Don't worry, it's all an illusion

I hope no one was too worried. 

Wow, has it really been that long?

Anyway, all is well. Things have changed quite a bit since I've been gone, though. Both in my life and in the baseball world.

Ups and downs doesn't quite accurately describe the intense losses and breath-taking highs that have defined the Cardinals these last 10 years.

We won in 2011. And what a win.

 

 

David Freese, everybody.

Oh, and I may or may not have sent Nelson Cruz a fruit basket after Game Six. 

Albert moved on. 

 

Greener pastures or whatever. I was angry. Hurt. Confused. Inconsolable. Then I got over it.

Chris Duncan passed on. 

 

He's playing left field in Heaven, I have no doubt. And if he isn't, then I don't want to go.

Tony spent a day in jail for "driving while entitled."

 

Maybe that wasn't the exact charge, but close enough. 

Anthony Reyes became an LA County fire fighter. 

And proved once and for all that he is the hero I always knew him to be.

Jason Isringhausen was inducted into the Cardinals HOF and the Missouri Sports HOF. 

*swoon*

 

The team barely looks the same and yet it's still the Cardinals we know and love. Life is funny. And sad. And millions of other adjectives depending on a million things. 

I only wish I could have some of those moments back. 

p.s.  I know there are maaaaany more significant things that have happened, these are just the ones that popped into my head first. 

the worst thing ever

I missed pitching tuesday

Early this morning, I realized that I promised to break out my newly invented word for you, and I have yet to deliver on that. So here you go.

embirded (adj.) adorned or decorated with birds or images of birds. «The Cardinals wear embirded uniforms; The Cardinals' jerseys are embirded; Which ones are the Cardinals? The embirded ones.»

You're right, it's not that impressive. But it will save me precious seconds that I would normally have wasted saying things like, "Their jerseys are adorned or decorated with birds or images of birds," and "The Cardinals are the ones with jerseys adorned or decorated with birds or images of birds." So you see, it's all in the spirit of time management. Feel free to use it and save yourself some time.

In other news, Troy Glaus sailed out to LA yesterday to have a "routine" examination of his recently surgically "repaired" shoulder. At least that's what we've been told. If you'll recall, we were told lots of fantastical things about his health in the recent past, and then he went and needed surgery. I take everything coming out of Cardinals camp with a big ol' grain of salt, and I'd advise you to do the same.

We're getting closer and closer to the end of Spring and the beginning of the regular season, and while not everything has gone exactly as hoped (or planned) this Spring, things could definitely be worse (knock on wood). To recap, we replaced some of the left-handed parts, cleaned out the entire middle infield (more or less), and re-hauled some broken down arms. Matthew Leach may be a closet Cubs fans, but I'm looking forward to a very competitive season from the embirded ones.

Fantasy Alert: I'm checking every day for Izzy to make the Rays' major league roster so I can add him to my team. I'll let you know how that goes.

a few (more) bits

I read the scouting reports and descriptions of players' abilities, and I understand (some of) the statistics and how they correspond to success in the big leagues, but all the words and abbreviations and numbers in the world can't compare to actually making visual contact with a player--seeing him do what he does--when it comes to deciding if I like his stuff. (Now, of course, my opinion means very little to anyone but me, but given the choice between reading mountains of other people's opinions or drawing my own conclusions about a player's worth, I'd much rather see him for myself.) 

So when I finally got to see Dennys Reyes pitch an inning today, I was very excited. I was even more excited after he finished, because it went well. Seeing a LOOGY who can actually face more than one batter at a time is encouraging, because Tony's management style when it comes to the lefty specialists, to put it mildly, could use some work. 

Chris Perez, on the other hand, gave up the tie-breaking winning run to the 'Stros and didn't have much command. I guess that's part of the idea behind Spring Training, though, isn't it? Real game situations that allow you to see where you need work, without the threat of a "permanent record" hanging over your head. Well, if you say so. 

Derrick Goold has a wonderful series going on for the P-D in which he asks some very random (and rarely baseball-related) questions to baseball players. His latest "P-DQ" was with Todd Wellemeyer, and if you haven't read it, READ IT. Right now. Just go. He (DG, not TW) is also going to be a guest on the UCB's weekly podcast tonight (and for all my 31 years I still have no idea what exactly the term "podcast" refers to, but it calls to mind terrible images of pod people) and talk about everything Cardinals you can imagine for an hour or so. (But probably no extraterrestrial parasites. Probably.) 

