Tuesday’s opponents: Camp day as the MLB team was off, too. Games began early, about 10:15 a.m.
Wednesday’s opponents: Florida Marlins on the Cardinals side of the complex.
Memphis defeated Springfield, 6-0
Memphis pitching
Clayton Mortensen, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K’s
Richard Castillo, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K’s
Ryan Kulik, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K’s
Hector Cardenas, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Memphis hitting
Tyler Greene 2-for-4 with a run scored
Brandon Yarbrough had an RBI triple and scored two runs
Brian Barton singled, stole second and scored a run
Jarrett Hoffpauir singled, walked twice, scored a run and had a sac fly
Casey Rowlett doubled, scored a run and had an RBI
Mark Shorey had a single and RBI
Springfield pitching
Mitchell Boggs, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Trey Hearne 1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB
Chuckie Fick, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
George Brown two perfect innings, 1 K
Sam Freeman, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Mark McCormick threw a perfect inning with a K
Springfield hitting
Steve Hill 2-for-2
Daryl Jones, Andrew Brown and Donovan Solano all singled and walked
Brandon Buckman doubled
Quad Cities defeated Palm Beach, 4-3
Palm Beach pitching
Nick Additon, 2 IP, 2 H, 3 unearned runs, 1 BB, 3 K’s
Mark Diapoules, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K’s
Kevin Thomas, 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K’s
Andres Rosales 1 IP, 1 BB
Kristhiam Linares, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 unearned run, 1 BB, 2 K’s
Palm Beach hitting
Tommy Pham 2-for-4 with an RBI
Curt Smith RBI double and two walks
Jermaine Curtis doubled
Colt Sedbrook and Jon Edwards singled
Quad Cities pitching
Eric Fornataro, 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB
Brett Zawacki, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Anthony Ferrara two perfect innings with a K
Daniel Richardson one perfect inning with a K
Jorge Rondon struck out two in a perfect inning
Senger Peralta, 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB
Quad Cities hitting
Edwin Gomez 2-for-3 with a run scored
Ryde Rodriguez, 3-for-4 with two runs scored
Xavier Scruggs and Jose Garcia doubled
These above reports are provided through the courtesy of the St. Louis Cardinals by Director of Minor League Operations John Vuch.
“FOM” = Friends of the Minors
The term “FOT” has become familiar to fans as the Post-Dispatch writers coined the term to offer comment on the numerous dignitaries that flow in and out of camp, invitees of Tony La Russa.
With Tuesday bringing the day off for the major leaguers and a shorter day than usual for the minor leaguers, one would think the St. Louis Cardinals camp would have been quiet. Surely the major league clubhouse was closed and neither Tony nor Bill Parcells or his kind were anywhere in sight.
That didn’t stop a number of Cardinals luminaries from making game-long appearances on the back fields on Tuesday.
Friends of the Minors, aka the minor league “A” list included GM John Mozeliak, Assistant GM John Abbamondi, Director of Minor League Ops John Vuch, plus the analytics gurus Mike Giersch and Sig Mejdal. Even Head Trainer Barry Weinberg plopped down on the Palm Beach bench.
Memphis President of Baseball Operations Dave Chase was also in the house, undoubtedly sizing up his prospective 2009 club. The Post’s always hard-working Derrick Goold and I, representing the media constituency, had ample opportunity to talk baseball with the bigwigs.
In the photo, Mozeliak grabbed a stool and camped out past the Memphis dugout. As is standard GM attire, he is clothed with cell phone!
As I noted yesterday, Tuesday is a camp day due to the fact the only organizations within reasonable driving distance are the New York Mets (Port St. Lucie) and the Florida Marlins (right next door in Jupiter). As such, about every third day, the Memphis and Springfield teams square off against each other as do the Palm Beach and Quad Cities clubs.
On the other fields, pitching drills went on business as usual, under the watchful eyes of a cadre of Cardinals coaches. All the events are expertly orchestrated daily by second-year camp coordinator Mike Shildt.
On a personal note, I left Derrick and Joe Strauss behind in the Cardinals media room so I could work on this article in a more comfortable environment. Just as it has all week, the wind is blowing in from the east at a clip that I would estimate in the 15-20 mph range. The flags at the beach (giving away my secret location) are red and purple – high wind plus dangerous marine life in the area. I think I will stay clear of deep water!
Mortensen vs. Boggs!
For the Memphis-Springfield contest, the Double-A club was given a ringer to start the game, Mitchell Boggs. With Memphis pitching Clayton Mortensen, we were rewarded with two Cardinals top 15 prospects facing off. Neither yielded a run.
Memphis notes
It seems that each day, there are surprises in the Triple-A lineup. On the day that Tyler Greene returned to man his familiar shortstop position, Casey Rowlett stayed at second. The mystery third baseman was Jarrett Hoffpauir. Apparently, the coaches want to broaden him defensively as they have done with Greene over the last year.
