LOS ANGELES — Through an intermediary, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus has received suggestions from pinch-hitter guru — and, you’ll recall, hitting coach to the stars (OK, well, Shaq) — John Mabry. In the past week or so, Joe Thurston picked Mabry’s brain for suggestions on how to better prepare to be all but exclusively a pinch hitter, and he took that info to Glaus.

Mabry, as he has done with others since his time with the Cardinals’ 100-win teams of yore, talked about getting prepared for the game. And, importantly, getting a routine going during the game. He would get a feel for the game and triangulate warming up in the cage and loosening his swing with when he might be used.

That’s sage advice, save for one glitch: It assumes there’s a cage to warmup in.

One of the quirks of an older ballpark like Dodger Stadium, is there isn’t an underground or nearby batting cage for the Cardinals. The only batting cage in the ballpark is down the left-field line, under the stands. It is connected to the Dodgers’ dugout and Dodgers’ clubhouse, but the visiting team has no access to it during the game. What the Cardinals have is this: A room, adjacent to the dugout, with a tee and a net.

“I’m going to ask around and see what guys suggest to do,” Glaus said. “It’s not going to be the same as at home where there’s a cage right there to go and see some pitches before going into the game.”

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