JUPITER, Fla. — Adam Wainwright and one specific word — nostalgia — have a mixed history.
The word was stuck to the Cardinals starter, like an unwanted bumper sticker, when he was searching and struggling seasons ago.
Some wondered, when Wainwright was at his worst, if the beloved right-hander’s long and successful history with the team was clouding reality, causing the Cardinals to wait for a breakthrough that was not coming.
We know what happened next.
Wainwright figured things out and turned back into one of baseball’s more reliable starters, regardless of age.
“That chip is a good one to put on your shoulder,” opening-day starter Wainwright said, acknowledging how the word — nostalgia — can be warm and fuzzy one moment, and cutting the next, if it implies accepting under-performance for the sake of sweet memories in the past tense.