Thursday lineups from Disneyburg, and one tidbit
Cardinals game notes list Lance Lynn as tomorrow’s starter in place of Chris Carpenter. Here are the lineups:
Cardinals:
1. Schumaker 2B
2. Theriot SS
3. Carpenter 3B
4. Holliday LF
5. Hamilton 1B
6. Craig RF
7. Jay CF
8. Laird C
9. McClellan P
Braves:
1. Prado LF
2. Gonzalez SS
3. Heyward RF
4. Uggla 2B
5. Freeman 1B
6. Ross C
7. Mather 3B
8. Ramirez CF
9. Lowe P
-M.
Wednesday lineups
Wednesday lineups from Roger Dean Stadium:
Cardinals
1. Jay LF
2. Rasmus CF
3. Pujols 1B
4. Hamilton DH
5. Craig 3B
6. Molina C
7. Stavinoha RF
8. Vazquez 2B
9. Greene SS
Westbrook P
Mets
1. Castillo 2B
2. Pagan CF
3. Bay LF
4. Evans 1B
5. Murphy 3B
6. Hairston RF
7. Turner DH
8. Nickeas C
9. Tejada SS
Dickey P
-M.
Wednesday camp tidbits: Optimism (for a change)
A day after Chris Carpenter and Mitchell Boggs got hurt, there seems to be optimism regarding both, and particularly Carpenter.
* I talked to Carpenter this morning and he seemed to be moving around just fine. He said he feels better than yesterday. It sounds like he’s likely to miss one or possibly two starts.
* Did not get a chance to talk to Boggs yet, but TLR sounded optimistic on him as well. I think it’s safe to say that Boggs’ situation is a little less clear than Carpenter’s at this point, but obviously I’ll continue to chase it. We’ll have a story on the site updating both of them soon, and more depth on the situation later in the day.
* David Freese will make his game debut Monday against the Twins in Fort Myers. The official line continues to be that he’s coming along very well. Freese could pinch-hit in the interim.
* No starter has been named for Sunday’s game, which would be Carpenter’s next game.
* TLR expressed little urgency for getting Lance Lynn a start. Lynn will get his innings, but it does not seem to be a priority for him to start a game.
* The manager also said he didn’t do anything special with his lineup against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. He noted that most players will only get one at-bat anyway.
* It appears that Matt Holliday will make the trip to Port St. Lucie tomorrow, while Lance Berkman and Albert Pujols will play in the home game.
And, finally, the playlist:
Jeff Buckley, “Eternal Life”
Garbage, “Vow”
The White Stripes, “The Hardest Button to Button”
Foo Fighters, “Monkey Wrench”
Rage Against the Machine, “Guerilla Radio”
-M.
Cardinals spring rotation adjusted
Pitching coach Dave Duncan said Tuesday that the Cardinals’ rotation for the coming days has been altered.
Kyle McClellan, who had been slated to pitch on Thursday against Nationals in Jupiter, will instead be pushed back to Saturday’s home game against the Astros. Brandon Dickson, who had been scheduled to pitch in relief tomorrow, will now start that Thursday home game.
Saturday, of course, was originally Adam Wainwright’s spot.
The moves make even more abundantly clear that McClellan is the favorite to win the team’s fifth-starter job. Duncan made it no secret that he didn’t want McClellan starting on the same day as Jaime Garcia, because in a couple of weeks they wouldn’t both be able to get all their work on the same day.
Additionally, the adjustments get Dickson and Lance Lynn off of the same day. The two right-handers are likely the leading candidates to step in if McClellan should falter — or if a reliever were to suffer a significant injury, requiring McClellan to return to his relief role.
-M.
Carpenter, Boggs injured
An already trying spring for the Cardinals took another distressing turn on Tuesday when former two pitchers were removed from the team’s Grapefruit League game against the Marlins due to injuries.
Former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter was pulled in the third inning due to a strained left hamstring, while reliever Mitchell Boggs came out an inning later with a lower back strain.
Carpenter had breezed through 2 2/3 innings with scarcely a hiccup before he walked Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan. After the final pitch of Coghlan’s plate appearance, Carpenter walked off the mound and head athletic trainer Greg Hauck came out to check on him. With virtually no delay, Carpenter headed for the dugout.
Boggs came in to replace Carpenter and received an extended warm-up time because of the injury. Boggs struck out Donnie Murphy to end the inning. Carpenter was tended to in the dugout for the remainder of the inning, then left for the Cardinals’ clubhouse with Hauck.
With one out in the fourth and an 0-2 count to John Buck, Boggs pulled up in distress, reaching for his lower back. He was also removed without throwing another pitch, replaced by left-hander Brian Tallet.
Already this spring, the Cardinals have lost co-ace Adam Wainwright to season-ending elbow injury and infielder Nick Punto for 2-3 months due to a sports hernia. Drew Baur, one of the central members of the team’s ownership group, passed away on Feb. 20.
-M.
Tuesday camp tidbits: Berkman and B games
* TLR said that Lance Berkman will be held out of pretty much all throwing for a few days to rest his sore elbow. He’s the starting DH today and won’t be back in the outfield for a few days. He also won’t throw in drills.
