Yadier Molina is one of the best catchers in baseball, which by extension makes him one of the best players in baseball. There might not be a more valuable Cardinal, even on a team with Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran. So right now, Cardinals fans are holding their breath that Molina is okay after a home-plate collision with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Harrison.

Harrison was trying to score with two outs and the Pirates ahead 1-0 in the second inning when he barreled into Molina, trying to jar the ball loose. Molina held onto the ball for the out, but immediately doubled over in pain. He had trouble standing when he got to his feet, and he was helped off the field.

If Molina is out for an extended period of time, expect another wave of whiny arguments against home-plate collisions. Which is probably a good thing. Look at that play up there. The Cardinals might have just lost their best player during a pennant race because of it. I'll never understand why it's okay to attempt to dislodge a ball intentionally from a mitt in exactly one situation, and why the game would suffer if that were changed.