I was looking over some predictions I made back in January about what the off-season would bring (or not bring, as it were), and so far, I'm doing pretty well. Look out for more predictions at the end of March. The UCB's next scheduled project will cover how we think the AL, NL, and post-season will break down, and posts should start going up on Monday. There may be a little bias showing when it comes to the NL Central, but they should be good reading anyway.

a is for anchor

I really meant to write earlier today, but you know how time can get away from you when you're procrastinating. 

First, some catching up on the Roundtable, since the last question was asked today and will be posted tomorrow over at C70 at the bat. Recently, 5 O'Clock Blogger took on the Mark McGwire issue, 4thebirds covered the Cardinals' offseason approach, and The Redbird Blog asked us for our bold predictions for 2009. Stop by and find out what we had to say on the subjects. 

Next up, some of the comings and goings at Camp Cardinal. Chris Perez is having arm issues, and seeing as he's a pitcher, this figures to affect his "employability". Jason Motte pitched a four-out save today (I tuned in just in time to hear it) and sounded pretty good. The twitter buzz has it he's working a slider. Izzy pitched an inning against the 'Birds (a scoreless fifth), which I was lucky enough to miss. (sniff) Be careful with my guy there, Joe Maddon. He's sensitive. 

The new Play Like a Cardinal commercials are up on the Official Site for your viewing pleasure. I like 'em all, but my favorite (believe it or not) is Yadi's. I've often wondered if he could block balls with his eyes closed. (His was my favorite last year, too, in which he caught two pitchers at the same time. Classic.) I was hoping they'd find a way to feature Chris Duncan in some sort of Bionic Man-type "we can rebuild him, we have the technology" sequence. Maybe next year.

can you feel it?

I admit I may have reached a little too far into the jar of depression over Izzy, but it was what I was feeling and I've found that it's better to acknowledge your emotions and work through them rather than try to ignore them or cover them up. At any rate, it doesn't really matter how I feel or what I want, because St Louis was not Izzy's home any longer. In reality, it was probably best for everyone involved that he did move on to another team. I hope he can get his stuff back together and earn a spot in the Rays' bullpen, and I wish him all the luck in the world. (I can say that without prejudice because we don't see Tampa at all during the regular season. No qualifiers necessary. Besides which, even if he were pitching at Busch for the road team, I'd set aside my Cardinals loyalties long enough to see him sit down three straight, just because I think there are some "fans" out there who need to see what he can do. Obviously I'd still want the Cards to win, just not on Izzy's back. Wow, that sounded a lot more vindictive than I'd planned. Oh well.) I hope I didn't offend anyone with my ranting. :)

Now on to other things.

Every time I start to write something about Carp, I get this ominous feeling, like I'm pushing the limits or tempting fate, and I certainly don't want to do that. But the news coming out of camp about his progress is just so ridiculously encouraging (I mean, seriously, "tickled pink"? Who knew Dave even had that in his vocabulary?) that it seems equally wrong to neglect the subject entirely.

I really do feel good about this season. Maybe it's the "kool-aid" as everyone says, or maybe it's the sunny, happy pictures full of batting practice and infield drills and players working on writing their upper-case alphabet with baseballs. Or maybe it's the months of baseball-less-ness that has eaten away at the important parts of my brain.

Have you ever played that game where you stand in a doorway, arms out (as far as they'll go) and push out and up on the door frame for about 30 seconds (as hard as you can without actually doing structural damage)? Then you walk away and relax your arms and they just kind of float toward the ceiling? You should try it.

That's what it feels like (after months of no baseball) when we finally get baseball back. It's like floating. I can't wait.

no, I don't want to talk about it

the elephant in the room

Don't think for a second that I haven't been keeping my eye on the rumors revolving around a certain free agent (and thus un-signed) oser-clay. However, the more I follow baseball, the more ridiculously superstitious I become. (It's weird, really. I think Tony's rubbing off on me.) Therefore, I will abstain from commenting lest I jinx anybody or anything.

