Chris Carpenter looks like he’ll be “out for awhile,” La Russa says
PHOENIX — It is a motion St. Louis Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter has made enough in his career to know nothing good usually comes from motioning for the trainer to come out on the field. But what else was he supposed to do in the fourth inning Tuesday?
He couldn’t fire a pitch without significant pain.
“Couldn’t throw,” Carpenter said. “I tried to throw the last one there and it hurt pretty good.”
Carpenter was removed from the game after throwing his warmup pitches for the fourth inning. The righthander was diagnosed at the scene with a strained rib-cage muscle. Carpenter later described it as an oblique injury, pointing to the left side of his torso as he explained that it was still sore after the game. He said he will return to St. Louis and meet with team doctors Thursday.
While the Cardinals wouldn’t confirm their plans to make move Wednesday morning, it is certain that Carpenter is headed to the 15-day disabled list and the Cardinals will be looking for a starter.
“The most important thing is that Chris Carpenter got hurt,” manager Tony La Russa said after his team’s 7-6 loss in extra innings to Arizona. ” No matter what happens in the game, the most important thing is it looks like he’s going to be out for awhile. That kind of overwhelms everything else that happened in the game.”
The Cardinals are operating under a tight turnaround for making a move before Wednesday’s game, which begin at noon Phoenix time. It’s is likely that the Cardinals will make two moves as a result of Carpenter’s injury. The bullpen was taxed covering the seven innings left in the game, and there will be an opening for a starter Sunday at Wrigley Field. The most likely move for the Cardinals is to promote Chris Perez from Class AAA and consider bringing a starter like Mitchell Boggs, who had spot starts in the majors last season, up as well. General manager John Mozeliak declined to name specific options, but he agreed that two moves were possible — one to address the bullpen and the other two solve the starter vacancy.
“That’s a viable option,” Mozeliak said. “The probability of us making a move is there.”
Internally, Kyle McClellan presents the most likely possibility to start in Carpenter’s place.
The Cardinals’ extra-innings loss at Chase Field ended at the final deadline for our Wednesday editions, so it was impossible to get comments from the team in this morning’s paper. One of the benefits of the blog is the ability to relay the information at any time — even after deadline. All of the comments here are from the post-game press access, and they are printed here in addition to the work down for the print edition.
Carpenter said he felt the his torso pinch taking a swing in his at-bat that ended the top of the fourth inning. He went out to the mound to throw his warmup and try to grit through the pain, but it got worse with each throw and eventually kept him from throwing comfortable at all.
“I felt it just a little bit on that swing,” Carpenter said, “and then every warmup pitch it got worse and worse. There’s nothing I can do about it but come out.”
Mozeliak said the team’s experience with this kind of injury dates most recently back to Woody Williams, “and if I recall that was an extended period of time,” the GM said. “In fairness, I think the doctors need to weight in on that.” The “fortunate thing”, according to Carpenter, is that he’s sure it has nothing to do with his elbow — which is twice surgically repaire in the past two years — nor is it anything related to the nerve condition he had in his right shoulder. The strain is on the opposite side of the body.
“It will just take time,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter pitched three scoreless innings, and the Cardinals had just taken a 3-0 lead for him when he went out to begin the fourth inning. Catcher Yadier Molina, whose two-run double was the biggest hit of that rally, was the first to motion for the trainer to come to the field. La Russa knows the length of that walk well, and knows it’s a longer route when you’re worried about what’s waiting for you on the mound. The Cardinals were careful not to take any pitch Carpenter threw in spring training for granted, and they were even hesitant to over-celebrate his debut, during which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning last week.
This is why.
“You can imagine,” La Russa said. “I’ve talked enough about how important he is.”
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(11 votes, average: 4.73 out of 5)
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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. 
Just devastating…
……..Jake Peavy……..
……jake peavy……20 million a year……not happening
When i saw him motion to the bench i literally felt like i was going to throw up. hopefully he will only miss maybe 3 starts. I’d like to see McClellan moved to the rotation and Perez brought up in the bullpen, well not that i like to see that, but id rather have that than bring up Boggs. Thoughts?
