JUPITER, Fla. — Not to be lost in the talk of his improved velocity, SWAT-based workout, focus on command is one of the most important things Anthony Reyes must do to win a role in the rotation.

He’s got to have an economy of pitches.

Coach Dave Duncan said for Reyes to truly show he’s ready for the role the Cardinals have open — and increasingly need him to fill — he has to keep his pitch  counts down. As he shut out the New York Mets in the first game of spring, that is exactly what Reyes did. He worked three innings and threw 30 pitches (23 strikes), and afterward I asked him if he remembers the last time he had a 10-pitch inning.

“Probably once last year,” he said.

Reyes was all about strikes Thursday. He left a few pitches up — one tagged for an opposite-field single by leadoff hitter Jose Reyes and another blasted by David Wright (more on that below). He held the Mets to two hits over three innings, walked no one and struck out Marlon Anderson. He had good zip and better location. The last couple years he could ever say the two at the same time.

If he had velocity, he lacked command.

If he wanted command, he sacrificed velocity.

“Last year I wasn’t able to put more on the ball,” he said. “It seemed the more I put, the more I lost my command. This offseason, I righted myself, and it’s like I am able to put more on the ball. I needed to go out there and throw strikes. That’s what I’ve always done, what I’m used to doing and that’s what I need to do.”

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The Cardinals won Wednesday, 7-0, with Juan Gonzalez going 2-for-3 and Skip Schumaker knocking three singles, an RBI and stealing a base. 

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Stock rising (Dept. of the Obvious Dept.): Colby Rasmus as leadoff hitter. In his first six plate appearances of spring, Rasmus has reached base six times. He entered Thursday’s game as a pinch-runner, played center and then doubled and walked in his first two plate appearances.

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Cardinals officials called Joel Pineiro’s shoulder stiffness “very minor and very temporary.” He has been assigned additional stretching exercises to get back on his pitching schedule, though he will not throw as planned Sunday. That leaves the Cardinals with an unexpected opening.

And pitching coach Dave Duncan has just the guy he’d like to see it take it:

Kyle McClellan.

Of the minor-league pitchers in camp, the St. Louis native is getting the most attention and the most opportunity because of the numbers of pitches he has – four — and how he’s performed in workouts. After seeing him pitch this spring, Duncan shifted him to the starters’ program. After seeing him pitch to hitters, Duncan wants to give him a chance to start a game. McClellan is scheduled to throw Saturday, but if the Cardinals don’t use him there he could start Sunday in place of Pineiro.

Blake Hawksworth is currently scheduled to throw Sunday and is an alternative.  

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Cardinals lefty Mark Mulder increased the quantity and intensity of his pitches in a 45-pitch bullpen session. His teammates were struck by how well he threw off the mound, which had Mulder cracking: “Compared to what they’ve watched (from me) the last couple years, a lot of things would look good.” 

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Rick Ankiel had the defensive gem of the spring opener, racing from his spot in center field to make a tumbling, shoestring catch at the warning track in deep left center.  Mets’ third baseman David Wright smoked the ball, but the Cardinals likely center fielder — “He’s not conceding that position to anyone,” manager Tony La Russa said — made a catch straight out of the Edmonds Canon.

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On Wednesday morning, La Russa said the at-bats could be sparse for outfielders like Cody Haerther and Joe Mather because of the need to sort through the candidates for the major-league openings. “They figure to get some at-bats, until we get seriously into it,” La Russa said. “Unless they make a real impression. You can’t take at-bats away from the other guys.”

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That equation may have changed by Wednesday evening.

Mather, who entered the Cardinals’ minor-league system as an infielder, took groundballs with coach Jose Oquendo on Thursday morning. Mather, who cranked 31 home runs last summer, has gone from a third baseman to a first baseman to an outfielder and now may move back down the line. La Russa did not rule out using Mather at third base or first base, as the team now searches for Scott Spiezio’s replacement.

Mather is a capable first baseman, his Triple-A manager Chris Maloney said, and he was headed to Arizona Fall League as a first baseman this past year until injuries shuffled the assigned positions for the Cardinals’ prospects there.

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This is why Cardinals’ reliever Russ Springer will never throw a knuckleball: During the Cardinals’ annual meet-and-sign with season-ticket holders down here, one fan came up to Springer and asked him how his knuckleball was floating this season. The towering righthander with the sharp splitter shook his head. This happens a little often. He’s Russ, not Dennis Springer.

“I have too many guys who are confusing me with Dennis Springer to ever even try to grip a knuckleball,” Springer said.

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Seen at the first game of spring: A family, out on the grassy knoll behind the Cardinals’ bullpen, standing in a tidy row and wearing jerseys straight out of 2007 — Rolen 27, Eckstein 22, Edmonds 15.

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