"Ace" has long been a highly subjective title, unless one is discussing fighter pilots, in which case it is a pilot who has shot down five or more enemy planes. In baseball, however, the meaning has been discussed and debated for many years. Is an "ace" a top ten pitcher in all of Major League Baseball? Or is he the best pitcher on his team? Is it based on the best pitcher for that season, or is it the pitcher with the best track record? Is "ace" status season-by-season, or is it for life - once an "ace" always an "ace"? How you interpret the answers to these questions will probably decide your answer to this one:

Is Adam Wainwright still the Cardinals' ace?

Bernie Miklaz seems to think so:

He's still Adam Wainwright. One of the best Cardinals. Ever. Except for his two seasons of being housed on the DL, Wainwright has been an efficient 200+ inning workhorse and I don't see that changing anytime soon. ... He ranks eighth in Cards' history with 121 wins, only seven behind Harry Brecheen and 17 in back of Dizzy Dean ... with 1,326 strikeouts Wainwright is second to Bob Gibson ... Wainwright is 11th in career innings pitched ... Waino's standard ERA, 2.98, ranks fifth .... his fielding independent ERA (2.80) is the best among starters in team history, ahead of Dean (2.92) and Gibson (3.17) ...

Even a slightly diminished Adam Wainwright is still Adam Wainwright. And that name is something opposing hitters have come to dread. Seems pretty "ace"-like to me.

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