Worrell wounded

San Diego reliever Mark Worrell, unhappy with the Cardinals over a lack of opportunity, received his with the Padres this spring. The sidearmer had pitched well enough that he was expected to make the team.

That was before elbow soreness hit. Now he is shut down with this ominous comment from manager Bud Black, after talking with team doctors.

Black said, “It doesn’t look great.”

No news yet on the second player to head to the Padres in the Khalil Greene trade, but whoever it is, I still like the Cardinals side of the deal.

Perdomo still fighting among Giants

Taken in the December Rule 5 Draft, Luis Perdomo is one of nine relievers vying for two spots in the San Francisco Giants bullpen. It he doesn’t make the team, he will passed through waivers and if unclaimed, will return to the Cardinals minor leagues.

Izzy’s first outing with Rays

Nobody is getting too excited in Tampa Bay yet, but Jason Isringhausen made his first spring appearance the other day. Not dominating, nor should it have been expected with Izzy coming off elbow surgery.

Still, there is hope that Izzy can be part of the pen mix and given closer Troy Percival’s age and health risk, this could be a good place for the exiled Cards all-time saves leader to get his career back on track.

Julian brutally honest

After turning down an earlier offer from Washington, former Cardinals reliever Julian Tavarez accepted this time – a non-guaranteed minor league deal with a spring camp invite.

Since leaving the Cardinals after the 2005 season, the 34-year-old right-hander has pitched (and departed from) Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta. If he makes the cut, Washington will become his 11^th MLB club.

Never known for taking things very seriously, here is what Tavarez said about joining the Nationals:

“Why did I sign with the Nationals?” Tavarez told a group of reporters. “When you go to a club at [4 a.m.], and you’re just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J. Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It’s [4 a.m.]. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me.”

“I would like to be a starter, but it’s like my father said: ‘You want Jennifer Lopez, but does she want you? No.’ You just take whatever she is giving to you. So I just take whatever they give to me … They give to me as a long man, I take it as a long man. Set up man, I take it. Starter, I take it. I can do whatever.”

The Kipper is back!

I had recently been dogging the Toronto Blue Jays as the destination for old Cardinals to die. Perhaps that is now the Washington Nationals. Ray “Burger” King passed through there on his way out of the game and Ronnie Belliard and now Tavarez are there today.

There is another recent addition – former Cardinals starter Kip Wells. The Nats’ brass are tantalized by his 90-93 mph fastball and movement on his slider. Right.

Since leaving St. Louis, where he was an awful 7-17 in 2007, Wells couldn’t stick with Colorado or Kansas City, either. He hasn’t had a winning season since 2003. Wells can earn $500,000 if he makes the team.

Good luck with that.

Maroth to minors, Clement doing ok

Speaking of Toronto, left-handed pitcher Mike Maroth was sent down to the minors by the Jays. No surprise there. He surrendered five runs, four earned, and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings in his first start on Saturday.

One of the players that beat him out was another former Cardinal, Matt Clement. He’s still in camp, having allowed three runs in six innings. For the Jays, that is good, I guess.

Haerther hits the field as Rolen sidelined

In his first action of the spring, outfielder Cody Haerther went 2-for-2 and drove in two runs for the Jays on Wednesday. If the former Cardinal minor leaguer can ever put the injuries behind, he has a chance to eventually make it as a reserve outfielder.

In response to a reader question, though he was taken in the Rule 5 Draft last December, Haerther does not have to be returned to the Cardinals when he is sent down. That is because he was on the Springfield roster and was taken in the minor league phase of Rule 5.

Former Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen has been eased into spring action with just 13 at-bats so far. He had to leave Wednesday’s game due to a sore back that is not supposed to be serious.

There were rumors that the Jays were hoping for a hot spring from Rolen to attract trade interest. With him being owed $22 million for this season and next, there aren’t going to be any takers.

Sir Sid’s groundhog day

The Kansas City Royals signed pitcher Sidney Ponson to a minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training.

They want to see if he “has anything left in the tank”. If that means ample food and drink, the answer is “yes”. If they mean the ability to pitch consistently well, the answer is “no way”.

Though I didn’t peg the team, the first part of my earlier prediction has come true. I figured Sir Sidney would pitch well enough in the World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands (Dutch Aruba, remember?) that he would be signed somewhere.

Step two will be to pitch well in a game or two. Step three is to revert to being himself. Step four is to be waived. Step five is to be re-signed by the Yankees, before a repeat of steps two through four.

