UCB December Project: Five Top Stories of 2014

Without further ado, here's my take at the December UCB project, naming the five top stories of 2014.

Taveras "opens the sky"

What better way to make your MLB debut than belting a homerun as your first big league hit. There was something even better with the dearly departed Oscar Taveras' opening shot. It was like he opened the sky, his surprised teammates noted, as the sun began to break through the clouds on a dreary, misty day in St. Louis. As the young outfielder took in his standing ovation outside the dugout, the rays of light shone in his direction like a celestial spotlight. Rest in peace, Oscar.

Cards pitch in to make it work with Molina out of commission

When Yadier Molina sustained a thumb injury while sliding into third base during an early July encounter with the Pirates, Cardinal Nation collectively held their breath. How would the club sustain itself without a player like Yadi, who not only is famed for his intense coverage of baserunners, but for his leadership qualities and other little advantages he brings to the diamond? Well, last season, we got to find out.

A July 9 entry on my old blog read as follows:

It’s obvious.

It takes a lot to achieve success; especially when you’re on a baseball field. A fluid, hard-working team is what can make the difference between a postgame celebration and dejected walk back to the clubhouse.

But sometimes, in the name of success, one of the links of the analogical chain that comprises a baseball club find themselves knocked out of competition.

Tonight, Yadier Molina found himself in one of those situations, spraining his thumb on a third inning slide into third base. He exited the game after the inning, and his capable backup Tony Cruz replaced him.

Cruz, along with A.J. Pierzynski -- who, as a free agent, was recently picked up by the Atlanta Braves -- and, on a much smaller scale, George Kottaras, picked up Molina's duties for a time and kept the club intact, even without a leader like Molina.

Cards start NLCS on high note

As if they needed to be any closer, as tight-knit as a baseball club can be. Game one of the series with Los Angeles set the tone for what was to come. Despite being down 6-1, the Cardinals showed they still had enough -- and perhaps, more than enough -- fight left in them, as Matt Carpenter's solo homer in the sixth was the prelude to a massive seventh inning, where the Redbirds came alive with eight runs. The Birds withstood a late Dodger rally and took game one in stunning fashion, 10-9.

Seth "Double Play" Maness

It's meant as a higher honor than such a nickname bestowed upon ... some former players, but Maness, in his relief outings, displayed that he had a knack for getting batters to ground into double plays. In 2013, he forced sixteen, while he was responsible for twelve last season.

Through struggles, Waino shows he's still the one

There was a lot of finger-pointing towards Adam Wainwright as his some of his struggles and shortcomings began to show again last season, but through all this, and through all the adversity a season can bring, Waino secured twenty wins and posted the lowest ERA (2.38) of any Redbird starter. Along with Molina, Wainwright is a kind of "face of the franchise," and he showed he still had the power to make that claim last season.

Well, that's my take. Thanks for reading; hope you enjoyed it, at least to some extent.