Cooney, though he probably didn’t deserve to be, was sent down when Steve Cishek was acquired and Jaime Garcia came off the disabled list. He had made his mark in six starts for the Cardinals and was on the short list to be brought back in September. But, after having soreness when he began throwing three weeks after the surgery, Cooney was shut down for the year.

“I wasn’t able to run or anything,” Cooney said. “It kind of stunk. But looking back, there wasn’t much I could have done about it.

“The worry was that, if you came back too soon, you could pull the stitches out and get a hernia. (The doctor) said you’re not going to die if you come back too quick, but if you get the hernia, it’s going to postpone (the recovery).

“It was frustrating that it happened,” said Cooney. “Who knows how the year would have turned out for me?”

Manager Mike Matheny said Saturday, “(Cooney) was terrific. We’ve got a talented kid on our hands. If he doesn’t come down with appendicitis ... I imagine he would have played more of a significant role down the stretch. He was throwing the ball as well as anybody.”