La Russa: Carpenter starts Wednesday
NEW YORK — Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, after just two rehab starts, will return to the major-league rotation Wednesday in Atlanta, a little more than a year after Tommy John surgery ended his 2007 season, manager Tony La Russa confirmed Saturday afternoon.
Carpenter will be making his first major-league start since opening night 2007.
“Best news we’ve had,” La Russa said. “Give me something else that comes close to it.”
La Russa said the assignment hinges on how Carpenter feels after throwing a bullpen Sunday in St. Louis. If the righthander comes out of the side session well, he’ll join the team in Atlanta and start the third game of the four-game series against the Braves. To make room on the roster for Carpenter, La Russa said the Cardinals will likely option Mitchell Boggs to Triple-A.
Boggs remains with the team in New York after his start at Shea Stadium on Friday. The righthander could be used in relief on Monday or Tuesday if the Cardinals have the need.
Carpenter threw 78 pitches for Triple-A Memphis on Friday night, finishing 5 2/3 innings and striking out five batters against one walk. After the start, the second of his rehab assignment, Carpenter said he was “definitely pleased” with how he felt and his performance.
La Russa said he spoke with Carpenter on Saturday and that the righthander expressed comfort with how his elbow felt the day after his longest outing.
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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. 
The non-support by the Cardinal ownership to help the team by at least acquiring one good LH pitcher for the bullpen has lead me to think as Nathan Meador boldly wrote;
“This was a throw away year from the start. The only thing they didn’t count on was so many of these middle of the road players having good years”.
If this is true, then the Cardinal ballplayers and the fans have been taken as suckers and the Cardinal ownership is laughing every time the accountant shows them thier profits in thier weekly budget meetings.
You know who I pity in all this? TLR, DD, AP and the rest of the Cardinal team who have worked thier tales off and played thier hearts out for themselves, each other, the ownership and us fans. They have been courageous, shown by thier resilience in tough times, and honorable as can be seen by thier loyalty to each other and thier hustle on the ball diamond. That is all ownership and us fans can ask for. The question remains…will ownership honor this o8 clubs honor? There is still time until July 31st.
If Carp and Waino come back and perform to thier past performance…great. But realistally, we cannot expect that and neither should MO, TLR, DD and the ownership.
Russ H…
You nailed it with the reference to Franklin and Izzy, and the rest of our pitchers for that matter, needing to brush a few guys back. We just don’t throw enough in to keep the hitters honest up at the plate. Thus, they just stand there and dig in, ready to tee off. Put a guy or two in the dirt and our late inning pitching struggles will change.
David Cobler…
Obviously the frustration/disappointment in not getting some sort of help is understandable, but a move can’t just be thought of in light of what good for us now. We also need to realize the bright outlook we currently have for 09 and 2010. We can’t make a move that jeopordizes that.
We’ve hit a bump here and it seems as though a move needs to be made, we just need to realize that it HAS to be a calculated move, not a desperation move. This team has gotten us this far, and with all of the troubles in the way as well. Carp and Waino’s returns will be big, though Carp’s won’t aid the bullpen immediately. His presence on the mound alone will be a HUGE lift for the ballclub.
Offense is fine, starters are so-so & getting much better soon, mid-pen is liveable, we just need our late inning guys to put some hitters on their butts and then our late-pen will be good.
With Carp and Waino back…Looper should become the closer…Wellemeyer should then be sent to the bullpen and let Izzy and Villone go bye,bye…sorry but their arms are out of good pitches
the Cards gave us a sliver of hope right up to the all-star break last year. I think we’re about one week away from kissing this year good-bye as well.
Could be worse. We could be the guy who singlehandedly destroyed an entire neighborhood in Sunset Hills. What’s his name? Oh yeah, Jonathan Browne, president of Novus Development.