Another interesting play was Nick Stavinoha at first base. Perhaps Allen Craig has a chance to remain at his natural third base position after all. Andrew Brown gets another start in right field.
With Trey Hearne on the mound throwing to Steven Hill, Brian Barton swiped second base – on a pitchout!
Brandon Yarbrough came in after starting catcher Bryan Anderson and shot an RBI triple into the right field corner. Who says backstops can’t run?
As was already noted elsewhere, former Cuban outfielder Amaury Cazana Marti is now going by Amaury Cazana. “Cazana” is what he wears on his uniform.
Released on Tuesday, veteran left-hander Joe Rogers already has a job lined up to pitch in Mexico where he resides, if he can’t catch on with an affiliated organization.
Springfield notes
Though he was listed on the Memphis squad, oft-injured Mark McCormick made his first appearance of the spring as the final pitcher of the day for Springfield. He made quick work of his three hitters, including a final pitch strikeout of Stavinoha swinging. If McCormick can just stay healthy, he has the stuff to become a very interesting closer.
Palm Beach notes
Back from the Netherlands WBC squad, Curt Smith continues to hit the ball well. I saw him shoot a double into right field. Jack Cawley really got a hold of one, but it was to left field directly into the teeth of the wind. Any other time, it would have been out.
Paul Cruz and Jermaine Curtis each joined the doubles brigade with RBI two-base hits of their own.
Quad Cities notes
Several posters have wondered whether there was something more behind the scenes in the release of Miguel Flores, the 16th round pick in 2008. I was assured that was not the case. The player was not projected to be competitive to make a full-season club.
Further I was told to expect more such moves in the future as the organization is not going to keep players around based on draft position if they don’t produce up to expectations. As I mentioned yesterday, cuts may occur later this week and again early-midweek next.
Adron Chambers stole at least two bases and I saw D’Marcus Ingram swipe one, too.
I had to get to the bottom of this, so I walked up to the player formerly known as Angel Tapia and asked him if he is going by Angel or Miguel. He replied “Miguel”. That is actually a good thing, as there is another Angel Tapia lower in the system. On the other hand, there are databases to be changed.
Trivia question: Who is the only player to have begun, ended and spent the entire time in between as a member of the 2008 Quad Cities River Bandits? (answer below)
| Lineup | Memphis | Springfield | Palm Beach | Quad Cities |
| 1 | Robinson cf | Folli 2b | Kozma ss | Garcia 2b |
| 2 | Barton lf | Jones lf | Sedbrook dh | N Vasquez ss |
| 3 | Jay rf | Wallace 3b | Smith 1b | Castellanos 2b |
| 4 | Stavinoha ib | Hill c | Pham cf | Morales 1b |
| 5 | Greene ss | Henley dh | Luna 2b | P Cruz dh |
| 6 | Hoffpauir 3b | Solano ss | Curtis 3b | Gmoez lf |
| 7 | Anderson c | Buckman 1b | Cartie dh | Rodriguez rf |
| 8 | Rowlett 2b | Brown rf | Kingrey lf | Cawley c |
| 9 | Knoedler dh | De Jesus cf | Edwards rf | Ingram cf |
| 10 | Shorey dh | P Vasquez c | Scruggs dh | |
| Pitchers | Mortensen | Boggs | Additon | Fornataro |
| Castillo | Hearne | Diapoules | Zawacki | |
| Kulik | Fick | Thomas | Ferrera | |
| Cardenas | Brown | Rosales | Richardson | |
| McCormick | Freeman | Linares | Rondon | |
| Peralta |
The lighter side of the news
An inquisitive reader wanted to see what Arquimedes Nieto looks like. He didn’t pitch on Tuesday, but I caught him filming the proceedings.
What had to be one of the weirdest sights I have seen, Tyler Herron walked through the middle of the complex pulling a weighted sled pulled from a shoulder harness. In the following photo, Herron is being kept company by Kenny Maiques.
Herron made one pass through the area and ten minutes later, reappeared heading in the other direction. While there were plenty of stares from fans, players and coaches alike, I didn’t hear any comments directed his way.
That doesn’t mean there wasn’t puzzlement. In an aside, one veteran Cardinals coach said to me, “I have never seen anything like that!” I agreed whole-heartedly.
It is a good thing the grounds crew member at the right decided to give way to the even slower-moving vehicle!
Trivia answer: Adron Chambers
My thoughts on Flores had nothing to do with stats and everything to do with his 1.16 WHIP last year. Since he is yound, he could even reasonably pitchat Batavia if there was no room elsewhere.
Very encouraging news about McCormack. That seems like an impressive first outing.
