2011 World Series: Loss of Matt Holliday a Huge Blow to Cardinals

When we look back at the 2011 World Series, Matt Holliday's slide into third base won't just be remembered as an inning-killer. It will now be remembered as a series-altering play.

Holliday injured his wrist on the play and has officially been removed from the roster for tonight's Game 7.

Most will look at Holliday's .158 average, .211 slugging percentage and .596 OPS from the series and say, oh well. 

Most will assume Holliday is replaceable. 

Most don't think the star left fielder will be missed for Game 7.

Unfortunately for St. Louis Cardinals fans, most will be wrong. 

Six games just isn't enough to determine a slump. We aren't talking about Carl Crawford here. Holliday is an All-Star and could have broken out with a big game at any time. Now there's no chance for him to do that. 

Furthermore, Matt Harrison is expected start Game 7 for the Texas Rangers. Even if he doesn't last long, starters C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland are available and would likely be the first to spell him.

All three of those guys are left-handed pitchers.

Matt Holliday, of course, is a right-handed hitter.That would have been a nice advantage to have.

Even though Holliday is, oddly enough, a better hitter in his career against right-handed hitting, he's still a .300 career hitter against lefties. Those types of batters are hard to come by.  

It's always important to get as many righties in a lineup against a left-handed pitcher, and the absence of Holliday disallows that. 

Allen Craig is a right-handed hitter, though and he'll be replacing Holliday, so who cares, right?

Well, despite recent play, Craig isn't quite on Holliday's level and he hasn't been as successful against lefties in his short career. Additionally, the loss of Holliday means Craig won't be available as a pinch-hitter. He has been a nice piece off the bench this season for St. Louis and it will hurt to not have him as a backup option.

The Cardinals are a resilient team, obviously. This loss doesn't mean they're doomed. It's just a bigger blow than Holliday's pedestrian World Series might indicate. It always hurts to lose a guy who hits .300 against lefties.