* For Thursday’s split-squad day, Kyle McClellan will pitch at home against Washington, while Jaime Garcia will start the game against the Mets at Port St. Lucie.
* No starting has been named for the Saturday game at home against the Astros.
* On March 9, the Cardinals and Braves will play a morning “B” game at the Braves complex, at Atlanta’s request.
* TLR had quite a bit of praise for Adron Chambers and Matt Carpenter this morning. Doesn’t mean either is going to make the club, but safe to say they’ve both made a good impression.
* Albert Pujols is out of today’s lineup but will play tomorrow and Thursday, then skip the trip to Kissimmee on Friday.
Today’s playlist:
Tanya Donelly, “World On Fire”
The Hold Steady, “Arms and Hearts”
R.E.M., “New Test Leper”
Aimee Mann, “How Am I Different”
The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Sidewalking”
-M.
Monday camp tidbits: Game on
* Nick Punto returned to camp Monday, his first day back after having surgery to repair his sports hernia. Punto is walking reasonably well, but that’s all he’s really allowed to do at this point. He also seemed to be in good spirits.
* TLR still seems quite committed to Lance Berkman in the fifth spot in the batting order, and sounds very open to Colby Rasmus in the two spot. Today it’s Ryan Theriot there, but that’s in part because Rasmus isn’t playing today.
* Rasmus and Yadier Molina, two of the regulars not in today’s lineup, are both expected to play tomorrow.
* David Freese, however, is not. Freese will not start any sooner than Thursday’s split-squad game, though he could pinch-hit before then.
* Cardinals players, coaches and TLR met with MLB umpire representatives on Monday morning, a meeting that TLR described as quite productive.
And, finally, the playlist:
Soundgarden, “Pretty Noose”
Rise Against, “Prayer of the Refugee”
Chevelle, “Vitamin R”
Against Me!, “White Crosses”
System of a Down, “Revenga”
-M.
Friday camp tidbits: A (gasp!) normal day?
Greetings from what, at the moment, appears to be a normal, relatively quiet day at camp. Here are some of the tidbits from this morning’s session with TLR. Of course, check the site as the day goes on for fleshed-out versions of most of this, as well as for a feature on Mitchell Boggs.
* Lance Berkman is getting a day off from most of the defensive drills. TLR described it as simply a maintenance day after Berkman went full-on the past two days.
* TLR said that David Freese is feeling great, but that they won’t want to push Freese. As a result, Freese will play some in the early games, but not a great deal. Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso and Ramon Vazquez will all be candidates for a start or two at third base. Tyler Greene will probably play more at shortstop than at third this spring.
* The Cardinals will try to have “coaches’ games” each of the next two days, though it may be tough tomorrow. The club has a Spring Training season-ticket-holders’ reception after tomorrow’s workout, limiting how late in the day they can go. A portion of tomorrow’s workout will take place within the stadium rather than on the practice fields.
* Shelby Miller’s opportunities to pitch in the main ‘A’ games will probably be reduced as a secondary consequence of Adam Wainwright’s injury. The new fifth-starter competition means that more pitchers will be stretched out longer, which could squeeze out some innings for Miller.
* Adam Ottavino is a little bit behind some of the other fifth-starter candidates, in part because he’s coming off of health issues and didn’t pitch at all at the end of last year. TLR said that if Ottavino is the best, the club wouldn’t hesitate to use him, but that he’s definitely starting at a disadvantage.
* Boggs is one pitcher who will NOT be considered to start, despite his past experience.
And today’s playlist…
The Beatles, “Oh! Darling”
Elvis Costello, “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror”
The White Stripes, “Ball & Biscuit”
Keith Richards, “999″
Gregg Allman, “Just Another Rider”
-M.
Club confirms Wainwright surgery
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak announced Thursday morning that, as expected, ace Adam Wainwright will require reconstructive elbow surgery.
Wainwright, 29, will undergo “Tommy John” surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The typical recovery time for a starting pitcher who undergoes the operation is roughly 12-15 months.
The club had expected that Wainwright would need the surgery after the pitcher consulted with Dr. George Paletta, the team’s head physician, on Wednesday. A second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum confirmed Paletta’s findings. Yocum notified Mozeliak of his opinion on Wednesday evening.
“It’s not a real surprise to us this morning,” Mozeliak said, “but certainly a disappointment and a finality to this process.”
A date for the surgery has not been determined, but Paletta will perform the operation.
Punto out 8-12 weeks
Cardinals infielder Nick Punto will be out for approximately 8-12 weeks after being diagnosed with athletic pubalgia, commonly referred to as a sports hernia.
Punto traveled to St. Louis following the club’s workout on Monday and visited a specialist. According to general manager John Mozeliak, Punto will require surgery to repair the condition and will miss the bulk of the first month of the regular season, if not more.
He had been dealing with discomfort in the area of his groin, but remained able to work out. The condition lingered, though, so Punto traveled to see a specialist.
-M.
Matthew Leach
Recent Comments