JUPITER, Fla. — On the second pitch of Todd Wellemeyer’s first throw to hitters this spring, Albert Pujols reminded him of the simple joy of a L-screen.

Pujols ripped a fastball right back at Wellemeyer, nearly singeing the righthander’s hair as it rocketed by his face. Wellemeyer got a glove up, but Pujols’ liner had already passed over second base on its way to the outfield.

“Moved me from bullpen mode to game mode, real quick,” Wellemeyer said.

Wellemeyer and Brad Thompson – two of the three chief competitors for spots in the starting rotation — had their first live batting practices of spring Tuesday. Both righthanders threw 40 pitches, and by throwing on the same day they are — it would appear — scheduled to continue their duel daily throughout spring. Pitchers throw BP every third day, and then when games start the starter-program pitchers will start (or appear) every fifth day.

It’s possible Wellemeyer and Thompson will swap starts.

During live batting practice, the pitchers are working on location but also getting a feel for how a hitter reacts to certain pitches. What pitch gets a swing? What pitch doesn’t? “You see what they’re taking, what they’re not,” Wellemeyer said. It gives the pitcher a good feel for the action and movement on a pitch — or in the case of Wellemeyer’s second pitch the inaction and return velocity of the pitch.

“Today I had sinkers going down and in to righthanders that got them to swing and miss,” Thompson said. “That’s a good indication for me.”

After throwing, Wellemeyer approached both Pujols and Scott Spiezio to talk about his pitches. The righthander had good reactions from his changeup — arguably his best pitch, and one he throws with a circle hold on either a two- or four-seam grip. (If he’s throwing a lot of four-seam fastballs to a hitter, he will throw what he called a four-seam changeup to mix up the pace, for example.) When Pujols and Wellemeyer talked the changeup that got Pujols swinging and missing might have been brought up.

They also talked about his two-seam fastball and how it wasn’t running like Wellemeyer would like.

No kidding.

Pujols roped the fastball right up the middle. Wellemeyer smirked when asked about it later and said he should have known. Pujols likes taking everything up the middle, and a pitch like that is inviting trouble. After facing a hitting group that had Pujols, Spiezio, Troy Glaus and Juan Gonzalez, Wellemeyer wondered in hindsight if he should have gone with a protective screen up in front of the mound. 

His coach had another suggestion to avoid a tattooed forehead.

“That’s what you get when you hang a fastball,” pitching Dave Duncan deadpanned.

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Scott Rolen apparently will be a prominent, larger-than-life member of the Blue Jays’ marketing. Here’s a pic of him in his new threads and going through what he, in standard dry Rolen, said was “B.S.”.

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It took all evening but there was finally a correct answer to the Clayton Mortensen question early this morning. A refresher: Mortensen, a righthander, received a major-league invite to spring training the spring after he had been drafted. It had been awhile since the Cardinals opened the door to spring for a first-round pick, let alone a sandwich pick, let alone a pitcher.

So the question bandied about was when was the last time a Cardinals pitcher went from draft to major-league spring training the following season?

Jim Anderson, a member of the Cardinals’ media relations, offered a 2008 media guide — one of the first out of the box — to the first person who could answer it. The team had already done the research, and here is the answer direct from Mortensen’s bio:

(Mortensen) begins his first professional spring camp in Major League camp, the first Cardinals pitcher to leap from the draft to big-league camp since Braden Looper in 1997. He is the 4th pitcher to do so since 1992 (also Allen Watson & Brian Barber).

Fresh out of Wichita State, the Cardinals closer of the future/starter of the present made the leap from draft to big-league Jupiter in a single bound. A lot of people guessed Rick Ankiel – including Ankiel — but his appearance in a major-league game was brief, and he came from minor-league camp. The correct answer came in bright and early this morning from Mark Norton of Richmond, Va., nativeland of colleague Joe Strauss.

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The planned double-play combo of Cesar Izturis and Adam Kennedy worked the pivot Wednesday. Manager Tony La Russa said they are the starters coming into camp, but he — without directly saying it — left the competition open for any number of people to out-play Kennedy at second (Aaron Miles, Brendan Ryan, Brian Barden, D’Angelo Jimenez) and really only one to duel with Izturis at shortstop (Ryan).

“I just followed him, really,” Kennedy said of turning double plays with Izturis. “He’s pretty good, makes it pretty easy.”

***

The “Stat of the Day” from Baseball Prospectus’ daily email (click on the words for the site’s handy definitions):

Top 5 2008 NL First Basemen, by PECOTA Projected VORP

Player, Team, EqA, VORP

Albert Pujols, SLN, .335, 73.1
Prince Fielder, MIL, .308, 49.3
Mark Teixeira, ATL, .312, 48.8
Ryan Howard, PHI, .306, 42.7
Lance Berkman, HOU, .306, 42.0

Little surprised Derrek Lee isn’t found on that list …

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Cliff Politte threw 40 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday and had no limitations or soreness in the shoulder that caused concern last week. The St. Louis native said he was working on location, mostly, but also wanted to show the strength he knows the arm and shoulder have. Politte missed most of the 2007 season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. He’s in the bullpen mix here, both as a one-inning spot reliever and possibly a long man.

***

A handful of Cardinals — and certainly players around baseball — are without their usual bats this spring because a bat manufacturer has been fined and (at least momentarily) suspended from use by Major League Baseball. Above each of the players lockers in the clubhouse is a shelf usually loaded with bats, but Yadier Molina, Cesar Izturis, Skip Schumaker and pitcher Ryan Franklin did not have any stacked because their company, X Bats, is momentarily suspended for a dispute not related to the quality or makeup of the bats, a club official said.

Each player has shifted to another brand of bat or his test-driving selections. 

***

During his chat with the media Tuesday, newest Cardinal Ron Villone sat in front of a locker that was not his own. When asked what he recalled about facing Gonzalez in the American League, the lefty raised an eyebrow at the reporter, who motioned to the locker behind him and indicated it was Gonzalez’s.

“Really?” Villone said.

He then went on to describe a Gonzalez at-bat from his rookie year.

“He hit the hardest line-drive home run I’ve ever given up,” Villone said. “My rookie year. He hit a home run that went out in 9 seconds. I didn’t even have a chance to turn and see it.”

***

The Mizzou baseball team has been picked to finish second in the Big 12, that according to a preseason poll of coaches. The Tigers received one first place vote, Baylor received another and Texas received the remaining eight and topped the voting with 80 points. Anchored by a pitching staff that includes preseason All-American Aaron Crow, Mizzou is ranked No. 6 in the country by Baseball America. Coach Tim Jamieson’s team opens play this weekend in DeLand, Fla.

Due to a new (and northern team-friendly) rule, college baseball teams across the country cannot open play until Friday. That is, as the local papers point out, three weeks later than Miami opened play last season.

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