Spring Training sounds like it's off to a roaring start with the only no-show so far being Troy Glaus (who is currently recovering from alleged shoulder surgery and wouldn't be much use to anyone, anyway). Ludwick even showed up early, hoping to avoid an arbitration hearing in Phoenix tomorrow, a prospect which sounds more and more likely with each passing minute. Done. Honestly, after paying Adam Kennedy $4 million to am-scray (no, I don't know what's up with all the pig latin), I find it passingly amusing that the Cardinals' front office is being so stingy with two guys who will actually contribute to the team this year.

Of course, the big Cardinals news swirling all over the wide world of baseball involves (of course) Albert. Actually, there are two pieces of news about el hombre: (1) he won't be representing RD in the upcoming WBC (and depending on how you look at it, this could be good or bad news), and (2) he recently made some cryptic remarks to reporters at camp concerning his future as a ballplayer.

First, I guess it's okay that Sir Albert (not my favorite of his nicknames) won't risk injury by playing games that don't matter to the Cards (although if you wanted to argue you could say that ST games don't really matter either) at least as far as the standings. The counter-point here is that in 2006, he seemed to get a boost from playing for RD and started the season like a bat outta hell. Either way, with his elbow being the concern it is, it's probably best not to tempt fate.

Second, when Albert says that he'll sign with the team that shows that most commitment to winning, you have to admire his motivation. He's not after the biggest paycheck or the most glory, he just wants to be on a team that competes. Therefore, in 2011, when he becomes a (deep breath) free agent, if the Cardinals aren't that team, then I'll gladly bid him "God speed" because he's right. For as long as he's been on the team, the Cardinals have been (more or less) serious competitors. Even when they haven't made it to the post-season, they have put a good product on the field, and they have done what it takes to win. This year promises to show us more of the same. If this (somehow) changes dramatically over the next three seasons (leaving St Louis in the basement of the division and fans calling for Mozeliak's head), then Albert probably would be better off playing somewhere else. On the other hand, if we continue to be one of the biggest spenders with one of the largest fan bases, winningest records, and most impressive attendence figures, then I can't imagine AP finding a better home in baseball, assuming, that is, he's honest about his motives. (That last part was just to see if you were still awake....) So you see, I'm not worried. And I don't think you should be, either.

¡Saludos!

snoitciderp

What a fabulous idea! (Are you allowed to use the word fabulous on a baseball blog? Ah well....) John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has written a list of predictions, but it's not exactly what you think. He predicts what the Reds aren't going to do as the off-season progresses. Yes! I thought so too!

So sin más preámbulos, here's what I predict the Cardinals aren't going to do between now and, say, the beginning of Spring Training.

I'll start off with some easy ones.

(1) The Cardinals aren't going to bring Russ Springer back. Maybe this is cheating since they just officially announced it, but after reading his remarks, I think this will turn out to have been a mistake. However, as I may have mentioned before, no one ever asks me.

(2) The Cards won't sign any more middle infielders. Short is set. Second is all but set. The role of the utility man (formerly played by Supermiles) will now be played by someone who's already on the payroll. What with the salaries we have and the surplus of young talent, the only thing yet to be decided is how Tony's going to work 154 different lineups out of what he's got.

(3) The Cards won't bring back Izzy. As much as it saddens me to admit, I don't think Jason has a home in the organization anymore. I won't get up on my soap box right now, though. I'll spare you that.*

*This doesn't mean I'm ready to take his name off the roster, however.

(4) The Cards won't sign any of the big name free agents still on the market. Sheesh. Did I startle you with that one? If so, you haven't been paying attention. (Just to clarify, if the 'Birds do bring in another starter, it'll be someone nearly unheard of.*)

*I'm still hoping for Andy Pettitte, but I'm trying to be realistic here.

Now on to the harder stuff.

(5) The Cards won't sign Ankiel to a long-term contract. Even if he does get a one-year arb deal for more money than he made last year, he is (a) represented by the baby-eater, and (b) far too valuable for the likes of our outfield. Either he'll get traded for some pitching help, or this will be his last season with the club that grew him.

(6) The Cards won't designate a "closer". This will continue to be a sore spot with both management and fans, but lacking a veteran with big league closing experience, Tony will allow the duties to be split between Perez, Motte, and Franklin, much like last year.

(7) The Cards won't trade Schumaker. Ludwick had a spectacular season last year, and Ankiel is our own little living piece of history, but either of them is worth more than Skip overall. Therefore, his head is safe as long as the outfielder market isn't completely dried up.

