Wainwright still savors all the closing moments

~ After a sensational rookie season, Wainwright is ready to serve in a starting or closing role.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright lived out a boyhood dream in October as he recorded the final out for St. Louis' 10th World Series championship.

Less than three months following the championship, Wainwright already is being tentatively penciled into the Cardinals' 2007 starting rotation. Wainwright, along with Cardinals teammates Tyler Johnson, Chris Duncan and John Rodriguez were in Cape Girardeau at the Osage Community Centre on Sunday night to answer questions and sign autographs as part of the annual Cardinals Caravan.

"When you're in the backyard and 8 years old, every time you throw the ball to someone you're playing it out like it's two outs in the World Series," Wainwright said. "It was just a dream come true in every aspect."

Wainwright, a starter through the majority of his minor league career, won a bullpen spot out of spring training last season. During the regular season, Wainwright was one of the Cardinals' most reliable relievers as the 6-foot-7 rookie posted a 3.12 ERA in 75 innings. Wainwright was 2-1 with three saves and struck out 72.

"As soon as that fifth inning came around ,something clicked inside you, and we knew it was game time," Wainwright said of working out of the bullpen.

The right-hander's role became even more important late in the season when Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen was lost to injury. Wainwright was inserted into the closer's role, and in the playoffs Wainwright had a 0.00 ERA with four saves and a win as he closed out all three series.

"It's pretty special," Wainwright said. "[Chris] Duncan told me on the trip that forever you'll be a World Series hero. I really hadn't thought about that before, but I think there's a lot of heroes on this team. We kind of came out of nowhere."

In a postseason of memorable performances from Wainwright, one which will likely stick out for years to come is his bases-loaded strikeout of Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran to clinch the Cardinals' World Series berth. Wainwright was asked to describe the at-bat by a local fan.

"I didn't feel a whole lot," Wainwright said. "I was pretty excited. I worked myself into a little bit of a pickle. After the first two batters I settled down and felt confident I was going to get out of it. Once I got him down 0-2, I knew I had him. I knew it was over."

The statement drew applause from the large crowd, which had little trouble recalling that tense, victorious moment in the National League Championship Series.

The departures of Jeff Suppan and Jason Marquis, along with the possible departure of Jeff Weaver, has opened a potential spot in the rotation for Wainwright. During the 2005 season at Memphis, St. Louis' top minor league affiliate, Wainwright led the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched (182) and went 10-10 with a 4.40 ERA with 147 strikeouts in 29 starts.

"I'm open to the challenge of starting," Wainwright said. "I don't think that's set in stone. It depends on Izzy's health. I think I can help the team either way."

Wainwright's future has been a major source of conversation for Cardinals fans throughout the winter. So far, Wainwright has yet to make a start at the Major League level. Wainwright, who has appeared in 63 regular season games after making his debut with the Cardinals in 2005 in two late-season appearances, doesn't mind the offseason attention.

"That is nice. It's something I'm definitely not used to," Wainwright said. "Everyone in the past years typically asked if I'd be in the big leagues."

Wainwright said heading into spring training he does not have a preference as far as starting or relieving, he is just fighting for a spot on the roster.

"I think it's too early for me to say," Wainwright said. "We'll have to wait and see how spring training goes."