MINNEAPOLIS -- Not long after Cardinals ace and NL starter Adam Wainwright exited the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, he talked to reporters about giving up a well-struck lead-off double to retiring legend Derek Jeter of the Yankees.
With regard to whether or not he pitched accommodatingly to Jeter, Wainwright didn't flinch. 'I was going to give him [Jeter] a couple of pipe shots,' he said. 'I didn't know he was going to hit a double, though.'
That's a pretty stirring admission. It's surprising perhaps that Wainwright would do that in a game that determines home field advantage in the World Series, but it's more surprising that he would publicly cop to it.
For what it's worth, here's a look at the two pitches he threw to Jeter in the first:
The first pitch was a fastball low, and the second pitch -- the one that was hit for the two-bagger in question -- was a cutter ...
... that didn't really cut. Yep, that's in the wheelhouse.
Still, the fact that the first pitch was a ball and the fact that second pitch was a fastball designed to run away from a right-handed batter like Jeter perhaps countervails Wainwright's claim a bit.
That said, if you are going to put it on a tee for Jeter out of a sense of ceremony, then why would you say so later? Doesn't doing so undermine the very moment you were trying to help create for Jeter? To say the least, it was very odd decision for Wainwright to talk openly about doing what he claims he did.
Post By http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24622684/wainwright-suggests-he-grooved-pitch-to-derek-jeter-in-all-star-game
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