(8) The Cards won't count out Carpenter until his arm literally falls off on the mound. And can't be sewn back on. Or duct taped. And he can't learn to pitch left-handed. You will never hear Mozeliak (even as prone as he is to choosing the wrong words) say that Carp is done unless he is really, truly, completely done. And by that I mean dead.

It's hard to imagine things going any more slowly, but I also know that there's still plenty of time, and it's not like the Cards haven't done anything. I'm just trying to stay awake.

arbitration deadline

Today is a big day of sorts. Free Agents must be offered arbitration by their current teams today if they are going to offer. This affects us regarding the three ranked FAs we have--Springer, Looper, and Izzy--and to a lesser extent, our unranked FAs--López, Izturis, and Villone--and the two FAs who are pretty much done with baseball (although one of them may not have realized it yet) but filed anyway--Encarnación and Mulder.

Players have until the 7th to accept arbitration (or not), and then in January the legal and financial aspects get worked out.

Whether these players will be offered arbitration, whether they will accept, and whether they will end up signing with the Cardinals anyway will not have too much effect on the team, as far as I can tell. Matthew Leach has a good break-down of the specifics over at MLB.com.

I can tell you that I hope we end up re-signing three of these players. It doesn't really matter to me if it's a result of arbitration offers or not. Hopefully there'll be some news soon.

in a pitching-tuesday tizzy

According to DG (winner of Best Professional Cardinals Blog in the 2nd annual Cardinals Blogger Awards),

Isringhausen, the club's all-time saves leader who is seven shy of 300, will meet with the Cardinals' team doctor next week to have his surgically repaired elbow examined and to get clearance to begin upper-body workouts and throwing. Isringhausen has received interest from four teams, including the Cardinals, said his agent, Horwits.

If you're familiar with my loyalties, you already know that I'm doing a little dance right now, and for two reasons. (1) Other teams are hypothetically interested in Izzy, which means he hasn't been written off by all of baseball, hypothetically. And (2) the Cardinals may also be interested, which means he could very well be playing for St Louis next year which would make me very happy which means I dance, hypothetically. Or rather, the happy is hypothetical. The dancing is merely figurative.

Arthur Rhodes. Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about this, except that in conjunction with the alleged negotiations going on with Trever Miller, it's starting to feel like Moze has moved away from the wait-and-see tactics and is now actively pursuing relievers in a confusing display of pseudo-aggression. It's kind of like after the school-yard bully lays out some poor kid in the dirt, and then while his back is turned, the dirty, picked-on kid makes a face or gives him the finger. It's only safe because the bully can't see him. Get it? It's like telling your friends that "if that jerk were here right now, I'd tell him off." Of course, the jerk is nowhere around, and if he were, you wouldn't say a thing. That's how it feels, anyway.

I choose to believe that mean people are just ignorant, that the rosary hanging from my rearview mirror is good luck, that every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings, and that Dave Duncan is just trying to be utterly realistic when he says this.

Oh, ho, ho... I just saw this over at MLB Trade Rumors:

The Cubs are hoping a market forms for Jason Marquis, and are willing to eat salary "within reason."

Picture me smiling.

wish list

Josh Johnson. Maybe a pipe dream ('cause if I were the Marlins I wouldn't let him go), but I wish it nonetheless. (Update: signed a one-year deal to start for the Marlins in '09)

AJ Burnett. I think if we begged enough (and maybe threw in a few dollars) he'd be happy to come to STL. (Update: signed a pretty big contract with the Yankees)

Brian Fuentes. A lefty and a late-innings guy. Can you beat that? (Update: Too expensive, too specialized and too biased towards his home-town team)

Cole Hamels. Yeah, I know. I can still dream, though, right? (Update: Ha ha)

Jason Isringhausen.

Anybody from the left side. (Update: I guess this qualifies.)

The 1987 version of Ozzie Smith.

Carlos Zambrano.

Andy Pettitte.

the end of an era?

Tony said this about Izzy, "I told him to get the thing fixed and plan on pitching next year." 

Poor Jason. I wish the season could have ended differently for him. I wish Cardinal Nation had been more understanding when he wasn't pitching his best. I wish we could have gotten him 7 more saves. 

Maybe Tony's optimism means we shouldn't discount seeing Izzy in a Redbirds uniform next season. He has done such a good job (when he's healthy) as a reliever that it would be a real tragedy for him to go out on a bad note instead of with the ovations and applause that we know he deserves. 

