JUPITER, Fla. — He’ll wear No. 22, probably take plenty of batting practice alongside Albert Pujols, and he’ll get ample opportunity to show he still has some pop in his previously presumed retire bat.

Little else can be guaranteed when it comes to Juan Gonzalez.

Oh, one other thing:

“He’ll come here in great shape,” Yadier Molina said Wednesday.

The Cardinals’ catcher was one of the most recent arrivals at Roger Dean Stadium and in addition to some comments that will be covered in tomorrow’s paper he said he’s seen the former All-Star and knows the Cardinals can expect him to be in condition to play. Molina said he is fit and strong. Molina added that Gonzalez looked good in the batting practices they took together, but there’s a difference between batting practice speed and spring training speed and … of course … game speed.

Molina did offer some insight on Gonzalez that was previously sketchy. The 38-year-old outfielder has been taking fly balls in the outfield and looks good moving out there, Molina said. Also, the two played on the same team a year ago in winter ball. Gonzalez’s power numbers were hardly eye-catching, but Molina explained that the size of the ballparks had a role in that. Molina described some of the ballparks they played in having a center field some 435 feet out and gaps of 385 feet.

Gonzalez had seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 45 games for their winter team.

Having Gonzalez in camp will already put the Cardinals ahead of the last major-league team the former MVP signed with. In 2006, Gonzalez signed a deal with Boston but was a no-show at spring training. He played 36 games that year with an independent team.

***

It was three years ago that Michael Witte came to spring training, toting the tapes and his drawings that composed the beginning of a massive research project for the Cardinals. The implementation of some of his work and the “classic pitching mechanics” he has attempted to define is a large part of the mini-camp going on here in Jupiter and detailed in today’s paper.

Wanted to elaborate on Witte’s role here in the blog.

Witte, an illustrator whose work has been seen in Money magazine and elsewhere, is a St. Louis native, a lifelong Cardinals fan, a graduate of Country Day and friend since high school with a handful of the Cardinals owners. Several years ago, Witte began studying film of great pitchers and identifying shared traits of their deliveries. He saw what he believed was the importance of motion, momentum, but also balance and pelvic location. His study of the form and motion for the purpose of drawing the human figure helped him see and connect what was going on in the deliveries.

It’s also helped the Cardinals communicate their findings and their beliefs when it comes to the “classic mechanics.”

Brent Strom, the Cardinals new roving pitching instructor, and Witte have known each other before Witte joined the Cardinals as an advisor. Witte was part of how Strom got in touch with the Cardinals and has been hired this year, replacing in some way longtime pitching coordinator Mark Riggins. Strom said Witte’s ability to draw what they are trying to communicate to the pitchers has been invaluable — it’s part of the visual learning and visual instruction the team is also doing with video.

More on Witte’s first brush with the Cardinals was in this article from The New Yorker in 2005.

***

Catcher Molina and outfielder Skip Schumaker were the position players who arrived today.

Molina is working in some new catching gear, including a chest protector that he said will take a couple weeks to get softened and comfortable. Molina plans to use the same hybrid mask that bullpen catcher Jeff Murphy fashioned for him last year. The mask has the hockey-style shell and cage, and it also has the substantial padding from the old-school mask.

***

Former Cardinals pitcher Matt Morris stopped by campus and played catch with his former teammates for a bit. Morris is scheduled to report to Pittsburgh’s spring training Thursday, and the Pirates — promising a “change of culture” in their clubhouse — begin workouts at noon Friday.

***

Baseball Prospectus’ Bryan Smith handicapped the group of Omaha contenders who did not qualify for the College World Series last year, including this snapshot of the highly regarded (though under-ranked) Missouri Tigers:

Missouri (#24 BA, #27 CB, #23 USA)
Key Losses: Brock Bond, 2B; Evan Frey, CF

Remember that it was Missouri, not Louisville, that hosted a regional last year, and Missouri won the first of their meetings; to get out of the regional, en route to their Cinderella Omaha run, the Cardinals had to win two games in Columbia off of the Tigers. They did, and went on to make history, but if they hadn’t, we might be talking about a repeat Missouri run. Instead, we’re talking about the pre-season Big 12 favorite finally doing it this time around, as they haven’t yet under Tim Jamieson’s tutelage, and that despite the coach building up Missouri as one of the nation’s powers. This could be the year to do it, as the Tigers have two fantastic arms at the top in Aaron Crow and Kyle Gibson, along with some solid bats like DH Jacob Priday and sophomore catcher Trevor Coleman.

-30-