View from the booth: Waino rooting hard as ever for Cards teammates
ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright joined Dan McLaughlin and Rick Horton in the FOX Sports Midwest broadcast booth during Monday night's game against the Brewers.
Wainwright, who's out for the season after injuring his Achilles in April, says everything is on track in terms of his recovery. Big No. 50 is currently able to put 50 percent weight down on his leg, and said "everything is going to plan" in regard to his rehab work.
Here are some of the highlights from Waino's time in the TV booth.
How ya feeling?
"I'm feeling great, I really am. Listen, the best thing I can do is make the most out of the situation I'm in and try to help this team any way I can and show up as a positive influence. The worst thing I can do is show up, be a poor sport about things and pout about it and bring everybody down. So I'd rather be here with this team helping them win games."
Have you learned anything from the couch?
"Well, it's amazing how easy the game is from the couch. You know, when you step away from it you forget how fast the game is played and how easy it is to make mistakes. And sometimes I'm sitting there going, 'How could he possibly think that was the right pitch right there?' -- watching any game -- or, 'I can't believe he didn't hit that out of the park.' But you know, baseball is so fast at this level, and it's so highly skilled, that it's an incredible game. These guys are the best players in the world. So I'm just having so much fun right now watching the great level of talent that's around Major League Baseball."
How have you stayed so positive?
"I'm trying to decide if it's a good-luck charm, you know? Last time I got hurt we won the World Series. And as much as I love the Cardinals, this is my last time I intend to get hurt so we can win the World Series. I would love nothing more for us to go out there and do that this year and hopefully, I'm pitching in October. I mean, that's my goal, is to be getting outs in October. But we'll see how that goes."
How are you able to be part of the clubhouse while hurt?
"I've got a great situation here. This team has embraced me, these Cardinals fans have embraced me. This organization has embraced me and made me feel welcome. And they let me know from a very early position in this that I was welcome, that they wanted me here as part of this team. And several guys said, 'You are staying with us, right? We want you here.' And that means so much to me. You know, I think when I'm done playing, and you probably know this, Ricky, as well as anyone, but when you look back, it's the relationships you build and your status in that clubhouse when guys can look back and say, 'Man, he was a great teammate. We loved having him around.' That's like the highest honor you could ever get, I think. And so I'm trying to instill that every day in the clubhouse, and I want to be that guy that people can come to with questions. I want to be that guy that's rooting for the team at the end of the year on the bench, whether I'm playing or not. And so I just want to be a positive influence. I want to help this great Cardinals club win a World Series."
Watch the full FOX Sports Midwest in-game interview by clicking here.
You can follow Jase Bandelow on Twitter at @JASEBANDELOW or email him at jase.bandelow@foxsports.net.