JUPITER, Fla. — With so much of the attention focused on the transplanted infielder two doors to his left, Joe Mather has been able to quietly go about his new life as a third baseman without many questions and without the entourage of spectators every time he bends to scoop a grounder.

After all, it’s not like he hasn’t been there before.

There was a time — actually Jupiter was the place — when Mather was a lanky, athletic shortstop looking for coordination and traction in his baseball career. He, like many people in the Cardinals organization, saw him moving to third — or, a few times, moving on with his life. He didn’t really fit shortstop, was too tall at a power forward-like 6-foot-4 to play second base and figured to grow into the power profile of a corner infielder. A few years ago, one of his handful here at High-A Jupiter, Mather played a bunch of third base. Injuries at levels above him moved him up and then moved him around.

Once his bat matured and the power arrived, that kept him in the lineup. He nomadic in the field.

That stayed true until he arrived in the majors last season and the Cardinals expressed a reluctance to put him anywhere but the outfield. Sure, they’d have him roam center and they were eager to see him in the corners, but manager Tony La Russa said it wasn’t too likely he’d see time at his former haunts — third or first. But that is so 2008. A few weeks into 2009, the plan changed. Mather was going retro.

As the Cardinals roster took shape for 2009, it was clear that the best way for Mather to win a job with the team was to diversify. There is a need for a righthanded bat on the bench, and there is vocation open — one not unlike the post held by Scott Spiezio a few years back.

In an interview with a couple reporters today, Mather spoke about that, footwork and the degree of difficulty between what he’s doing and what the guy to his left is:

Q: How goes the work at third base?

Mather: It’s a different spring training in the infield, at third base, than it is in the outfield. Nothing against the outfield. I love the outfield, too. It’s a change of pace coming in and I’m having a lot of fun learning how to play the infield again.

Q: Do you recall the reason you didn’t stay at third base?

Mather: I moved up because of injuries. I moved up because the third baseman got hurt. When he came back, the left fielder got hurt. … Cody Haerther got hurt in left field. It was kind of find a place to play. Outfield was open. I got stuck out there.

Q: You came into all this, came into baseball as a shortstop, but was there a feeling that third base would be where you landed?

Mather: I thought that, yeah. I had that thought. I only played a few games there when I signed. Next year I was over there. I was first, third, first, third. Then the injuries happened.

Q: Kind of figured out quickly that there weren’t many shortstops who looked like you …

Mather: Yeah not too many. There really never got under my skin. I always felt like I could do, like I could still play short. You look at a guy like (Troy Glaus), who played short all the way through college. I still always felt like I could do it.

Q: There’s a lot of reaction at that position, have you improved here already in the past week or so? Can you that fast?

Mather: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Definitely. Just more comfortable. Footwork and the hands are completely different. The position takes work. It’s not something that you can just go out and do unless it’s something you’ve done for 10, 15 years. I think the biggest test is going to be in the game.

Q: Did they spring this on you recently, or did you know coming in you would have to show some versatility?

Mather: I knew I was going to have to. When we found out about Troy (needing surgery on his right shoulder) I was taking groundballs at third pretty quickly.

Q: Had you been before that?

Mather: No. No.

Q: Pretty quickly? Few minutes?

Mather: Within a couple days. A couple days. Well, probably the next day.

Q: Are you getting a lot with (Jose Oquendo)? Has it been with Jose, (Joe Pettini) and Pop Warner? How does that kind of work?

Mather: The majority has been with Jose. He’s kind of the guy to work with if you’re an infielder, especially if you’re a guy who hasn’t been there very much. He sees a lot of stuff. He takes pride in fielding the groundball. If you have a guy like that, which we have, he shows me what I’m doing wrong, what I’m doing right.

Q: What kind of keys does he give you? I’m sure there are general techniques, but I also think there are individual keys …

Mather: We talk a lot about footwork, crossing over - backhand, backhand as much as I can. It’s a lot of reaction stuff. He’s got something for where this leg is going to be, where this leg should be. He’s got a lot of information.

Q: Have you taken balls at any other position?

Mather: Right now? I go out in the outfield and shag a little bit.

Q: It’s not the same …

Mather: Not really. I always feel pretty comfortable out there. I’ve always felt really comfortable in the outfield. I take some out there after the game, but it’s not like I’ve been working out out there the past couple weeks.

Q: You and Skip Schumaker ever have a laugh about this?

Mather: We haven’t had one sitting down together. But I know I look over every once in awhile and kind of look at each other and go, ‘Well, we were a little farther apart this last year.’ I think he’s having a good time. He’s working his butt off. I think moving to second is a little tougher than going to third.

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