Just one week after undergoing emergency surgery to remove his appendix, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday hopes he'll be cleared to pinch hit as soon as today, according to Fox Sports Midwest:
Holliday on the lineup card, hopes to be cleared to pinch hit today. More to come...
Holliday was able to avoid the disabled list after a procedure that has put some players on the shelf for up to a month, and if he plays in the Cardinals' weekend series against the San Francisco Giants, it will complete one of the quickest returns from an appendectomy in recent memory.
While Holliday was out, Allen Craig did a pretty good Holliday impression, hitting .333 with a .412 on-base percentage. After Adam Wainwright's season-ending surgery, the Cardinals had to feel a little snake-bit when the news of Holliday's appendicitis came out. But if the damage is limited to only a week of missed time -- and a week that was filled with a hitter who produced, at that -- it seems as if they'll enjoy the best-case scenario.