By the way, Ponson finally settled with the Orioles on his grievance based on being released in 2005 with a $10 million deal for 2006 in place. There were those alcohol-related problems…

Rico to China

Last year’s Joe Thurston-come-from-nowhere to make the team feel-good story was career minor leaguer Rico Washington. He made the 2008 opening day roster due to Brendan Ryan starting on the disabled list and lasted less than a month in the bigs, but he did make it after a dozen years of trying.

Rico is on a different career trajectory now, having signed with defending champion Uni-President Lions in the Chinese Professional Baseball League for 2009.

Pomeranz back on the mound

The White Sox signed former Cardinals right-hander pitcher Stuart Pomeranz. It was a minor league deal, of course.

The 24-year-old was the Cards’ second-round pick in 2003 and at one point, was a top-ten prospect in the organization. He never made Triple-A, though he did pitch in the Arizona Fall League in 2006.

Pomeranz’ shoulder was injured for most of 2007 and after being released last spring, he didn’t play the rest of the season as far as I can tell. I assumed he had retired.

Spivey-man sighting

Now, here is one that floored me. The Mets signed second baseman Junior Spivey to a minor league contract.

I don’t know what was more surprising – that Spivey is still playing or the fact that he was given a professional contract. After spending 2005 with the Nationals, he came to Cardinals camp in 2006 hoping to win the second base job, but spent the entire season in Memphis. That is a good thing. After all, I don't think I could have survived a whole season of Mike Shannon calling him "Spivey-man".

Junior played in indy ball in 2007 and also had a short Triple-A look-see with the Red Sox that season. Where he was last year, I have no idea. Maybe hanging out with the "Simo-man".

Preston is limping back

Speaking of indy ball and retired guys I thought I would never see again, Preston Wilson signed with Newark Bears in the Atlantic League. (What the heck? They also signed Pete Rose Jr. and have Carl Everett on the team, too.)

Wilson’s chronic knee problems must have improved enough to hobble out there. He last played in 2007 and managed just 64 at-bats for the Cardinals.

(A tip of the cap to Cardinals Best News Links for the Rico and Wilson news.)

Even before the Philadelphia Phillies were crowned the world champions of baseball for 2008, I had been thinking about the number of unusual occurrences during the very few games in which they played the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

Here are some of the milestone events that were marked as the two clubs were on the field together during 2008:

• June 13: Mark Worrell‘s last Cardinals appearance
• July 8: Joel Pineiro‘s first win in over two months
• July 9: Mark Mulder‘s first and last 2008 start
• August 1: Jason Isringhausen’s last Cardinals save

During Spring Training 2008, the odds the Phillies would win the World Series were 20/1 (the Cardinals were 40/1). Seven months later, the Phils captured their first World Championship since 1980.

Along the way, the St. Louis and Philadelphia clubs faced off in three series totaling nine games, six at Busch and three at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils took the season series five games to four.

In each of the three series, there turned out to be one or more defining event for the 2008 Cardinals.

Worrell goes down and out – Series one, game one – June 13 – Phils 20, Cards 2

The December 4 trade of disgruntled reliever Mark Worrell to San Diego in the Khalil Greene deal means that the 25-year-old pitched in his fourth and final contest wearing the birds on the bat uniform on June 13.

The previous evening, in the closing game of the prior series in Cincinnati on June 12, Worrell had his first bad outing after his initial two scoreless outings as a major leaguer. Still, it seemed trouble was on the horizon as the right hander had allowed two runners per inning pitched.

In the sixth, with two Ron Villone runners on base, Worrell was brought in to get the final out and he did. With one out in the seventh though, Worrell gave up a double and a walk. Randy Flores came in and allowed both his inherited runners to score, charged to Worrell.

Moving on to June 13^th game, the first of the nine between the Cards and Phils, starter Todd Wellemeyer had served up three consecutive home runs in the first. By the fourth, Wellemeyer and Villone had the Cardinals down 13-1.

Worrell entered in the sixth with the score 14-1 and gave up three more runs. As part of a 3-for-5 day with two home runs and five runs batted in, Ryan Howard launched a three-run shot. In his defense, Worrell remained in the game to complete a total of two innings on the mound, striking out three.

Some bad blood ensued when reliever Russ Springer hit Howard with a pitch the next time up, in the eighth. The reliever and his skipper, Tony La Russa were ejected from the game. When the Phils dusted Brendan Ryan in the bottom of the frame, acting manager Jose Oquendo was also sent to an early exit.

Following the game, Worrell was sent packing, too – back to Memphis. While not defending his results, I do want to note that Worrell didn’t pitch as badly as the box score indicates. He was actually only the third least-effective pitcher for the Cardinals that evening. In his worst outing of the season, Wellemeyer was charged with eight runs and Villone six. Springer and Ryan Franklin yielded three more between them.

