Adam Wainwright

When you heard about the season-ending injury to St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, you probably immediately wrote off the Cardinals as a World Series contender this year.

You wouldn’t be alone, as many people, including oddsmakers, have pretty much discounted the chances for St. Louis this season without their top pitcher.

That might be a mistake.

Adam Wainwright got a surprise this week.  It has been determined that he will have to endure every pitcher's worst nightmare—Tommy John surgery—and will miss the 2011 season.

Will he ever be the same?

That is the big question not only Wainwright is probably asking, but every baseball fan in St. Louis, as well.

With the recent explosion in the field of sports medicine, all signs point to a successful recovery for Wainwright.

The injury to Adam Wainwright's elbow will officially require Tommy John surgery, ending his season and severely damaging the Cardinals' chances at an NL Central division title.

Now that their season is over before it even began, the Cardinals are going to trade Chris Carpenter, their only remaining ace, and probably try to find a buyer for Albert Pujols, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

They'll probably sell the team, and baseball in St. Louis will be over.

With news of Adam Wainwright’s elbow injury and his impending Tommy John surgery, Dave Duncan has his work cut out for him to get a starting rotation ready for the 2011 season.

Duncan has been the pitching coach for manager Tony La Russa since 1983, when he took over as the pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox. Duncan has been with La Russa ever sense, with stints in Chicago as well as in Oakland and St. Louis.

The 2011 MLB season was supposed to be a season filled with promise and potential for the St. Louis Cardinals. It was supposed to be a season the was to afford the Cardinals a bit of retribution after missing the playoffs in 2010, despite finishing 86-76—heck, even fantasy baseball fans were champing at the bit over the St. Louis Cardinals’ net fantasy baseball value in 2011.

The news officially broke this afternoon: Adam Wainwright will in fact undergo Tommy John surgery costing him the entire 2011 season (and, quite possibly, a good chunk of 2012 as well).

When it became known that Adam Wainwright was injured and may need Tommy John surgery, virtually every sports media outlet was all over it.

like any serious sports fan, questions from every angle must have come to your mind:

"How exactly did he get injured?"

"How will the Cardinals adapt to his injury?"

"Does this affect Albert Pujols?"

However, one person that may be of particular concern is Chris Carpenter.

With that being said, don't be surprised if he moves on. Take a look.

It was announced today that Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals will need Tommy John surgery.

Having been one of the most valuable pitchers in baseball over the last couple seasons, this is a huge blow to a Cardinals team that could be trying to make one last run with slugger Albert Pujols before he tests free agency.

Here's a look at other pitchers who have had the surgery and what it cost their teams.

Begin Slideshow

Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals' ace and arguably their most important player, has an elbow injury GM John Mozeliak called "signficant," according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Wainwright returned to St. Louis to have his right throwing elbow examined after an injury in a bullpen session this week.

According to multiple reports, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright injured his elbow on Monday and will return to St. Louis to be examined by team doctors.

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says he believes it is a "significant injury" and that, "things do not look encouraging."

According to the New York Daily News, Mozeliak revealed, "there is a problem with the ligament...it doesn't look good."