Barton’s knee barks
JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals outfielder Brian Barton left the spring training facility Tuesday morning to have his right knee checked out after experiencing soreness in the joint for several days.
Manager Tony La Russa said the Rule 5 pick has been “restricted” in drills.
Barton had surgery on the knee after last season to repair a chronic clicking and discomfort in the joint. The surgery, as described in an earlier blog entry, was what Barton called ”lateral release”, which is a procedure that stops the patella from rubbing against the femur. Barton said he also had some cartilage damage in the knee and that a bone bruise or small fracture had developed.
The Cardinals selected Barton in the offseason’s Rule 5 draft from Cleveland. A year, Barton was considered one of the best prospects in the Indians system, and MiLB.com picked him as its preseason player of the year for Cleveland’s organization. He slipped to the Cardinals in the draft partially because of concerns about his knee. For the Cardinals to retain control of Barton he will have to spend the entire season on the 25-man roster; otherwise, he has to be offered back to Cleveland or a trade agreed upon.
It is possible for Barton to start the season on the disabled list or even on a rehab assignment as he recovers from the knee.
***
P-D Blogs have been down most of the afternoon, so the grand plan to live blog updates from the game and stuff … poof! Instead, shortly, there will be the standard camp update. A little later than usual, but, hey, you get two today and neither mentions the Mitchell Report.
Oops.
***
Colby Rasmus hit a home run in the coach-pitch game. Adjust the arrival clock accordingly.
***
The Cardinals will play a coach-pitch scrimmage today, with Brendan Ryan being the only player from last year’s major-league team scheduled to appear in the game. Ryan has been asking coaches what his best way to make the team is — is it as a backup shortstop? As a utility infielder? He wants to know where he should be taking groundballs during drills. The answer: second, short and third. Get busy.
The lineups for today’s scrimmage, understanding that La Russa bats the players according to their position number (or there about), with “1″ being the designated hitter.
TEAM MATHENY
- Brandon Yarbrough, DH
- David Carpenter, C
- Mark Johnson, 1B
- Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B
- Brian Barden, SS
- David Freese, 3B
- Cody Haerther, LF
- Colby Rasmus, CF
- Nick Stavinoha, RF
TEAM WALKER
- Matt Pagnozzi, DH
- Nick Derba, C
- Bryan Anderson, 1B
- D’Angelo Jimenez, 2B
- Brendan Ryan, SS
- Rico Washington, 3B
- Amaury Marti, LF
- Joe Mather, CF
- Gabe Johnson, RF
***
La Russa said Tuesday that he will bat the pitcher eighth this season, and he will start doing so this spring once he inserts the pitcher into the lineup midway through March. According to reports, the Brewers are also considering the Crazy 8 Lineup.
***
The local paper — my alma mater, The Palm Beach Post – comes through with two St. Louis-based articles in today’s paper. A strong feature on Scott Spiezio’s rehab, therapy and recovery, by Tom D’Angelo. It even has a headline that this rocker would appreciate. … And, a sidebar on De Smet grad and pitcher Bobby Keppel, a non-roster invitee to Florida’s spring training.
-30-
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..Thanks for all the work. Is Josh Phelps getting any run in the OF in spring? You mentioned him as a “name” to look out for the other day and I like him. But unless he can play LF or RF without falling over then he can’t make the team right?
I look forward to these updates everyday.
My question concerns the 6 pitchers who went to Duncan’s pre-Spring training “academy”. I know Perez is doing well and everyone seems to be high on McClellan, but what’s up with the others.
DG
With Barton still having issues with his kneee, what are the chances that Cleveland does not take him back? Was this a consideration when we picked him?
If Ryan listens to that advice then he’s headed back to Memphis. His best chance to make this team is to convince management that he’s better than Izturis . . . which shouldn’t be all that hard for him to do.
Hi, Daddy! I can’t wait to come see you. Three more sleeptimes!
Why is Bryan Anderson listed at 1B on Team Walker? I thought his value was highest as a catcher, meaning a position change was out of the question.
Working my way backward, from 16 to 9.
– You will notice that each team had several catchers, including Gabe Johnson in right field. Catchers played first on both teams. Remember, there are a lot of catchers in major-league camp these days and they have to play somewhere. Don’t read anything more into Anderson playing first than you would David Carpenter playing left field. He had not done that since high school …
– Look forward to seeing you too, Little Man Ian. Thanks for the video. Banging away on your Pooh laptop this morning — it’s good to see you haven’t forgotten your father and, apparently, what he does for a living.
– Yes. That would be just awful for Brendan Ryan. Listening to his coaches. How foolish. No good can come of that for him.
– It’s not just Cleveland. If Cleveland doesn’t want him, then every other team in baseball gets a shot at adding him to the 25-man roster before the Cardinals can put him in the minors. The DL/rehab buys time, but doesn’t eliminate the Rule 5 triggers. Not even if he spends all season on the DL. Though, don’t go jumping off bridges. Tuesday’s checkup was not, as of right now, something that would lead to a lost season.
– Perez has pitched well. Mortensen has been the best of that group. All of the pitchers in the minicamp were ahead (as planned) when they hit major league camp, and most have pleased the coaches. The best, by most accounts, have been Mortensen and Ottavino.
– Phelps said he has been approached about taking some time in the outfield. He has done it before, though never in a game. He worked out in the outfield last season for Pittsburgh and also last spring for the Yankees. It’s not foreign land, he said.
dg
-30-
do any of last year’s minor league pitchers have a realistic chance to stick. is there any trade talk at spg. trng?
also someone mentioned a baseball website by a guy from st. charles, or someone used to work in stl sports media. anyone remember the name of that website?
DG
Thanks for the info regarding rule 5. Had no idea every time got a crack before we could take him back. After his performance against SLU today, may have counted him out too soon.