He gets hurt batting?? What kind of physical condition is this guy in? Go to the AL , dude. And the Cardinals FO deserves whatever they get out of this disaster with Carpenter. Sad day.
My first post here. I wanted to say Good Luck and Heath to the Cards
and fans but Carpenter hurt already! I hope he heals fast and is alright.
May our rivalry be as great and fun as always, it’s starts today!
This injury is almost certainly psychosomatic, and entirely predictable with Carpenter’s history. As a perfectionist, he can’t handle the pressure. He should read Dr. John Sarno’s “The Mindbody Prescription.”
Seems like a pretty straightforward choice here for Carp’s replacement; P.J. Walters was the last starter sent down during Spring Training, where he pitched very well. Then in his Memphis debut a few days ago, P.J. was fantastic, tossing 7 shutout innings as he fanned 6 and allowed just 2 singles plus a walk.
Walters, please.
(And for the love of Dizzy Dean, no more Mitch Boggs auditions. Had his chance in ‘08, failed miserably. Bad in relief, bad starter, terrible 22 walks v. only 13 K’s…no markers for future success whatsoever. So I imagine he’ll be the one to get called up. After all, like our old friend Kelvin Jimenez, Boggs already has the Valuable Major League Experience. Sigh.)
The guy is more fragile then a 18th century china doll.
I am disappointed, but I can’t say I am surprised. Carpenter is a true ace if/when he is healthy, but he always seems to get hurt sometime throughout the season. I wonder if his mechanics have changed from his multiple injuries (old) to keep causing new and different injuries in other places? I know they are saying this is from batting, but surgically repaired arms can have unintended consequences (stresses on other parts of the body that were not stressed before the original injury).
Anyway, I think it is time to start shopping an outfielder for some starting pitching. The FO banked on Carp, but it’s time to make a backup plan! I still like our team, even without Carp!
This is a tough day in Cardinal nation. Hope he gets better soon! Aside from that how TIRED can a bullpen be?? They pitch one maybe two innings? whoa!! I’m exhausted I threw 10 whole pitches today!! Wow day off for you tomorrow. You cant throw on back to back days, that’s too much for a bullpen pitcher. Ughh! That’s like the outfielders who play two games and “need a day off” what a gig if you can get it.
Memo to Bill DeWitt- Mark Mulder has been throwing little league batting practice this spring, and looking darn good. He can probably be signed on the cheap.
Carp needs some HGH!!!!
I am a big fan of TLR, but his gameplan went weird after Carp came out of the game. I thought the point of having Thompson in the bullpen was that he can chew up some innings in the middle of a game, not give up the game-winning run in extras. And then, the icing on the cake. Bases loaded. 1 out. You have an all-star slugger sitting on your bench. Who do you put in? BRENDAN FREAKING RYAN! Three whiffs later, 2 outs. Game goes to extras. D-Backs win. Losing Carp is a really big deal. We don’t win if he is injured. Even Al and Dan were saying that they need to pull together and win this one. New year; same moves that just dumbfound me.
IM fine with Walters coming up, just not Boggs. I wish Thompson would go. i honestly believe he has the worst stuff of any pitcher in the major leagues. a righty that tops out at 87 mph with little movement and no second pitch cannot get people out. sorry brad
This is horrible for the terd on the bat. I love how after a great beginning AFTER ONE GAME the cardinal nation was ready to crown themselves playoff contenders. AFTER ONE GAME! Sure, Milton Bradley is out for us, but that’s not nearly as critical for us as Carp is to you. He’s a helluva pitcher when healthy, but that hasn’t happened for some time.
Cardinal fans are a joke — your team is sitting on piles of cash that they aren’t willing to spend because they think that they can build a winner via their farm system. Wake up. This isn’t 1955. Baseball is a business built on shrewdness and rational decision making. Cardinal fans shouldn’t root for Brendan Ryan or Skip-to-my-Lou Brock-Schumaker. They should be rooting on a proven infielder acquired via free agency or a trade. Bo Hart, ladies and gentlemen. John Rodriguez, ladies and gentlemen.
