Lineup Card: Barton back, Rasmus leads off
JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals outfielder Brian Barton knows his knee isn’t fully healed, but he calls it a full-go, and apparently the club is comfortable with that description.
He’s in the starting line for today’s game against St. Louis University.
Barton drove 1 1/2-hour south to meet with his doctor Tuesday about his surgically repaired right knee. The Rule 5 pick had some swelling and soreness in the knee, and the Cardinals had limited his workouts by deleting high-impact drills from his schedule. The team sent him to see the doctor to get a better gauge on how the knee was recovering — if he had to be dialed back or if he could speed ahead.
“I feel like I can ramp it up,” said Barton, a Cleveland farmhand until the past draft. “It has not limited me in anyway, and that was before going to the doctor. It’s nothing that I’m worried about. … The main thing is to stay on top of it. Make sure it doesn’t become a problem, and not neglect it.”
The Cardinals open spring play with today’s exhibition against SLU (1-2) at 12:05 St. Louis time in Roger Dean Stadium. The (intriguing) lineup, just posted in the clubhouse:
- Colby Rasmus, CF
- Brian Barton, DH
- Joe Mather, RF
- Josh Phelps, 1B
- Cody Haerther, LF
- David Freese, 3B
- Brian Barden, SS
- Matt Pagnozzi, C
- Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B
Bench: INF Rico Washington, INF D’Angelo Jimenez, OF Amaury Marti and OF Nick Stavinoha. And a handful of catchers. (That hints that the Cardinals are going to have the above lineup play the game, not sub out early ala most spring games.)
Starting pitcher: RHP Mitchell Boggs. Pitching plan: Boggs (2 innings); RHP P.J. Walters (2); RHP Clayton Mortensen (2); LHP Jaime Garcia (2); RHP Chris Perez (1).
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
DG,
Did I read the box score correctly in that Chris Carpenter struckout and played 1B for one inning in the game versus St Louis University?
Fuhrig, I vote for Old Style Park, it just fits on so many levels for it not to win.
PS - Nice to see that Spiezio was able to stay on the straight and narrow for about two months this offseason. I hope that what is alleged by the police is not true, but have seen too many who struggle with addition to say I’m not really surprised if it is true.
Fuhring
Your list of possible naming rights for wrigley made milk come out of my nose.
Rasmus two for two is a good start.
Fuhrig…comments about Obama’s ethnic background aside, RIGHTEOUS!
I hope they don’t change the name of Wrigley, though. Wrigley, Fenway and Yankee Stadium need to keep their names, one and all.
#14…you mean, two for two w/two walks…those walks are as, if not more, important than the hits. We know the kid can rake, but we need him to take pitches and get on base in front of Albert. (I understand that the two walks came in the same inning against bottom rotation college pitching, but whatever, right?!)
…wishin’ it were March 31st (or 17th).
DG,
OK, Spezio is a goner. Does that open an infield or outfield spot? Or a spot for a “swingman” to take and play both?
Also, I’d like you to handicap the following 3 things happening.
1) OF Brian Barton making the team.
2) IF Brian Barden making the team.
3) Both Brian Barton and Brian Barden making the team.
–Trueman93
if brian barton and brian bardon make the team, announcers everywhere will stroke out.
Can they name Cubs’ field “Wrigley Stadium sponsored by (the other) Jeff Gordon”? that would be in honor of his infamous singing of Take me out to the ball game a couple years back.