In the final weird occurrence that night, infielder Aaron Miles became the only St. Louis “pitcher” that day to escape unscathed when he tossed a scoreless ninth.

Pineiro’s first win in over two months – Series two, game one – July 8 – Cards 2, Phils 0

Former general manager Walt Jocketty rightfully earned his reputation as the master of the trade. This one didn’t rank highly among them. At the July, 2007 deadline, he picked pitcher Joel Pineiro off Boston’s scrap heap for minor league outfielder Sean Danielson.

After Pineiro finished the 2007 season with his best 11 games in at least the last four years, Walt’s successor and his former right-hand man John Mozeliak awarded Pineiro with a two-year, $13 million contract. Mo, still acting GM at the time, completed his first deal which both then and now looks to be one year too long and a million or two per year too high.

Fast forward to July 8, 2008. Pineiro, making $5.5 million that season, had not won a game in well over two months, since April 29. After yielding just five hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings, he finally earned the decision.

Again, it wasn’t all the pitcher’s fault as he had gone 0-2 with seven no-decisions in his previous nine starts. Pineiro allowed three runs or fewer five times in that span, but couldn’t get a victory. Needless to say, the Cardinals’ shaky pen had a lot to do with that long, dry spell.

Mulder’s end of the line – Series two, game two – July 9 – Phils 4, Cards 3

The next afternoon ended quickly in what would be Mark Mulder’s final start of an extremely disappointing four-year stretch as a Cardinal. Trying to return from shoulder problems, the lefty had not looked especially good in his rehab outings, but it seemed time to find out if Mulder had anything left.

He didn’t.

The now-31-year-old had not made a major league start in over two years. On this day, two walks preceded by a strikeout ended Mulder’s start, his season and his tenure with St. Louis. Coming in with a supposed new release point, the results were pretty much the same, as the lefty complained he could not get his arm up into the proper slot.

In a bad continuance of one of Jocketty’s worst deals ever, Mulder signed a two-year extension for $13 million (what is it about those numbers?) prior to the 2007 season. In return, the Cardinals received 12 2/3 innings with an ERA well over ten.

Perhaps Jocketty was pressing in resigning Mulder after giving Oakland three players, Dan Haren, Kiko Calero and Daric Barton, for the lefty prior to the 2005 season. But for whatever reason, the Mulder era in St. Louis has to be considered a colossal failure.

After working with a celebrity trainer and a yoga master, Mulder is supposedly ready to go for the 2009 season, according to recent press reports offered by his agent. Mulder is currently unsigned.

Izzy’s last cheers – Series three, game one – August 1 – Cards 6, Phils 3

No one can take away the fact that Jason Isringhausen is the Cardinals’ career save leader. However, his disastrous early 2008 led to his loss of his job, an embarrassing banishment to the minors (rehabbing an injury, of course) and ultimately, his return as a general arm out of the bullpen.

Not receiving save opportunities was one downstream result from Izzy’s problems, as he was only given two chances after his June 17 return. He blew the first, on June 25. In fact since his last previous save, Izzy had blown four, taking three losses.

Upon saving Kyle Lohse’s 13th win in getting the final four outs on August 1st, Izzy still may have seen the handwriting on the wall through his post-game comments. “It’s not over yet. I’ve got to keep going out there and getting the job done or I won’t be in that role. It could be on borrowed time, so I’ve got to go out and give it my all every time,” he told the AP.

That Busch Stadium save not only represented Izzy’s first one in almost three months, it would also prove to be his last. His final 2008 appearance would occur two weeks later. Elbow surgery ensued in September, followed by free agency.

August 1 was notable for another reason. It was the last time the 2008 Cardinals were as close as four games away from the National League Central lead as they eventually fell as far back as 15 ½ games before settling in at 11 ½ games behind the Cubs to end the season.

Earlier speculation that Izzy might be offered a chance later in the off-season to return to St. Louis in 2009 has pretty much been quashed. At this point, it seems more likely that this August 1 save will forever be his last wearing the Cardinals uniform.

It was Izzy’s 12^th of the season, 217^th as a Cardinal and 293^rd as a major leaguer.

By the way, in case you want to mark your calendars, the Cardinals and Phillies will meet only five times in 2009: two games in early May in St. Louis and three in late July in Philly. All things considered, perhaps that is for the better.

There is no sure way to quantify this, yet one simple measure is readily available and doesn’t require years to play out before getting an answer.

During the 2008 regular season, the Cardinals called up eleven different players from the minors for their first exposure to the big leagues. Some did very well, while others barely had time to finish their cup of coffee before being sent back.

