The Lineup 3.27: Getaway day
JUPITER, Fla. — The end is nigh.
The Cardinals look to leave Florida on a weeklong winning streak with only one stop and two games between them and the regular-season opening Monday at Busch Stadium. Most of the decisions have been made. Only two questions remain for the roster:
- Is Brendan Ryan healthy enough to be active?
- Anthony Reyes or Kelvin Jimenez for the last bullpen spot?
Looks like both of those questions will be answered in Springfield. But the Cardinals do have one more inquiry to pursue before heading north: Kyle Lohse. The righthander will make his last start of spring — his final start before the Cardinals conjure up something for him to do Tuesday in prep for the sixth game of the season. For a pitcher who spent the first month of spring training as a man without a mound, Lohse has kept pace. This will be a six-inning test for the righthander.
And this will be the lineup he has around him:
- Skip Schumaker, RF
- Chris Duncan, LF
- Albert Pujols, 1B
- Rick Ankiel, CF
- Troy Glaus, 3B
- Yadier Molina, C
- Adam Kennedy, 2B
- Kyle Lohse, RHP
- Cesar Izturis, SS
The bench is standard, with the addition of INF Rico Washington and OF Amaury Marti, of note. The bullpen features: LHP Randy Flores, LHP Ron Villone, RHP Ryan Franklin, newly-minted rookie RHP Kyle McClellan, RHP Russ Springer and, making that last push, RHP Kelvin Jimenez.
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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. 
Derrick, I’m really hoping Reyes makes the trip north. It’s not because I think he’s the best pitcher for the job of long relief, or even because he’s a better pitcher than a guy like Perez at this point. The best reason for taking him north is to audition him for a trade. There’s still some small part of me that thinks the kid might put it together and be effective, but since the rest of the organization seems to have given up for him, we might as well get his value as high as possible before cutting ties.
DG,
This is the line-up we’ll be throwing at righties to start the season, yes?
When will Ludwick get his cuts? Do he and Barton replace Dunc and Skip against lefties? I read your article about Ludwick’s goofy splits. What does that mean for the season?
Danke!
DG - Rico Washington travels a lot with the team. What is his deal?
Birdfan,
Yeah, that’s about a righty-ready lineup. Not sure when Ludwick will get playing time. That’s an open question entering April — how does Ludwick squeeze by Barton to get his at-bats? Or will it be vice versa. Opening day will hold some intrigue for who gets that start.
Schumaker … well, more on him later today. Gotta save some bullets.
And Rico Washington. Good eyes there. Here’s some news: Rico Washington is going to stay with the team for awhile until Brendan Ryan is cleared to play. Washington has entered the conversation with D’Angelo Jimenez as a backup plan if Ryan isn’t healthy enough for opening day.
dg
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I don’t agree with Tony consistently batting Ankiel fourth. He definitely has the bat for it, but I think he works really well batting second. Duncan does not have the speed to bat second, and while Ankiel isn’t lighting up the base path, he has a speed advantage over Duncan.
Ah, but Duncan has a bit of an on-base percentage advantage for that spot. And that’s the idea. Not to get more speed — get more people on base for Pujols and Ankiel to drive in. Think: Barton.
how does rico compare playing short stop with jimenez? if they are similar defensively, then is there enough difference offensively to justify granting a major league contract to de angelo? are any trades in the works to pick up any infielders? thanks for any info
I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but I HATE Duncan batting second. I would much rather see him batting cleanup, with Ankiel sixth. Dunc gets the protection of Glaus and Ank behind him, and Rick has the speed to be a little more creative with the bottom of the lineup at the plate.
Then again, we don’t really have a proper high OBP guy to hit second, unfortunately. Still, I don’t like a power hitter there. I just think it’s a waste.
Then again, I would probably be starting Barton, so what do I know?