Injuries and Information

Before we get into who is hurt and other tidbits, let's talk about yesterday's game.  Another loss for the Cardinals, but at least this time the score was respectable.  Adam Wainwright was shaky out of the gate, which wound up being the difference, but he threw five innings (I think the longest start of the spring) and gave up just two runs.  He only struck out one and walked three, but on the whole, a pretty good outing.  He's also apparently impressed one of his former teammates.

Chris Perez, however, really didn't.  He gave up three hits and two walks in his one inning of work.  Amazingly, the only run he allowed was a solo home run.  Still, the knock on Perez has been his control, and that doesn't seem to be corrected yet.  I thought before the spring started that he might go north as a 6th or 7th inning guy, but I think he'll probably wind up starting out in Memphis as their closer.

It was also good to see Juan Gonzalez field without problems.  He's working himself onto this team, I think, though he did sign a minor league contract.  Maybe he could start out in Memphis and then come up if someone flames out.  You hate to see anyone's long-term development stifled by a guy that's at the end of his career, but apparently he can still hit somewhat, so you've got to take a look.

OK, let's take a look at the injury report.  First off, Chris Duncan.  While he wants to stay healthy, his back has kept him out of play for almost a week now.  Duncan is an important part of the team, but he's not a vital cog.  What I mean is, if he was to start the season on the DL, that would help work out some of the outfield jam.  I think he'll be back on the field by the end of the week, but if he's not, that DL stint may be more of a possibility.  According to Derrek Goold, he's supposed to play today, so we'll see if that happens.

Next, Joel Pineiro.  Apparently the shoulder stiffness that he had earlier in the spring has resurfaced.   This is not a good thing at all.  His start Friday was good, but this kind of sounds like Carpenter last year, where he'd throw but then have troubles a day or two later.  If Pineiro goes down, I'd expect the Cardinals will have to look into a Kyle Loshe or something like that.  Sure, there will be a lot of reinforcements coming sometime, but that'd be four pitchers that would start on the DL.

Anthony Reyes is over the flu and will make his next start on Friday.  With his mixed results (one good, one bad) so far in the spring, seeing more of Reyes is probably something most Cardinal fans are hoping for, to get a feel for how he'll be this season.

Finally, Matt Clement is making strides, looking like he'll get a start in the next week or so.  He may not be out very long after opening day, which would be a good thing.  The rotation is going to have enough problems as it is.  He also apparently is listening to advice from Carpenter about rehabbing, not to worry about velocity but more about mechanics.  Carpenter can be a team leader even when he's not on the active roster.

Some lineup discussions.  Looks like Ankiel may be the cleanup hitter, which could be interesting.  If Glaus gets off to a slow start, that could have an impact on what Ankiel sees from the pitchers, which means he may spend most of the first part of the season adjusting as well.

And LaRussa says he went back to the pitcher hitting 9th after '98 because he was "gutless".  Like he said, though, when you are winning, you don't want to be messing with things, and they started winning in 2000.  It will be interesting to see how things go with this lineup this year.  Though, as someone pointed out at VEB yesterday, it will seem kinda stupid when you have a good hitting pitcher like Wainwright hitting before an automatic out like Izturis.

Speaking of, if the Cardinals can eat the money, I really think they should in Izturis's case.  Not only is he not hitting, which is what we unfortunately expected, he also has four errors so far.  Perhaps it's spring and early, but if he can't field, he's completely no good.  If the Cardinals want no-hit, no-field people, let me know where I can apply.

Wainwright doesn't think the rotation is just "holding on" until the big guys come back.  If he can get that attitude into the rest of the rotation and they can pitch up to it, there could be a surprise coming in St. Louis, at least early on in the year.

Other notes: Jayson Stark writes about Scott Rolen and David Eckstein.  It's the second time I've read Rolen say something about "different morals".  I wonder what exactly the issues between him and TLR were.  It sounds like it goes beyond baseball.....Even better (perhaps) than Joe Strauss Live, John Mozeliak will be fielding fan questions tomorrow at the Post-Dispatch site. You can submit your questions at any time, and I'm sure that'll be a fascinating transcript to read....Today's must read is the Five Questions on the Cardinals at Hardball Times, written by VEB founder Larry Borowski.


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