Results tagged ‘ Lance Lynn ’

Monday tidbits: Lynn, Wainwright, and… a surprise?

Greetings from Houston, where it’s sweltering hot outside but comfortably air conditioned inside. It’s Star Wars Night at Minute Maid Park, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit curious to see how all that turns out.

Shameless plug: As of now, I’m scheduled to be back on MLB Network’s “The Rundown” again tomorrow afternoon. Subject to change, but looks likely. Usually it’s 2-3 segments between 2 and 4 p.m. CT, talking Cardinals.

As for the tidbits…

* Lance Lynn threw to hitters today for the first time since he was injured. He felt good and he looked pretty good from my seat in the press box.

However, it’s almost completely certain that this IS the endgame for Lynn. He can’t, by rule, be activated before the regular season ends, because he pitched on Aug. 9 and was placed on the 60-day disabled list.  He could, by RULE, be activated for the NLCS if the Cardinals got there. But from various people I talked to today, that’s about a zero percent chance. They’re happy he’s gotten this far, and the focus is on making sure he’s healthy for 2012.

* Adam Wainwright continues progressing. He threw 40 pitches off a mound today, estimating that he was throwing at about 75 miles per hour. He’s still only throwing fastballs, not even changeups — never mind breaking balls. So even more than Lynn, there’s just no way he’s going to throw any competitive innings this year.

* Though Jason Motte has pitched each of the past two days and four out of five, TLR said Motte should be available tonight.

* TLR said that Dave Duncan may fly down to Houston on Wednesday to make a brief visit to the team. It’s uncertain whether he would be around if the Cardinals play beyond Wednesday.

* At the end of his pregame session today, TLR was asked if there was any way his starting rotation plans for this series could changed. He allowed that there is one scenario where they might. Asked if that scenario is a GOOD scenario, he granted that it is.

Asked one more followup, whether that good scenario is one that we have seen before, he said, “no commento.”

So, in short: he’s not going to go into details until it’s a reality. BUT it does seem there’s a possibility that if the Cardinals gain ground on the Braves today and tomorrow, then Wednesday’s starter could change. That is, if they’re actually UP by a game going into Wednesday, it’s conceivable that Carpenter would be held back from that game.

Personally, I think it makes a lot of sense, and it’s what I’d do if I were in the manager’s shoes, IF that situation comes up. If you do it, and you still have to go to a one-game playoff, Carpenter is available to pitch that game. And IF they make the playoffs, it wouldn’t matter whether Carpenter’s last regular-season game was Wednesday or Thursday. Either way, he’d be available for Game 3, and no sooner.

Again, TLR didn’t lay this all out himself. But it’s not all that difficult to put the pieces together and figure it out.

And, finally, the playlist…

The Horrible Crowes, “Behold the Hurricane”
Buffalo Tom, “Paper Knife”
Jason Isbell, “We’ve Met”
Greg Allman, “Just Another Rider”
Manchester Orchestra, “Simple Math”

-M.

Lynn leaves with injury

Lance Lynn was removed from the Cardinals’ game on Tuesday night due to what the club is calling a strained left oblique muscle. No timetable for his potential return was given.

 

Lynn was pitching brilliantly before walking the last batter he faced, pinch-hitter George Kottaras. He had retired five straight batters, three of them on strikeouts, before walking Kottaras.

 

Following the last pitch to the Brewers’ backup catcher, Lynn doubled over in pain. Assistant athletic trainer Barry Weinberg and manager Tony La Russa, among others, came to check on him and Lynn was removed from the game.

 

Octavio Dotel took over for him.

-M.

Saturday non-Furcal tidbits

I and my teammate Ken Gurnick are actively chasing this Rafael Furcal story, but this particular round of tidbits is a Furcal-free zone. Updates from this afternoon in the clubhouse…

 

* Lance Berkman sits once again, but TLR sounded a lot like he expects Berkman to start tomorrow night. Not a guarantee, but he definitely sounded more confident about that than he has in a while.