I knew the answer to the trivia question – do I win a prize?
How has Hill looked behind the plate?
Impressive K total for Diapoules.
Castillo pitching well against higher level competition. Might we seem hi as a 19 y.o. in AA this year?
And Curt Smith just keeps on hitting!
For answering the trivia question, you get a free subscription to this fine site!
I had to look twice at McCormick. I had thought he was much bigger than he actually is. To be honest, I think it is only the second time I can recall ever seeing him on the mound in a game.
Funny you should ask about Hill. Because he continues to get considerable time behind the dish, I asked some of the Cards guys about him just today. The answer was that they are pleased with his progress. I specifically probed whether or not he has shown improvement in his release times. I didn’t get a clear answer – maybe because the answer wasn’t known.
Hill looks to be the front-runner for Springfield. With Pagnozzi and Anderson seemingly set in Memphis, this is another position where a crunch for jobs is clearly coming. Knoedler has been seeing a lot of time, but primarily at DH. He made a surprisingly fast exit from major league camp – not a good sign.
Reported elsewhere that McCormick was hitting 94-95 and snapping off curves. I find that amazing for a guy in his first apearance after coming back from injury.
Looks like Hill and Cruz behind the plate in Springfield but will the Cards really go with 2 guys who are in the learning mode? Where does that leave Yarborough? If the Cards are that high on Pagnozzi, Knoedler would definately seem the odd man out there.
I didn’t check the gun readings as I don’t usually put a ton of focus on them. But if those readings are legit and higher than the other pitchers, then yes, that is most amazing. I can tell you that McCormick looked very good and I was standing near where Stavi was muttering on his way back to the dugout.
Agree with you on the catcher jam. I guess they could send Cruz back to PB to catch, but his bat has seemingly earned a promotion. Yarbrough was skipped for a big camp invite altogether and Knoedler lasted the minimum time.
McCormick was clocked at 101 in the Cape Cod league in summer 2004. Motte, Perez, Samuel, Riefer, and McCormick could be fun consolidated in one bullpen.
On trivia answer Chambers….its good for the Cards to encourage every player to improve. The only difficulty lies in actually doing so. While unheralded, Chambers could surprise. His video at the MLB draft in 2007 looked promising.
The 09 team could easily break camp with 5 rookies: Motte, Kinney, Rasmus, Freese, and Barden. It should be another big year for rookies.
A potential weakness of the team, righthanded relievers with Perez, Thompson, and McClellan looking shakey, can be reinforced later from Memphis. There should be a bunch of possibilities at Memphis: Salas, Scherer, Perdomo if returned, Todd, Hawksworth, Walters, Boggs. If a starting pitcher goes down, Boggs and Walters may be lined up as 6th or 7th in the rotation depth chart.
McCormick missed 6 starts at Baylor U, Kip Wells’ alma mater, in 2004, owing to a balky shoulder. Though he had extreme velocity and though able to start for 3 seasons, he was not a first round pick in 05. And Boras did not look for a bonus over slot guidance, which says something. McCormick was a bit wild, had a tender shoulder, and BA would say that scouts had questions about his “composure” or a euphemism like that. Big arm, but some doubts. He must have had a shoulder operation in 06 and lost 07. The Cards tried him as a starter again last season, but it did not work out. It looks like he has to be focused on relief. Given limited innings as a reliever and if his arm still works, McCormick could potentially excel and be a surprise of 09.
The nice thing about an upward flow of rookies and 2nd year players is that even if some struggle in 09, some will improve by future years, such that the team has more depth by 2010/11.
Yeah, I’ve got to agree that it’s much more comforting to be rooting for a team with mounting developmental strength as opposed to the vacuum that seemed to exist some number of years back.
I think the Cards are needing to think through how best to feed rookies into the majors. You do not want to just hand somebody a job and rely on someone untested; it can spoil a kid too. It seems like there is an art to ushering a kid into the majors, with Anthony Reyes an unsuccessful example. Earl Weaver often like to have a rookie spend a season in the bullpen, before starting, as we did with Wainwright. We tried Haren only as a starter, and by the time he figured it out, he was in Oakland; ugh.
You also want to phase people into the majors on a gradual basis, not take in 1 rookie one year and 10 the next; this kind of lumpiness would undercut team chemisty.
It looks like this year, they had P J Waltersin Puerto Rico with Oquendo and Molina; seems to have helped his confidence. They move Schumaker to open up a developmental roster slot for Rasmus, dumping Kennedy; the aim could be to familiarize Rasmus with the majors, under the tutelage of TLR, so he can shoulder more workload in 2010. The release of Kennedy was in February. They could not say it was to make more opportunity for Rasmus, so made up some vague story. If true, this suggests they are giving some deliberate thought about how best to usher prospects into the majors.