While this is clearly a measure of quantity, not quality, this total of eleven is the largest number of first-timers to don the Cardinals uniform in any single season since the second year of the Tony La Russa era which began in St. Louis in 1996. 12 players debuted in 1997.

Nine of the 11 in 2008 came up through the Cardinals system, the exceptions being Brian Barton and Rico Washington. Two of them have already departed for other organizations – Washington and Mark Worrell.

Here, we’ll take a quick look back at all eleven 2008 arrivals. I will score each in one of three categories (high, medium, low) to illustrate my view as to their level of 2008 contribution as well as long-term success potential with the Cardinals.

It is worth noting that three players made the MLB debuts during each of the first three months of the season. During the second half, only two newbies arrived.

April debuts

1. Kyle McClellan. (left) Made the club out of spring training and was a solid performer out of the bullpen all season long, though his numbers tailed off. Was named Rookie of the Year by the Cardinals.

Looking ahead, he could either remain a setup man in the pen or perhaps return to starting in 2009. The latter might require one step backward (a first-ever stop in Memphis) to take two steps forward later on.

2. Brian Barton. High hopes for the Rule 5 outfield pick coming off a nice spring were deflated when Barton seemed quite often to be the second-to-last player off the bench. (The backup catcher is always number one.)

In September, any player that could hold a glove was started in the outfield while Barton just rode the pines more often than not. Turning 27 years old in April, Barton seems destined to be lost in Memphis next season.

3. Rico Washington. A heart-warming story if there ever was one, making the team out of spring training after 11 years of ill-fated minor league attempts. Scott Spiezio‘s self-destruction and Brendan Ryan‘s injury were also big contributors. After registering a sub-Mendoza line batting average, Rico was back in the minors before April was out, never to return with St. Louis. He is currently a minor league free agent again.

May arrivals

4. Mike Parisi. Not overwhelming, but was serviceable when called upon. It was telling that his starting debut occurred when the Cardinals gave up on Anthony Reyes and needed someone to take the hill. Late-season Tommy John surgery scuttled his 2009 season, giving a whole year for others to pass him. Removed from the 40-man roster in November.

5. Chris Perez. (left) The “closer of the future” arrived in mid-May and did fine until he hit a rough start that soon returned him to Memphis to work on his secondary pitches. Despite club dalliances with experienced closers this offseason, Perez has shown he can grow into the role. Here’s hoping he receives the chance.

6. Joe Mather. After tearing up the Pacific Coast League, the man affectionately known as “Joey Bombs” showed not only his power, but also demonstrated very good outfield defense in the majors. Before going down with a hand injury that required season-ending surgery, Mather managed to get enough at bats, 133, to exhaust his rookie eligibility. Expected to compete strongly for a reserve outfield position in 2009.

June rookies

7. Mark Worrell. The reliever with the odd motion didn’t stay long and was not asked back, even in September when rosters expanded. Worrell spoke up about his concerns and within 24 hours, was traded to San Diego. Perhaps that was just a coincidence.

8. Mitchell Boggs. The 2005 fifth-rounder received his chance to make his first ever appearance on an MLB roster and to start his first big league game at the expense of Parisi, who was returned to Memphis. Boggs was the anchor of the 2008 Memphis staff, but had a real problem with free passes while in the majors (22 walks in 34 innings). Should be the first starter recalled from Memphis in 2009.

9. Nick Stavinoha. The outfielder earned his call-up after pacing the Redbirds offense during the first half. He looked overmatched at the plate with St. Louis, both in June and again in September. I hope his ceiling is higher than John Gall‘s, but I cannot erase the comparison from my mind. Seems destined to return to Memphis, where playing time for outfielders should be very competitive.

July new arrival

10. Jaime Garcia. (left) The top left-handed pitching prospect in the entire system by a considerable margin started with Double-A Springfield, yet found himself on a big-league mound three games prior to the All-Star break. Garcia mostly relieved, but also was given one MLB start.

His pitching elbow, which had ended his 2007 early, gave out, requiring him to undergo Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. If Garcia actually comes back stronger in 2010 as do some post-TJ, NL hitters had better watch out!

September speedballer

11. Jason Motte. Last to be called up, but far from least. The reliever with the upper 90′s heat fanned 15 in his first ten innings during his initial time on the Cardinals roster (in September). His changeup remains a question mark, but if Perez falters, Motte could make a play for the job himself. The numbers game could end up causing him to start 2009 back in Memphis, though even if so, Motte should be back soon enough.

In subsequent articles, I will look backward and forward. I will review past rookies each season during the La Russa years and will also attempt to forecast the MLB debuts for the 2009 Cardinals. Even before doing the analysis, my gut says not to expect another 11 first-year players this coming year.