Barton, McClellan officially on; Reyes relief?
JUPITER, Fla. — Manager Tony La Russa could not officially confirm it for the two players in question, but he couldn’t ignore the obvious any longer.
La Russa approached both pitcher Kyle McClellan and outfielder Brian Barton to tell them they are going to make the major-league team and caution them that there is a reason he kept his hands in his pockets as they talked. See, there are things that can happen in the next four days. There are trades that can be made. Injuries can occur. He doesn’t want to tell them something Wednesday and then take it back on Saturday. So his hands were going to stay in his pocket.
But …
“I’m not going to shake your hand until Monday,” La Russa told each (official) rookie.
Barton and McClellan are headed north with the club and barring any unforeseen changes in the coming days, both will be on the opening day roster. Barton could be in the opening day lineup, against Colorado lefty Jeff Francis. La Russa confirmed their spots this morning in a conversation with the media, adding that really there is only one spot left on the 25-man roster to be won.
And there are only two candidates:
- Kelvin Jimenez.
- Anthony Reyes, somewhat of a surprise.
As detailed in Joe Strauss’ article this morning, the Cardinals are having an “internal discussion” on moving Reyes to a bullpen role. Dave Duncan has been resistant to that notion; La Russa and general manager John Mozeliak are open to the idea. La Russa hinted as much when he said this morning: “Dave and I don’t agree on everything. … It is still fluid.”
This blog entry can be considered an update to the WHAT TO WATCH newsletter story that just went out to people who have subscribed to the daily email from STLToday.com. Hugo Castellanos, for example, was told that he is not going to make the major-league club and that he will travel for depth this weekend.
Reyes pitched six shutout innings Tuesday and he ran his scoreless inning streak this spring to 11 innings. His performance can be parsed in many ways. Wind was blowing in. The opposition was lacking. He still does not have a put-away pitch. He’s getting away with too, too many pitches in the zone. His pitch count is always on the verge of skyrocketing. Some of the same traits Todd Wellemeyer has.
“He’s had a strong spring,” La Russa said. “It is legitimate to talk about him being an innings guy in the ‘pen (vs.) the benefits of having him take the ball every five days (in Memphis). What benefits him? And, what benefits us?”
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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. 
Reality Test:
Only three of the 18 outs in Anthoney Reyes’ six innings yesterday were fly outs to right field. The official box score notes that the wind was coming in from right field at 12 mph.
Did any of the three fly outs to right field go all the way to the warning track? Or is this just Dave Duncan’s way of arguing against keeping Reyes on the team?
What does Reyes have to do? He has 11 straight scoreless innings in “the games that count” (late in spring training), according to LaRussa. His outing yesterday was the longest for any pitcher on the Cardinal roster this spring. His ERA is low. He is second on the team in strikeouts and has only walked three. (Wellemeyer has walked more than he has struck out - 11 to 10). Reyes came into camp in great shape.
What exactly in the name of Dizzy Dean does Duncan want out of this guy?