Go get Jake Peavy.
I’m surprised only 2 posts said get Peavy. I was expecting a lot more. To those guys, he’s over rated and overpaid. Don’t get me wrong, he has nasty stuff, but he goes through stretches where he gets knocked around. Plus, do you really think we’ll give the Padres what they’ll want for him and take on his payroll? PJ Walters deserves a shot, so I hope to see him instead of Boggs. And I agree with one good post…Why didn’t Ludwick get a chance to hit with a runner on 3rd and one out instead of Ryan? A sac fly is all we needed, and Ryan has shown he doesn’t have any disciplne in key at bats. I normally like LaRussa’s decisions, but that one stumped me.
What about taking a look at Ben Sheets. Last i heard he hasnt signed with anyone. I know he is a bit of an injury risk too but remember he started the all star game last year, and could be a steal if hes healthy. maybe an incentive deal could get him
Man Up already. What happened to the players of old?
They would play every game, no matter what. Pitchers
would pitch double headers on Sundays and then pitch
again later that week. Now we can’t even get through
the first 2 weeks of the season.
How does a pitcher hurt himself batting?? I mean, we’ve got perhaps ONE pitcher that should actually even be swinging at the ball. All the rest should either be bunting just waiting for three strikes.
Lame, lame, lame.
Also, LaRussa is acting like an a$$ in his postgame news conference. Carpenter being injured and unavailable is NOTHING new to this team, why act like they sky is falling? All winter we thought that anything Carp did this summer would be a bonus.
So, he’ll be back in 15 days, we’ll get one or two more starts and he’ll be gone again. Bank on it.
“This is horrible for the terd on the bat. I love how after a great beginning AFTER ONE GAME the cardinal nation was ready to crown themselves playoff contenders. AFTER ONE GAME! Sure, Milton Bradley is out for us, but that’s not nearly as critical for us as Carp is to you. He’s a helluva pitcher when healthy, but that hasn’t happened for some time.
— Cubs Fan
8:36 am April 15th, 2009″
Wow, typical Cubbies fan. You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here and talking about Cardinals fans crowning themselves playoff contenders after one game. Just what are Cubbies fans doing in this refrigerator by the lake where I live? All I’ve heard, from Cubbies fans, the media, announcers…is how they might as well not even play the regular season, or the NL Playoffs, because it is a forgone conclusion the Cubbies are going to the World Series. Why, from everything I’ve heard, they’ve got the best starting rotation in the NL, best lineup in the NL, best catcher in the baseball (Geovany Soto based on 1 season - Ha!), best manager in baseball, best relief pitcher in baseball (Carlos Marmol - Ha!) best fans in baseball (Ha!), best ballpark in baseball (Ha! - Maybe the best urine-smelling, fratboy/Lincoln-Park-Trixie/drunk infested dump in baseball), and on, and on, and on…
How you can come here and say anything about Cardinals fans getting a little excited about their team is beyond me. Why don’t you quit trolling and go back to your buddies at Bleed Cubbie Blue, where you can whine about every call the Cubbies don’t get, cry about missing the great Soto for three or four games, and sing the praises of the worst announcer in the history of any sport, Ron “Elect My Undeserving Butt To The Hall Of Fame Because You Should Feel Sorry For Me” Santo. You’re pathetic.
How about offering an incentive-loaded deal to Pedro Martinez? He has to be getting a little antsy by now…..
Well now, isn’t that just great! I sure hope this team doesn’t implode like they have the past 2 years without Carp. Low hanging fruit?
Stuck_In_Chicago: LOL!!!!!
The Cards may be cheap, but the Cubs are just cursed. Even if the cubbies win the central, their season will end 7 days later when they lose to the wild card team, probably the rockies or padres. I think Wrigley field is what is insulting the baseball “gods”. Consider imploding that cess pool and maybe your fortunes will improve.
