Cardinals Prepare For Spring

In one of the surest signs that the winter is thawing and the greatest game on earth is getting close to returning, the Cardinals have announced their spring training non-roster invitees.

The most intriguing name on the list, of course, is Rich Hill.  A former Cubs prospect who turned in a good season with them a few years back, he's bounced around a little bit and never quite grasped that success again.  The Cardinals think that, one, he's healthy (which sounds familiar) and that, two, pairing him with Dave Duncan will help the command issues that he's had in the past.

It's worth the gamble, of course.  Right now the Cardinals still have a competition for the fifth spot in the rotation and you have to think Jaime Garcia wasn't thrilled about hearing this news, while Kyle McClellan really wonders why the club keeps making him think about starting and then put more obstacles in his path.  Hill would have to be the front-runner right now, with his major league experience and obvious talent.

He's got some strikeout potential--he seems to average a little under one per inning--and, save last year when he was hurt and in the American League, he keeps opponent's batting average low.  However, he's been more of a flyball pitcher in the past, so you have to think Duncan is going to rework that mindset somewhat.  It'll be interesting to see if it can be done.

Besides, exactly how much fun would it be to have a resurgent year from a former Cub in a Cardinal uniform?  Just another thing to drive those baby bear fans nuts.

There were some other interesting names that got invites from within the system.  Pete Kozma is going to get some face time, along with Lance Lynn, who was pitcher of the year in the system last year, and Robert Stock, who just was drafted last year.

Kozma is always going to have that "not Rick Porcello" cloud hanging over him, but we'll see what he gets to do in spring training.  He won't make the team--middle infield appears to be the place that the Cards are stocked the most--but maybe he can make an impression.

I'd think Lynn would have had more of a chance to snag that #5 slot if it weren't for the signing of Hill.  I can't imagine they'd move him up from Springfield to the bigs without a dominating spring and a lackluster one from Hill and Garcia.  He's a longshot, but longshots sometimes pay off.

As for Stock, just getting an invite this early in his career is saying something.  You'll remember that he wasn't even the top pick last year--Shelby Miller was--but Stock made an impression in his limited playing time last year.  Plus he's a catcher, and catchers always have work to do in spring training.  I hope he'll get to play in a few games and we can get a feel for what he can do.

Just wonderful to see names and to really start thinking about Jupiter.  There will be lots to discuss then!

Parting note: Personally, I have little use for football.  It's a tolerable game, but I rarely ever watch and think that it gets way too much coverage.  My personal opinion is that the best thing about the Super Bowl is that when it's over, there are only two weeks until spring training.  That said, I have always appreciated Peyton Manning.  I figured it was partly due to his likable presence in commercials and partly because of his cerebral nature of the game.  I didn't realize it's because he's Albert Pujols, but that makes so much sense and completely worth rooting for the Colts in a couple of weeks.


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