DOWNTOWN — Told he didn’t have the frame to play in the majors, didn’t have the pop to climb through the minors, Shane Robinson raised his hands and changed his swing to give him the best chance possible to conjure the power he needed.

Then the Cardinals told him there was a better way to be a big leaguer.

Robinson, the Cardinals’ fifth-round selection in 2006 (and an over-slot signing), came to spring training and manager Pop Warner pulled him aside with this suggestion: Change the swing. Change the swing and it will take you places.

“I really struggled in spring training and I didn’t know what to make of it,” Robinson said. “I used to have an upright stance, hands up high to creat as much whip as possible. They said at higher levels I needed to shorten the swing. … It took work. But they’ve kind of put me in the right direction for getting to the big leagues. I’m thankful for that.”

After a couple visits to Springfield last week for Rehab Tour ‘08, I returned from Hammons Field with an overstuffed notebook, chocked with notes about some of the minors leaguers at the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate. Wrote some elsewhere. Kept some for later. And jotted a few out for this blog entry here. One stood out: In two trips, I saw three games — and I don’t believe I saw Robinson make an out.

Oh, he did during those three games. But rarely. And only when I was in the clubhouse interviewing one of the mending major leaguers.

I never saw him make an out.

“He’s really been a sparkplug for us,” Warner said. ”I’m not sure what we would have done without him. He really cut down his swing, has worked to use all the field. You find a place for a guy who is hitting .380. He’s going to play somewhere. You know that.”

Hitting .380, or thereabouts, for awhile, he has settled in at .354 entering play Friday.

At 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, Robinson looks like the little brother more than the big leaguer, but his speed makes him tricky to contain, his arm is far better than advertised and his bat, with its shorter swing, has the balance and slash of a high-average hitter. After spending last summer as a .253 hitter in High-A Palm Beach, Robinson said making the Double-A roster was his sole goal this past spring. Then they hit him with the news of a new swing.

The argument was that, in his words, his swing “had a lot of room for error.” There were so many moving parts and such a long path the ball that too many things had to go right for him to get good contact on the ball.

He wasn’t that kind of hitter.

He had to be prepare to be “the kind of player in the big leagues who does anything to get on and then create havoc with your legs out there,” Robinson said, repeating the instruction he received. He scuffled in spring, but left Florida with the Double-A team and a punchy swing to suit his role, that of leadoff hitter. He hit .410 in April, and he did so without losing the ability to lace a liner to the gap for a double. Twenty-three of his 85 have been for extra bases.

As he talked about the switch, Robinson referenced the scouts and the coaches “who analyzed me” when he played for Florida State and all the things they said. Too small. Too this. Too that. And he said he switched his game around to prove the too-toos wrong. Presented a different way to play this spring, he said he could “have been hard-headed”, but understood the logic — this was his way to advance.

The means justified the ends.

“I’ve always been underestimated, and I probably always will be throughout the rest of my career, unless I’m in the big leagues for six years, seven years as an everyday player,” Robinson said. “At first glance, it’s easy to understimate me. Once they play against me, it’s like, ‘OK, he can play.’ That’s almost better. I like it how I get to earn people’s respect.”  

***

The Futures Game at Yankee Stadium will have an Olympic feel this season, which is a good reminder that any and all of the minor leaguers this season are eligible for the Beijing Games. Colby Rasmus hit his way into consideration for the team with his play last year on Team USA in Taiwan — the same performance that John Mozeliak cited as a reason for Rasmus getting major-league attention this past spring.

He’s done nothing to change his chances, though a big-league promotion would scuttle his shot.

But another Cardinal prospect is sure to enter the Olympic conversation: Jess Todd.  Already an All-Star at two levels this season, Todd continues to pitch his way toward being the Cardinals rep in the Futures Game and a possible candidate for at least the Team USA bullpen. They cannot ignore Todd, his vicious cutter and that 1.07 ERA in Double-A for international competition.

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Here’s another pitcher getting an Olympic look before he’s even eligible to be drafted into a big-league organization.

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In the hallway outside of the S-Cards’ clubhouse there is a plaque for the 2007 Texas League division title won. There are 37 players listed on the plaque as having been a part of the title team, and five of them have already made the major leagues, all this season:

• Mitchell Boggs, RHP

• Kyle McClellan, RHP

• Chris Perez, RHP

• Joe Mather, OF

• Rico Washington, INF

Scan the plaque for other names and there at least five others that should be expected to contributed at the major-league level at some point, including Rasmus, Bryan Anderson and Jaime Garcia.

***

Third baseman Allen Craig has spent some time in the outfield for Springfield. Makes sense. Craig, who emerged as a prospect last season, could feel the Mather Pinch here shortly, forcing him to make versatility part of his resume. Ahead of him is David Freese and coming up behind him at third base will be first-rounder Brett Wallace.

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Some other quick quotes on a few players down in Springfield:

Warner on outfielder Jon Jay: “He has a unique quality to put the barrell of the bat on the ball. And he knows he can do it, so sometimes he swings at pitches that he shouldn’t be swinging at. We’re working with him to recognize the best pitches to swing at, the strikes, and lay off the balls.”

Jay, a lefthanded-hitting outfielder, is hitting .321/.382/.515 with 11 home runs, 43 RBIs and 42 runs scored this season.

Warner on reliever Fernando Salas: “This guy, I haven’t seen anybody in a long time who has the command of his fastball the way this guy does. He can locate it in, locate it up. He can pitch to every area of the strike zone with his fastball.”

Salas is 3-1, 2.59 ERA as Springfield’s closer this summer, with 11 saves. Supporting Warner’s statement, Salas has struck out 61 batters in 41 2/3 innings against 10 walks and 29 hits allowed. Opposing hitters are batting .197 against the righty.

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