Cardinals camp report | 
Miller's report
JUPITER, Fla. -- Five things to know about the St. Louis Cardinals:
1. St. Louis last fall became the team with the fewest regular-season wins (83) to win a World Series, and things aren't shaping up any easier in 2007. The only returning member from last summer's rotation is Chris Carpenter, who won the NL Cy Young award in 2005 and finished third in '06. Otherwise, the Cards signed free agent Kip Wells, are promoting youngsters Adam Wainwright and Anthony Reyes and are converting Braden Looper from closer/set-up man to starter. That's all, of course, assuming that things go as projected the rest of the spring. If not, the Cardinals will have even more uncertainty in their rotation, and Brad Thompson could emerge.
2. Catcher Gary Bennett, Yadier Molina's backup, on the seismic shift in the rotation: "You've got Looper, who hasn't started but who has been in the game a long time and has had some success in the ninth inning. It's not like he doesn't have the capability of going out and dominating a game. Reyes, Looper and Wainwright, I think there is tremendous upside with all of them. And Wells, I always felt he was nasty."
3. No interruption from spring training for a White House visit for these World Series champs. The Cardinals already visited, back in January. "It was impressive, to say the least," Bennett says. "You get to meet all of the VIPs, wonder around the White House. It's surreal." Yes, they rolled out the red carpet for the Redbirds, but only to a point. The nuclear codes? "I think they kept that under lock and key," Bennett says.
4. Tough camp in the early going: Shortstop David Eckstein, the World Series MVP, has been sidelined by a strained left side; second baseman Adam Kennedy by an oblique strain; outfielder Juan Encarnacion is recovering from wrist surgery; and center fielder Jim Edmonds is on hold while recovering from postseason toe and shoulder surgeries. Kennedy seems to be the perfect fit at second. "The way he played in California, and the way we try to play here, there are a lot of similarities," manager Tony La Russa says. "He's the same every day, and the execution and effort are always there. That's the way we try to play."
5. If the rotation falls into place, the Cardinals might have one of those good problems to solve midseason when lefty Mark Mulder returns. He's ahead of schedule, which means he could be ready to return sometime in June, rather than his projected date of July. He says he feels good and is happy with his progress, and though he's moving along, he also says that it's nice to return from shoulder surgery with seven years in the league -- meaning, he's established himself enough that he doesn't feel he has to rush back to keep his job or prove anything. One thing about Mulder and his status: The Cards project to open the season with an all-right-handed rotation, so his presence -- whenever he returns -- will be welcome.
Sportsfan4EVA 
