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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