I'm already calling on the organization to retire #44, just not quite yet. 

In other news, Wainwright will be back in the rotation on Friday. I guess this means we shouldn't expect to see Carp for a while. Adam sounds chipper and hopeful and healthy. 

The issue with Kyle Lohse and a five-game suspension has me completely dumbfounded. I totally wasn't expecting it, mostly because you usually only see suspensions after ejections, and there was no ejection (and if there had been it would have to have been an ejection of Volquez rather than Lohse). So the fine and 5-game penalty was kind of shocking. Kyle called it "pretty weak" and I'm inclined to agree. Especially considering that Volquez received no punishment even though he put two pitches close to batters' heads and hit Lopez in the back. What a load of manure. I'm glad he's appealed it and I hope they repeal the suspension.

small snippets of a conversation with myself

Here's what I know for sure...
(1) The team that lost to the Bucs last night will not get anywhere near the playoffs.
Whoever that team was...

Do I mean I don't think it was the Cardinals? Besides the ugly, ugly misplays by Molina, nothing seemed too far out of the ordinary. Looper gave them every chance. The bullpen gave up important runs. The offense was nowhere to be found (at least until the ninth inning).
Oh, and you can't really blame Barton for swinging through that pitch.
So if it wasn't the Cardinals, then it hasn't been the Cardinals all year.

In defense of my statements, they were playing the Pirates. And that game was revolting. In fact, so bad that I actually considered turning it off.

(2) Whatever else happens this season, they have got to start playing better at home.

Agreed.

(3) I still love Yadi.

No one can be perfect every game, but where was his head?

Not that he carries all the blame. If Mac hadn't kept putting runners on, there wouldn't have been a play (or lackthereof) at the plate. And likewise, if Yadi had thrown to first to get the sure out, Kyle may have been able to pitch out of it.

(4) There was no justice for a pitcher who went seven and only gave up one run.
Looper has been pretty good his last three or four outings. When Miles came up in the bottom of the seventh to pinch hit, I was yelling so loud it's entirely possible Tony actually heard me. Unfortunately, he didn't listen. "Noooo!" I screamed. "Leave Looper in! Let him hit for himself!" But to no avail.

(5) As heart-breaking as the loss was last night, losing Izzy will prove to be a far more devastating loss.
And I don't want to hear a single negative word about it. Izzy is a trooper. He's an excellent pitcher, teammate, and mentor, and the Cards won't be the same without him.

The worst part: his contract is up after this year. What will the future hold for Jason?

a few notes

What's new? 

►Chris Duncan (as I may have mentioned) will have surgery tomorrow to try and repair a herniated disc in his neck. You're in my thoughts, Chris.

 

Symbiotic relationship?

►Izzy pitched a four-out save last night. He's up to 293 now. 

►Ryan Franklin has some sort of growth on his face (mostly around his mouth and chin) that could well be controlling him. He and the growth pitched out of a jam in the top of the ninth tonight to keep the Phillies to a one-run lead.

 

►The Cardinals released Matt Clement today. I wondered for a while if anybody even remembered he was around, and now I guess I have my answer. Apparently, he couldn't get his sinker down and was just generally a disappointment. Now there's room on the roster for someone more productive. 

►Wainwright (I refuse to call him Wain-o no matter what you do to me) pitched around eighty pitches at 100 percent today and said he felt great afterward. His "In My Own Words" segment is on FSN right now. 

►Ludwick has three home runs in the last two games. 

►Glaus is cold. Ice cold. But he can still draw walks. 

►I can't wait to see Manny Ramirez in the next series. I like Manny even if Rick Horton does too.

no comment

Since my predictions, hopes, ideas (basically anything I put down) means bad luck for the object, I'd like to express how completely devoid I am of any expectations concerning Izzy and the future of the closer's role.

miles and miles (and miles)

Yes, that's right, Aaron Miles hit his second career grand slam--his third home run of the season--and won it in the bottom of the ninth for the Redbirds. Of course, none of it would have been possible without Izzy. 

We were plugging along, fighting for the sweep, and then with Miles on-base, Ankiel gave us our first run of the afternoon with a double in the first. 

Albert drove in number two in the seventh with a sac fly, and Glaus drove in Miles and Ludwick in the eighth with a three-run shot to make it 5-3. 

