Cardinals camp report
JUPITER, Fla. -- Five things to know about the St. Louis Cardinals:
1. What do the Cardinals have in common with Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton? You can't go more than three seconds without hearing the word "change." The Cardinals likely will open the season with regulars at four different positions. The most noticeable changes will be on the left side of the infield, where Troy Glaus replaces Scott Rolen at third base and Cesar Izturis replaces David Eckstein. "One thing we tried to add is a power bat behind Albert (Pujols)," Cards GM John Mozeliak says. "We think we did that with Glaus." The Cards also will have a revamped outfield with Jim Edmonds gone. Rick Ankiel might open in center field, but rookie Colby Rasmus, who cracked 29 homers at Double-A Springfield last summer, could push himself into the picture.
2. Rough news in the rotation: Ace Chris Carpenter, following elbow surgery, isn't expected back until after the All-Star break and Mark Mulder (shoulder surgery) isn't expected back before June. "Our whole thing is our starting pitching health," closer Jason Isringhausen says. "Stay in contention until we get Carp and Mulder back. That's our main goal. If we're in it when those two get healthy, we'll have a chance. We need to get Mulder healthy." Or, as Mozeliak says, "The key is going to be how healthy our pitching is. That's No. 1, trying to determine where we are with Carp, Mulder and (Matt) Clement. A lot is riding on that. That's really going to dictate the pulse of this camp."
3. Given the Carpenter/Mulder situations, one player whose presence in camp is huge is that of Matt Clement. He didn't play last season following shoulder surgery, and if the right-hander can return to the form when he won 14 games for the '03 Cubs or 13 for the '05 Red Sox, that will be a huge boost. He revamped his throwing program this week to slow down a bit because his arm strength is lacking -- he's now throwing bullpen sessions every four days instead of every two days, which likely will mean he won't be ready for the rotation on opening day. The Cardinals hope he can join the rotation sometime in April, though. "One reason I signed here is their history of bringing guys back, like Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter," Clement said of manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan. "And they haven't just brought people back, they've brought them back to the form they were -- or better."
4. While the defense wasn't nearly as sharp as usual last year -- Eckstein's error total zoomed up to 20 in 2007 from six during the 2006 World Series-winning year -- the biggest frustration for this team was attempting to push runs across the plate. St. Louis ranked 11th in the NL in runs scored (725). "Our goal this year has got to be to score more runs," La Russa says.
5. Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Juan Gonzalez, who didn't play last season, is here as a nonroster player and hoping to regain footing in the majors. If he can still produce with the bat, that would go a long way toward solving the Cardinals' run production woes. La Russa's reaction after watching Gonzalez, Pujols and Glaus hitting in a group this week? "My neck is sore," he joked, turning his head several times in a row to demonstrate watching long fly balls take flight.
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