Why A.J. Pierzynski Is the Key for the Cardinals for the Rest of the NLCS

After being designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox earlier this season, St. Louis Cardinals catcher A.J. Pierzynski has become the most important player for the Redbirds in the NLCS.

Pierzynski will take over the catching duties for the injured Yadier Molina. Molina has earned the reputation of being a sort of "pitcher whisperer," due to his great work with the Cardinals pitching staff. Over the last six seasons, Cards starters have not recorded an ERA higher than 3.74 (2011). 

Combine that with Molina's career .284 batting average, and it's obvious that the loss of its perennial All-Star is a huge blow for St. Louis.

Fox Sports presented the following graphic to detail Molina's importance to his club in 2014.

Oblique injuries normally hamper athletes for extended periods of time (Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis missed a month with a similar injury this season), so expecting Molina to play again in the NLCS is a long shot.

Enter Pierzynski. 

The 37-year-old veteran barely even made the NLCS roster after Mike Matheny decided to leave him off the Cards' NLDS roster.

To illustrate the unlikelihood of Pierzynski's inclusion into the Cardinals lineup, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted this fact.

Despite Pierzynski's rare usage down the stretch, the Cardinals are fortunate to have him now in such a heated series.

This is especially true when you consider his previous performances in the postseason, where the slugger has produced some of his best work.

In 30 career games in October, he has posted a .300 average and a .892 OPS. That includes a whopping .444 average and 1.879 OPS in 2005, when the White Sox won the World Series.

Here is Pierzynski mashing two home runs in the 2005 playoffs while with the White Sox. 

Yet any impact he has at the plate will be just a bonus for the Cards. Pierzynski's sole focus needs to be on the careful handling of the club's pitching staff.

The native New Yorker proved to be up to the challenge in Game 2.

After surrendering four runs in the first inning, he helped guide John Lackey through five consecutive scoreless innings. With the help of Pierzynski, Lackey was able to give the Cardinals quality innings that allowed the offense to chip away at the Giants lead. In Lackey's final five innings, he allowed only one hit.

Although the Cardinals ended up losing the game in extra innings, the performance of the Lackey/Pierzynski battery should give their fans hope for the remaining games.

The Giants may not have used the long ball since Game 2 of the NLDS, but their offense remains effective due to their pesky approach. In 103 NLCS at-bats, S.F. has struck out only 11 times.

The club's game plan can be summarized perfectly by the below quote from manager Bruce Bochy.

San Francisco's ability to get on base, put the ball in play and move runners makes the team incredibly tough to pitch to. The team's tendency to battle deep into counts will make Pierzynski's game-calling sequences crucial for the Cardinals. 

The loss of Molina may be a tough blow for the Cards, but the team remains talented enough to reach the World Series. If they are to do so, A.J. Pierzynski will need to turn back the clock and replicate his career postseason success.