MEMPHIS — Brian Barton edged closer to his scheduled return to the majors even as he was robbed of a extra-base hit late in Friday’s game against New Orleans. The Cardinals’ rookie outfielder smoked a shot to deep right-center field only to have Zephyrs’ center fielder Jesus Feliciano speed into the gap, snare the ball and carom off the wall.
The catch said as much about the hit as the fielder.
His second hit stolen, Barton sank his average to .300 with a 1-for-5 evening in the Redbirds loss. Barton has three home runs and 10 RBIs on his 20-day assignment to the minors to recover from a broken hand. It appears that Sunday will be the outfielder’s final day in Triple-A Memphis, and a move to the majors appears likely. As a player selected in the Rule 5 draft, Barton must be on the major-league active roster when not on the disabled list or the Cardinals can lose their rights to him.
He called the rehab assignment — which was also an excuse to get him the playing time he wasn’t getting in the majors — a needed boost.
“It helps, it has helped,” Barton said. “It’s helped get me back in the groove. I felt like I was losing it there for a little while this season. Now I’ve got it back again. I feel like I can help down the stretch. I feel ready to go.”
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Brendan Ryan started at second base Friday night, the first time he remembers playing a position other than short for the Redbirds this season. Ryan shifted to shortstop later in the game, and he expects to move around the infield until he is called up. Manager Tony La Russa told Ryan that he would be up in September, if not sooner.
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Randy Flores has pitched 4 2/3 innings since being optioned to Memphis, allowing a total of two earned runs, walking two and striking out three. He said the innings and the situations have helped him work on the wonky delivery that led to inconsistency this season at the major-league level.
“I not sure what got me into bad habits, but bad habits were gotten into,” Flores said. “It takes repetition in game situations to break those habits. I’m making progress. You need a batter in the box to get the work. It just helps to have a batter to make those game-speed adjustments. … It (the delivery difficulty) happened over, and now I’m here to correct it.”
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Jason Motte, the converted catcher, has a strikeout in 24 consecutive appearances. He also has just gobs of strikeouts. Motte has struck out 96 batters in 56 2/3 innings. Put another way, the righthander has collected 170 outs this season, and 96 of them have been strikeouts. Used as a setup man and closer, Motte has an overpowering fastball and he has continued to refine a cutter. The pitch varies from slider — with more depth to its break — to the sharper, tighter bite of a cut fastball. Once he harnesses the pitch, he can use it as both: take a little off for a more pronounced bend, put a little on to give it late movement that plays off his fastball.
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What Ryan Ludwick did to win the National League Player of the Week award a few days ago didn’t even make him the hottest hitter in the organization, let alone in baseball. That title went to Josh Phelps, Memphis’ first baseman. The former big leaguer went 9-for-28 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in a week span. He sweetened those totals with a three-homer game on July 29 and then he added to those totals with a 3-for-4 game Wednesday that also included a home run.
Hitting coach Mark Budaska said that Phelps has “shifted his gun sites” to unblock his power and better exploit his swing.
“He changed his direction with his step, moved his gun sit a little over,” Budaska said. “Phelpsie is a professional hitter. We just to get him going — all his power was to that right, right-center area. His hot zone was out there. He moved his gun site a bit, and not he’s hitting that inside pitch a lot better. He pulls the ball with power without giving up the power he has to right or center.”
Teammates said Phelps homers weren’t just over the wall, but out of sight.
Several of them have gone over the three-story trees that make up the batter’s eye here at AutoZone Park. Phelps, who bats righthanded, has 20 home runs against righthanded hitters this season. He’s went 19-for-46 in the 11 games before Friday’s, and went 6-for-12 with two home runs and five RBIs in the series before this weekend’s.
Two things are keeping Phelps from the majors: His position is first base and he’s not on the 40-man roster. While there are several things that could put him in the majors come September (after he’s placed on the 40-man, of course), one that stands out is this: He’s done well as a pinch-hitter. Phelps, the Yankees’ opening day first baseman in 2007, pursued a spot with a National League team for this season after going 10-for-35 with two home runs, seven RBIs, eight walks and eight strikeouts as a pinch hitter last season. His batting line as a pinch hitter was .286/.432/.543.
“I excelled in the role once I got used to it,” he said.
He recently played a game in right field for Memphis — to expand the possibilities, he said — but it’s the pinch hitting that stands out when it comes to September opportunities. He’s 4-for-6 with the Redbirds.
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Time to hit the road back home … (Update, 3:56 a.m.: Bernie if you’re reading this, the ride home was passed by holding Steady with a little “I went there on business … Sequestered in Memphis”, and, fittingly, with “King of New Orleans” and then, pulling into town, “Remedy”. Cranked up, of course.)
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