to be more down in the zone and not walk guys, and ... Then you just say, Stop, dont do anything different. But Mikey always has the right answers.

As it turned out, Wacha didnt have all the answers and was sent back to Triple-A Memphis in June for more seasoning. He fine-tuned his curveball and worked on command of his fastball and changeup. And his workload was managed so hed have plenty left in the tank for the run to the postseason.

He and Wainwright exchanged texts a few times but really nothing more until Wacha returned in August, when six of his seven appearances came out of the bullpen. When I went to reliever he kicked me out, said he needed two lockers, Wacha claims. So I went down by Jason Motte.

And apparently tugged on Mottes beard for good fortune. For then came September, when Wacha made five starts and nearly threw a no-hitter, coming up an infield hit short in his final outing of the regular season. His ERA was 1.72 for the month, and opponents batted just .198 against him, striking out 28 times over 3113 innings.

His success had nothing to do with luck or relocation in the locker room That never happened; I didnt kick him out, Wainwright protests but with a renewed

sense of who he was on the mound and a return to the presence he had shown in spring training.

He had the confidence to work down in the zone with his good, downhill plane, Wainwright says. He was pounding strike after strike after strike, getting ahead of batters, and thats what he did in the spring. They knew they were 0-1 right away. Once you get 0-1 or 0-2 against Mikey, youve got to worry about 95 (mph) or changeups in the dirt. Hes very filthy like that.

Not that he wasnt good before, but when he came back up you could tell he was ready to be here and to stay here. Thats the hard part about the big leagues, not getting here but staying here, and he made the adjustments and came back and dominated.

A DIFFERENT ANIMAL

Michael Wacha introduced himself to the world in the postseason. And so did Adam Wainwright in the 2006 postseason. Then a rookie coming out of the bullpen in his first full season, Wainwright had pitched effectively in the late innings, with 17 holds, and was moved into the closers role the week before the postseason as the team explored options after an injury to Jason Isringhausen.

His make-or-break moment came in his sixth playoff appearance, the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS against the Mets at Shea Stadium. With a crowd of 56,357 bearing down on him, Wainwright gave up

back-to-back singles to open the inning as the Cardinals clung to a 3-1 lead.

Instead of bunting in that situation, they brought in Cliff Floyd because they wanted him to do some damage against the rookie, Wainwright remembers. They thought they had me on the ropes.

Wainwright struck out Floyd looking and put away Jose Reyes on a liner to center before walking Paul Lo Duca to load the bases. The smart play, he jokes. The force is at any base. Im just playing my odds. Wainwright then dominated a showdown against Carlos Beltran and his

41-homer bat, fanning him on three pitches, including a called-strike curveball to end the game.

The Cardinals rolled on to win the World Series, with Wainwright nailing down the save on a strikeout in the Game 5 clincher against Detroit. He struck out 15 over 923 innings that postseason and didnt allow a run on his way to becoming part of the rich fabric of franchise lore.

But you never had Wainomania, he explains. Last year, you had Wachamania. Its a completely different animal. Our fans and our team are right to expect greatness from him. We knew he was going to be very good, just maybe not to the extent that he did it so great. With me, they were caught off guard, and rightfully so.

Making his first playoff start in Game 4 of the NLDS, Wacha had 40,493 screaming Pirates fans in his ears and trying to get inside his head. Hed witnessed the bedlam the day before, when Pittsburgh won Game 3, and remembered what Carpenter had told him to embrace it and use it to his advantage.

As he warmed up, he wondered if hed have the stuff to silence those fans and put them back into their seats.

My bullpen wasnt so good, Wacha recalls. I wasnt throwing many strikes, and I was like, Well, lets just go out there and see how it goes. But I got on the mound and

A COUPLE OF BIG Ws

26 CARDINALS MAGAZINE

was able to focus on Yadi (Molina) and not really hear the crowd or be affected by the atmosphere. And I started making pitches.

Wacha threw 90 pitches before giving up his only hit, a bases-empty homer by Pedro Alvarez with one out in the eighth. He left with a 2-1 lead, and the bullpen made it stand to send the series back to St. Louis for the deciding fifth game that Wainwright pitched and won.

The difference when I closed out Game 7 against the Mets is they thought they had a chance, Wainwright says. With him, Game 4 in Pittsburgh, those guys did not have a chance, and they knew it, which was so impressive, especially for a rookie. I mean, the guy almost threw back-to-back no-hitters thats a joke.

From the very first pitch of the game, his poise and confidence in that big moment were second to none, and those hitters felt that. Thats one thing I try to relate to young guys, is that the other team can feel you on the mound, the presence you bring. You can either give them great confidence because of the way you portray yourself or you can completely dominate them before they even step in the box. He dominated them before and after they stepped in the box.