!@#$%!!!!
“It will just take time,” Carpenter said.
Yeah, I’m sure it will “Just take time,” all while you collect your bazillions of dollars and the promising team takes a nose dive.
I agree it sucks that Carp is out and TLR is not smart for not bringing in Lud to pinch hit. But my question is Why didn’t Oquendo send Skip home on Big Al’s base hit to right field? Are you telling me that Skip couldn’t score from second base? Seriously. That could have ended the game.
A lot of ignorant comments here about Carp. Don’t you realize that the oblique pull is the injury of the “now”? Too much weight training is making the guys too muscle bound and body tight. Pujols has had it, Ankiel has had it, and I heard Matheny say on the radio this morning that he had it twice. This is something that is going to be common and just be happy it wasn’t an elbow or shoulder.
Carpenter hurt?
I’m shocked, shocked at this news.
Let’s see. I’m sure DeWitt will move quickly to acquire a top-flight starter.
Yeah, surrrrreeeee.
With La Genius leaving Ludwick on the bench with the bases loaded and the game on the line, a shut down pitcher is our only chance. I know it’s April Tony but these games do count. The guys an all-star play him. Kinda reminds me of one of Whitey’s few mistakes, platooning Andy Van Slyke. We traded him and playing every day he became an All Star too.
Seeing Carp walk off with the trainer once again hurts, no doubt.It is a huge let down to see this guy in pain again, however, this could be a blessing in disguise. Look at it this way-Did we really want Carp to make 30 starts and pitch over 200 innings? No way, he is an outstanding pitcher but in the long run he may be better off missing 2, 3, 4 starts now so that he is healthy after the break and fresh. There is no telling how well he could hold up over a long season. Now he won’t have too. Disappointing-absolutely. But it is far from the end. His arm is healthy and therefor a good showing is still possible.
I just got over a similar rib injury and let me tell you it hurts. I play competitive sports weekly and any kind of twisting motion sends pain all around the mid-section. The dull pain is constant, but a sneeze feels like a knife in the ribs (not that I know what a knife in the ribs actually feels like). I tried playing through it for a couple weeks, but it took about two months for it to heal completely.
This entire organization is pathetic. I called it in the offseason, and anyone with a working brain in their head knew that this was coming. Mozeliak, Dewitt, this is your fault…you are both worthless pieces of trash, I don’t know which one of you is more pathetic! Carpenter won’t be back this season, and this worthless front office and our horrible General manager did absolutely nothing to provide protection for this team, and now we will watch as the team gets flushed down the toilet. I’m anxious to hear all of you “suck up” fans and the pathetic suck up media (Bernie Miklasz, Jeff Gordon,etc.) defend the Cardinals now! I can’t wait for the idiots in this town defend the organization by saying that the injury had nothing to do with his elbow or shoulder. Carpenter is as fragile as it gets, he may as well be made out of tissue paper. Those of us who are intelligent knew he would get injured, and this season it took all of ten innings! There is no depth in the rotation, we still don’t have a closer, but still the suck-up’s continue to defend the organization. Unbelievable!
He’s a helluva pitcher when healthy, but that hasn’t happened for some time.
— Cubs fan
HEY CUBS FAN….ENTER MARK PRIOR AND KERRY WOOD!!!! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN…100 YEARS AND COUNTING????
Blame this on our very own, Bill DeCHEAP Jr!
Anyone with a brain new Carpenter was an injury waiting tohappen, and DeCHEAP wanted to save money. So maybe now we can bring up Royce Ring.
All winter long we heard that the organization would monitor the Carpenter situation before making a move on a starting pitcher. I agree Carpenter is a great pitcher when healthy. The problem is that he is seldom healthy. It is not fair to the fans or the other players to not aggresively address this situation. The Cardinal obviously have a good team that has a chance to compete for the playoffs. We need another starting pitcher that can make an impact. Peavy would be a great option. We also need a closer but I would opt for the starter at this point. We just heard how much the All Star game is going to infuse into the organization. Ownership needs to commit and give this team a chance for success. Who really thinks that Boggs or Walters can make a significant impact? We need an impact player.
