ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals All-Star catcher Yadier Molina will undergo surgery Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and could miss the rest of the season. The team estimated Molina could be sidelined eight to 12 weeks. Hes hoping to make it back in seven or eight weeks. "I almost cried," Molina said before Thursday nights game against the Pirates. "Mentally, its so frustrating. You play hard for something to happen like that, its bad." Molina got the news Thursday morning, three days from his 32nd birthday. The Cardinals left Busch Stadium Wednesday night prepared for the worst news and minor league call-up Audry Perez was already on the way. General manager John Mozeliak said hed be on the lookout for a "stopgap" solution. For now, backup Tony Cruz is the starter for the defending National League champions whove had a rash of serious injuries recently. Lefty Jaime Garcia also will undergo season-ending thoracic outlet surgery Friday to relieve nerve pain and numbness and right-hander Michael Wacha is on the 15-day disabled list indefinitely with a stress fracture in his pitching shoulder. Manager Mike Matheny said its important for the players to just keep going. The first step, he said, would be to consider the series finale against the Pirates as a day off for Molina. "Im going to continue to scream at the top of my lungs that this is an opportunity for us to step up, all of us," Matheny said. "The great players, the great teams, take this stuff and figure out a way to get it done." Molina was injured Wednesday when he planted his hand for balance after sliding feet-first into third base in the second inning. He caught another half-inning before Cruz hit for him in the third. The slide was the same as its always been, except for one critical difference. "This time," he said, "my thumb got stuck in the dirt." Molina said it would take five weeks for the thumb to heal after surgery and then hed begin a rehab program. Matheny said the team had to formulate a rehab plan. Perez was recalled from Triple-A Memphis and will be the backup behind Cruz, who totalled 51 at-bats the first 92 games with a .255 average and eight RBIs and also is a strong defender. "Ive got 100 per cent confidence, I have no doubt he can do it," Molina said. "Tonys smart, hes a good player, a good hitter, a good catcher." Molina was voted to his sixth straight NL All-Star team Sunday and is a starter for the fourth time. He was hitting .287 with seven homers and 30 RBIs and led the major leagues by throwing out 47 per cent of attempted base stealers along with three pickoffs. He has been extremely durable, averaging 135 games the past six seasons. He missed two weeks with a sprained knee last season. Now, hell be an adviser and unofficial cheerleader for the defending National League champions. "I will be in the dugout, Ill be with the team," Molina said. "Im part of the team." The 27-year-old Cruz has been a backup the past four years with 12 starts this season. He had 28 starts both in 2013 and 2012. The 25-year-old Perez was batting .288 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 44 games at Memphis and threw out 29 per cent of base stealers. He played in two major league games last season with one at-bat. Denyi Reyes Red Sox Jersey . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Boston Red Sox Gear . Parmelee hit a game-ending shot in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins overcame David Ortizs big night to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Tuesday. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1441z-bobby-doerr-jersey-red-sox.html .com) - One point guard will return, while another will sit when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks. 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Many have surmised that both Jim and Jim were in on the melee and the whole episode was rehearsed. If thats the case, it did no favours for either party, as Rome in particular struggled to book guests in the wake of the incident. Neither party has ever admitted to staging the fight, and the sentiments were likely real. Either way, Jim Rome was shoved viciously off a riser, so the clip has merit.#3 — Richard Sherman Dismantles Skip Bayless (2013)Even though the past decades increased brand-manicuring has brought forth ghost Twitter writers, interview coaches, and a heavy press release presence among athletes looking to make a statement, baiting and sparring between journalists and athletes continue. Before we get to the clip, lets refresh ourselves of Richard Sherman, the All Pro cornerback of the Seattle Seahawks, who is best known for another interview clip recorded just after this past seasons NFC Championship Game:Ooof, thats good stuff. The kind of interview that makes network executives request everyone stay late in the boardroom and order Chinese. But I fell in love with the good Mr. Sherman a year earlier, during his shredding of Skip "Not At The Top Of His Profession" Bayless:Skip Bayless got what he deserved. Was Sherman cocky, arrogant, quiver-lipped and mean? Sure. Hes an egotistical twenty-something millionaire football player who feels dissed. Skip is a self-serving foghorn and a comfort-of-the-news-desk trash talker who had been relentless in his dismissal of Shermans accomplishments (and this was before the Super Bowl ring). To the Sherman goes the Glory.#2 — The Practice, starring Allen Iverson (2002)Not every athlete takes the stage with a fall guy—sometimes they play that part themselves.dddddddddddd Allen Iverson, not long after winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award in 2001, notoriously did not like pushing himself in practice. Or attending practice. Here, at the podium, he gets heat for consistently skipping team practices, and decides to see if saying one word so many times can truly make it lose its meaning.A.I., even in his day, was undervalued. He is the greatest six-foot tall (or under) scorer in league history, and despite a propensity to forget he had teammates, averaged over six assists per game and led a team to the NBA Finals. He was also a wildly unpredictable man, with a raft of legal, financial, character and assault issues in his past (and present). It will take a special kind of talent to trump his accomplishment.#1 — Ron Artest | A Special Kind Of Talent (2010)I do not want to leave you feeling this collection of interviews is entirely geared to the glorification of scrapping or defensiveness or self-aggrandizing. Some athletes, like NBA All Star Ron Artest, win a big game and want nothing more than to spread the love around:A year after this interview, an entirely calm and well-adjusted Ron Artest would change his name to Metta World Peace, surprising no one.This mesmerizingly odd interview represented a momentous turnaround for the once-villainous Artest. Many criticized the Lakers letting go of an emerging Trevor Ariza after winning the championship in 2009, and replacing him with then 30-year-old Ron Artest, who came with a Himalayan range of baggage.In case you arent aware of, or have forgotten Metta World Artests history, this is why the above video stands as a bizarrely dichotomous moment, though you will likely still discern the thread of crazy running through both videos:>>> Gallays Poll #10Which interview is your favourite?(A) Jim vs. Jim, for the shoving(B) Iverson, for the comfort of repetition(C) Sherman, for the righteousness(D) Artest, for the sobering candour ' ' '