FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Cardinals stuffed their bus with outfielders for the trip across Alligator Alley to the opposite coast of Florida. Not just the major-leaguers are this trip as Colby Rasmus continues to tagalong days after he was assigned to the minors.
With a designated hitter available and first base unoccupied, the Cardinals can cram into one lineup all five of the outfielders they plan to take north.
Actually, they are the first five hitters for the Cardinals.
(And, quick, who’s batting No. 3? No peeking.)
Before the lineup, a couple quick notes from this morning at Hammond Stadium: Troy Glaus was expected to be on this trip, but experienced some tightness in his lower back. Manager Tony La Russa decided the third baseman didn’t need to take the 6-hour round trip. He remained back in Jupiter and will play tomorrow, La Russa said. … Also, the Twins are reportedly working on an extension for closer Joe Nathan that would put him in the four-year, $40-million tax bracket with others of his ilk, like Mariano Rivera and Francisco Cordero. Guess I’ll have to come up with a new most-underrated player for the P-D picks that will be in next Sunday’s MLB/Cardinals Preview Section.
THE CARDINALS
- Skip Schumaker, LF
- Chris Duncan, 1B
- Brian Barton, DH
- Rick Ankiel, CF
- Ryan Ludwick, RF
- Adam Kennedy, 2B
- D’Angelo Jimenez, 3B
- Jason LaRue, C
- Cesar Izturis, SS
Starting pitcher: RHP Brad Thompson.
The players on the bench include: OF Colby Rasmus, C Nick Derba, OF Nick Stavinoha, 1B Mark Hamilton, C Matt Pagnozzi. The spare pitchers brought along for protection are RHP Josh Dew and RHP Bob Zimmerman.
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