WTF. Carpenter needs to drink more water. Injuries like this can be easily prevented if you just stay hydrated. I hope he is back sooner than later and can stay healthy for the rest of the year. It is friggin’ disgusting that this shi@ keeps happening.
Go Cardinals!
get him healthy, pitch 4-5 starts, then trade him and his huge salary for someone who can actually help the team. The injuries will continue, mark my words.
I love Carp but he’s done. We have done enough wishing on him and many other injury riddled guysover the years. Not sure who to sign or bring up but time to look ahead and thank him for what he has done but we can’t count on his health.
Hey he almost has his 15 innings for the year.
Well I guess Mo doesn’t look so smart now. He placed all of his eggs on having a healthy Chris Carpenter and now Chris is headed to the DL.
I guess the good news is that the Cardinals have sold all of those season tickets with a healthy Chris Carpenter during spring training. Mo should go work part time for the Rams!
Do we have another JD Drew on our hands?
Well we lost our main battery in the rotation. Now the rest of the guys are going to have to take more load, which means they are going to wear down faster as the season goes along without Carp. The organization needs to anti up and get another anchor. The team needs the support of the front office or else the energy the team puts out is going to run out like it did late last year in the heat of the pennant race. Batteries work well when they are charged. But when the power begins to fade the boat becomes disabled. Aprils schedule is to important to not act quickly. We’ve got to much ocean to cross. Get the requisition out for a bonafied starter NOW!
Mo should never have counted on Carp. He should have searched for a starter at the end of last season… Carp is DONE…. Stick a fork in him!
How about we give this guy a cortisone shot and he toughens up a tad?
Daddy I have a boo boo. I mean the guy is a great pitcher but if he stubs his too he goes to the DL. How do you get hurt swinging a bat? Come Chris show some guts.
Time to get ready for the Cards and DBack game… See ya on TV
CHRIS DUNCAN; TRADE BAIT
THEY HEVE BEEN SHOWING HIM OFF AND SAY HE NOW CAN HIT LEFT HANDED PITCHING.
Psychosomatic??? Hiram, you would be better served by remaining silent and letting people think you to be ignorant, than to make a post like that and remove any shadow of a doubt.
So now that Carp and Glaus are on the DL, that’s 2 out of our top 3 paid players at approx. $25 million or 30% of our payroll. So I guess we should trade for another pricey proven commodity when the team was only $5 million in the black last year, and looks to be maintaining that this year. Please! Call up Walters, see what he’s made of until Carp heals, and cross your fingers again. I know it sucks, but it’s a fact of life that pitchers get hurt regularly because it’s not a natural motion to do over and over again. Yes, he’s fragile, but he’s worth the risk. Forget about Peavy, Sheets, Martinez, or anyone else. We don’t have the cash and shouldn’t give up good young talent to take on more health risks. One risk is fine, but 2-3 is dumb (Carp, Mulder, and Clement from last year). This team should manage for about 6-8 weeks until Carp returns.
Carp shouldn’t even try to swing at pitches if and when he returns. Just get up there and let them throw strikes and sit back down again…Jeeez, this guy can get hurt picking up a pencil…
Yeah stuff happens to players…it might have not been his arm…but he is still out for multiple weeks…so I can tell you exactly what the ownership (cheapa-ses) will say…
“When Carpenter comes back, it’ll be like gaining a top of the line free agent.”- Bill Detwit.
I feel bad for Carp…but no way do I feel bad for the ownership. If we go one more year behind the Cubs (eventhough they’ll choke in the playoffs) people will go looking for Detwit’s head…and I’ll be carrying a pitch fork…
I agree. Give us Peavy. I hate to say it, but this is three years in a row for Carp. And, if we don’t get him, the cubbies will. I love the way our rotation is looking this first week, but we need that knockout if we’re going to fight for the division crown against our rivals to the north.