* The absence of Berkman added up, today, to Skip Schumaker in right field and Ryan Theriot taking his place at second base. Theriot mentioned last night that he has a bit of shoulder soreness, and that’s part of why he’s playing second. But, as I hinted last night on Twitter, it’s hard to see it as total coincidence that Theriot’s first appearance at 2B came just as a potential Furcal deal appeared to be picking up some steam.

* The situation with the backup catchers hasn’t really changed. Tony Cruz is improved and is close to fully available. Gerald Laird is also improving but still basically emergency-only.

* Mitchell Boggs is dealing with another recurrence of the back soreness that has bothered him off and on this year. He’s likely out a couple of days.

* TLR said that although the team is somewhat short on relievers today, he’d still prefer not to use Lance Lynn as a long man.

“But,” he said,” we want to win the game today, and if we need two innings from him, you worry about tomorrow tomorrow.”

* Allen Craig is still not especially close, but TLR said he could conceivably join the club by the end of the upcoming road trip.

And, finally, the playlist, which is another iPhone shuffle special:

Duran Duran, “Hold Back the Rain”
The Killers, “Mr. Brightside”
Joe Jackson, “Breaking Us In Two”
Cold War Kids , “Cold Toes On The Cold Floor”
Violent Femmes, “Confessions”

-M.

 

Holliday, McClellan DL-bound

John Mozeliak just announced that Matt Holliday and Kyle McClellan will be placed on the DL tomorrow. No word on who will take Holliday’s spot. Lance Lynn will take McClellan’s spot and will pitch tomorrow, with everyone else going back one day.

-M.

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 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.

Saturday Spring Training tidbits: Lopez, Boggs, Lynn, more

Every day is prettier than the one before these days in Jupiter. Still sunny, a yet a little warmer again today. It’s feeling like Florida.

* Felipe Lopez made his game debut today, a day earlier than TLR had said yesterday and two days sooner than he had said earlier this week.
“I was going to play him tomorrow,” La Russa said. “But then talking to him yesterday, he said he was OK, ready to go. I said good, there’s a spot. Freese has played two days in a row. We’ll get him out of there and it’s yours.”
* Lance Lynn gave the most impressive performance by a Cardinals pitcher thus far (admittedly, it’s a small selection to choose from) when he went three perfect innings on Friday. It’s way too early to start going crazy about something like this, but Lynn is one of the more interesting pitchers in the system.
“You give him credit for what it is,” La Russa said. “There’s the old thing about early in the spring versus later in the spring. He was able to master command of several pitches, and that usually gives hitters trouble. Now, if he can continue to do that, that’s a good thing to do the rest of the time. Hitters will get a little sharper. But I thought he handled himself as far as cool and composure, I thought that was really good.”
* Mitchell Boggs, meanwhile, had a tough outing in his 2010 debut on Friday. He allowed three runs in his second inning. And just as the manager didn’t get too far ahead of things with Lynn’s good showing, he was equally reserved regarding Boggs’ rocky one.
“It already has been explained to him, and we’ll probably explain it again,” he said. “If you give up some hits, figure out what you could do differently or better, right? If you’re going out there, you hang a breaking ball and the guy pops it up, [and you think], ‘Hey, I had a good outing,’ that’s [not good]. Really, you’re supposed to be very frank with yourself. I think he wants to well because he wants to make the club.”
* The Cardinals play in Fort Myers on Monday (against the Red Sox) and Tuesday (against the Twins), and there will be two buses going each way. Some players will go over Monday, and some will go on Tuesday. Meanwhile, of those who go Monday, some will come back the same day, and some will stay to play the second game.
* Some cuts may come as early as Sunday night before the road trip, and another round could come when the club gets back from Ft. Myers.
Today’s playlist:
Chromeo, “Destination Overdrive”
Iggy Pop, “Nightclubbing”
New Order, “Temptation”
Muse, “Time Is Running Out”
Cut Copy, “Lights & Music”
-M.
| back to blog home |
Theme: MLB “pro” | Get a free blog at WordPress.com
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 18,861 other followers