Wacha dispatched the first 15 batters before allowing a baserunner via walk. He struck out nine, including Marlon Byrd three times, over 713 innings, and used his third pitch, the curveball, particularly well. Said Byrd after it was done: I think hes the next coming of Adam Wainwright.

STRUTTING HIS STUFF

Standing on the mound in St. Louis, before perhaps the biggest pitch of his life, Michael Wacha listened to instructions from his catcher. It was Yadier Molinas second visit during the inning, and this time there was no wriggle room.

The bases were full of Dodgers, with one out and the count 3-and-2 on the dangerous Yasiel Puig. It was the sixth

inning, Game 2 of the NLCS, after the Cardinals had just scratched out a run against Cy Young lefty Clayton Kershaw in the bottom of the fifth for a 1-0 lead.

Wachamania, and a potential shift in the series, were riding on the next pitch.

Were going to go fastball in, Wacha thought he heard before Molina trotted back to take his place behind the plate.

So he doesnt put down a sign because we had just talked about the pitch, Wacha remembers. Im starting to throw and hes

On the big stage in Gotham, Waino had a Broadway-breakthrough type moment in 2006, fanning Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded to deliver an NL pennant.

moving to the outside corner of the plate, and Im like, Ohhhh, and I just tried to yank it over there as hard as I could at the last second. It went down the middle, low, and I got a check swing and a strikeout.

I thought we were going in on him, and we were going away.

He then struck out Juan Uribe to end the inning and bounded toward the dugout with a display of unbridled joy and accomplishment uncharacteristic of his normally reserved demeanor.

Wacha: I was pretty fired up coming off the mound.

Waino: Yeah you were.Wacha: I dont normally show a lot of

emotion, but I felt like that was the time to show it.

Waino: His buttons were about to pop off his chest.

Wacha and the St. Louis bullpen shut out the Dodgers the rest of the way, and six days later he beat Kershaw again to send the Cardinals to the World Series. Wacha was named MVP of the NLCS (the youngest player to win the award since 1991) with two-game numbers that would make a trophy engraver blush: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 1323 innings, 13 Ks, seven hits, .149 opponents batting average.

He won Game 2 of the World Series in Boston, following a Wainwright loss, and was on the hill again for Game 6, with the Cardinals in need of a victory to extend the season. And with a chance to do something no pitcher in the history of the game had done: win five times in five starts in a single postseason.

Alas, Wacha showed he, too, is human on a night when all of Boston stood in his way

as the Red Sox won a World Series at home for the first time since 1918.

EVERY FIFTH DAY

Wacha and Waino.Whats next for the alliterative arms

anchoring the Redbirds rotation, with Wainwright No. 1 and Wacha No. 2 as the season begins? Cy Young? World Series rings? The Tonight Show?

More teaching? More ... You never stop learning, Wainwright

interjects. Ive figured out that as soon as you think youve got it figured out, you aint figured out nothing, you know what Im saying? This game will humble you so fast.

He cites a regular-season start against Cincinnati I didnt execute anything and got torched and Game 1 of the

Michael Wacha counts a pair of pitching coaches Texas A&Ms Rob Childress and Paul Phillips of Pleasant Grove High in Texarkana, Texas as mentors who molded his path to professional ball.

Phillips provided mental toughness and made sure his pitchers were ready to go every day, and Childress, also the Aggies head coach, altered Wachas mechanics with results that brought scouts in droves to see the lanky kid who was undrafted out of high school.

He told me I was dropping down on my backside and was throwing like a 5-foot-8 guy, Wacha remembers. He was like, you need to use all 6-6 of that body and get that arm slot up top and create that downward angle. He also helped me refine the changeup.

A lot of credit goes to Adam

Wainwright interrupts: Whats his name?Wacha: Rob Childress.Waino: Whats his number?Wacha: 29.Waino: Phone number.Wacha: Oh.Waino: I want to get my changeup

refined.Wacha: What?Waino: I want him to help me with

my changeup.Wacha: Ohhhh.Waino: (As an aside to interviewer) I

was a little quicker than him at that stage. Hes more mature. I was quicker.

Wacha: (Feigning a defense) I only had three years of college.

Waino: Do I ever regret not failing out of college? Not at all. I was ready to get out of school after high school. Even if I

wouldve had to go to college, I wouldve needed to take a break for a year or so to clear my brain.

Wacha: He couldnt handle college.Waino: I was drafted in the first round

by the Atlanta Braves back then, so that was a no-brainer for me.

Wacha: You cant turn that down.Waino: I wouldve paid them. But I

had somewhat of a college experience. It was kind of like a fraternity. You were traveling around with 25 guys, and youre maybe doing things you shouldnt some of the time. Playing pranks on guys ... playing cards all night. But I didnt have to write papers or take tests, so at no point have I regretted that decision. There are so many good lessons learned in the minor leagues, and I hit every level.

Jim Gilstrap

CARDINALS MAGAZINE 27

OUTTAKE: DIALING UP A CHANGEUP