Riley O’Brien got absolutely shelled, giving up that game-winning home run to the White Sox’s Randall Grichuk in the ninth inning. It was a 2-strike, 2-run bomb, the kind that rips your heart out, especially after so many of O’Brien’s recent blown saves. Everyone’s mad, and you see the vitriol all over social media, throwing shade and outright hatred at just O’Brien. But here’s the cold, hard truth: pinning the blame for these crushing losses solely on one guy like O’Brien? That’s just not how baseball works, and it’s certainly not the full picture for St. Louis.
More Than One Guy Blew That Game
Think back to that Saturday night shocker when O’Brien coughed up the lead. Was his pitching terrible? Absolutely. The blown save is a concrete, painful fact, and it deserves every bit of analysis and scrutiny it gets. But you know what else happened? The St. Louis Cardinals left nine runners stranded on base. Nine! That’s a whole lot of missed opportunities to put some distance on the scoreboard and give your closer a real cushion. And let’s not forget Cooper Hjerpe, who gave up four earned runs in relief during the same game. You never hear about those missed chances or other relief woes as much, do you? It always falls on the closer, like some ancient baseball curse. We’ve seen this before, right? Everyone remembers Bill Buckner’s infamous error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, the ball rolling through his legs to give the Mets the win. Most people conveniently forget the Boston Red Sox pounded out 13 hits in that game, yet still stranded eight runners on base. Blaming one guy for a team-wide failure to execute is a story as old as time, but it’s still wrong.
Roster Moves Loom Larger Than One Player’s Fate
Look, I’m not saying O’Brien is innocent. Do I think he should be the St. Louis Cardinals closer moving forward? Nope, I’m firmly in the camp that says it’s time for a change there. Those blown saves are real, and the team needs to address the back end of that bullpen. But suggesting he’s the *lone problem* in these late-game collapses? No way. This goes way deeper than one pitcher’s bad night, or even a few bad nights. It screams “roster construction,” and that’s a conversation we should be having all day, every day. Baseball players are human beings, and we need to remember that. Some in the past referenced Donnie Moore’s 1986 home run to Dave Henderson in the ALCS as a key moment in his eventual suicide. But that’s a gross oversimplification; Moore dealt with depression long before and after that play. One game was never his only problem, and we should always think about the humanity behind the uniform. We can rip into strategy, call for different relievers, and dissect every managerial decision, but laying total blame on one player when the whole game goes sideways? That’s where I draw the line.
The Cardinals have to figure out their bullpen situation, pronto. It’s not just about one guy, but the whole approach to closing games and, frankly, the lineup’s inability to capitalize on chances. They need to get it sorted fast if they want to turn this season around. These kinds of losses can sink a team’s morale quickly as the season winds down.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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