Izzy, possibly knowing what drama was in store, decided to give two of the runs back. He only recorded one out in the ninth before being replaced with Thompson, but he had accomplished what he went out to accomplish--a tie game going into the bottom of the ninth and Miles due up... fifth. 

That's right. With one out, Pujols walked and then reached third on a throwing error by the catcher. Molina and Schumaker were intentionally walked ahead of Miles, because if you don't know anything about baseball or the Cardinals you might assume the five-foot five-inch "bench" player is an easier and more sure out than the catcher who just ran in from the bullpen or the speedy, left-hitting outfielder. 

Unfortunately, you'd be wrong. 

Bud Black was wrong. 

With the bases loaded, one out, and the game tied in the bottom half of the ninth, all Miles had to do was send a fly ball deep enough to score Albert, hit a single into the gap, or draw a walk. 

Apparently it was overachiever day on Aaron's calendar. Miles took one look at Corey's fastball and pounded it out of the park for a grand slam home run.

 
p.s.- Jaime García went five innings and gave up five hits and three runs (all scored on two homers). He struck-out four and walked one, and looked pretty darn decent, especially considering it was his first major league start. I will never make another prediction concerning Jason Isringhausen again, and I take full responsibility for the terror that was the ninth inning.

just a note

Last night Izzy was incredible. Like his old self, in fact, and it was so good see. I would have loved to have seen him the night before in an actual "save" situation, but we'll take what we can get for now. I'm predicting a return to his regular postition--successfully--by the end of August. Maybe we can even get him those last 8 saves he needs.
Glaus, while going two for four, did strike out with the bases loaded and two out. Fortunately, it was not our last scoring opportunity, and the Cards were able to pull one out last night. Ludwick's 3-run homer may have been overshadowed by Yadi's 2-run single, but both were essential for the win. In fact, it seems like when the Redbirds do win, it's usually a team effort, not just one guy doing all the work. How important is that?
Pujols has not hit a HR since July 4. (That's 10 homer-less games.) Remember that one? Number 300. I often wonder if baseball wouldn't be better off if we didn't keep track of every inane statistic and milestone like we do. When they were talking about Jake Peavy the other night, Dan mentioned that the last few Cy Young winners have had rather unimpressive follow-up seasons. The 'Birds and other teams have suffered from World Series hangovers and performed sub-par the next year. Then there's Izzy and his difficulties pitching with the 300th save hanging over his head. And now Albert can't seem to find his power after reaching the 300-mark. I'm not suggesting any drastic changes, but you have to admit it may make a difference.

nevermind

Okay, so maybe I spoke too soon. I hopped in the car and turned on the radio, and what did I hear? A-Rey has had some soreness/tightness in his elbow and won't start tomorrow after all.

Options?
Thompson.
Mulder (ha ha).
Parisi (HA HA).
McClellan (not likely).
Wellemeyer (less likely).
Miles.... (?)
Me.

Volunteers?

What else is going on?

►Yadi was released from the hospital Monday morning with the diagnosis of a mild concussion. In other words, he'll be fine, but Tony's keeping a close eye on him and most likely won't put him in the lineup for at least a few days. ¡Te amo, Yadi!

►Izzy pitched a shut-out inning last night against KC. It was so good to see him back on the mound. Hopefully this will be the beginning of the beginning.

►Ron Villone is slowly getting on my nerves. I like his stuff, and it's always nice to have a lefty specialist (or two), but many more games like last night (and the laugher against Philly) and I may have to have a few not-too-pleasant words with the "big guy." And believe me, he doesn't want that.

bouncing back

It seems like every time someone drops the ball, someone else comes back and picks it up for the Cards. Kyle Lohse did the picking up today. He pitched 8 innings and only gave up 2 runs. He retired the last 12 batters he faced. He saved the bullpen and picked up his 8th win on the season. He brought peace to the war-torn countries of the Middle East. Okay, so maybe not that last one, but it was still a good game and a much-needed win for the Redbirds.

Tony called it, "a hell of a ballgame," and I agree.

In other news:

• Adam Kennedy hit his first home run of the year.

• Joe Mather and Mark Worrell hopped the bus back to Memphis.

• Jason Isringhausen and Anthony Reyes rejoined the Daddy-Birds in STL.

• Chris Carpenter's rehab hit a pothole.

• Mark Mulder and Matt Clement are both scheduled to start today at Springfield.