JUPITER, Fla. • A sensation last spring, Cardinals minor leaguer Matt Carpenter has started this spring training thinking only about variation.
Carpenter, 26, carries three gloves to each workout, and when the opportunity presents itself he'll take grounders at first base or chase fly balls in the outfield to complement his scheduled work at third base. On Saturday, he waited 30 minutes after his workout was over to shag flies in right field while the catchers hit. Asked if he had a position he planned to focus on, Carpenter hesitated.
"To be honest, everywhere," he said. "I want to get to the point where I'm comfortable at every spot. I'm trying to show my versatility that wherever you need me I'm willing and prepared to go over there."
A year ago, Carpenter forced his way into the lineup with a lively bat and finished the spring with a .333 average, a .414 on-base percentage, six extra-base hits and one strong impression on the major league staff. Carpenter appeared in seven games in the majors and hit .300 with a .417 on-base percentage in 130 games with Class AAA Memphis. Watching the Cardinals in October underscored the reality of his situation: the Cardinals have a third baseman, David Freese.
Carpenter went to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball as a utility fielder. He was limited to five games before a death in his family brought him home. He came to spring training intent on showing he could play first base and outfield in addition to third. He has even taken grounders at second base. Manager Mike Matheny said Carpenter and Mark Hamilton will see playing time in the outfield during exhibition games.
"A versatile player is going to get an opportunity," Matheny said.
With Allen Craig (knee surgery) not likely to be available for opening day and no obvious backup at first base as a result, Carpenter's ability to show versatility with the glove could be how he echoes what he did with a bat last spring.
"It's obvious that we've got a really good third baseman," Carpenter said. "If you limit yourself strictly to third base then you're not putting yourself in the best situation for your own achievements but also for the team. I know as a young guy you have to do more things to get that opportunity. I'll be ready."
C. CArpenter, WAINwright are SET FOR TUESDAY
Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter is scheduled to face hitters Tuesday. He will be the last of the major-league pitchers to advance to live batting practice. Carpenter, who threw 273 innings last season, is being eased into spring workouts at a conservative pace set by him and the club. Carpenter said the plan is now for him to skip one Grapefruit League start, making four this season.
"We've given him some different alternatives of missing a start in spring, missing two starts in spring, missing three starts," Matheny said. "'Chris, what do you need? What do you think is going to set you up? Here is our concern — the amount of innings that you've had in the past.'"
Matheny said Carpenter is the likely opening day starter April 4 at Miami, though the manager stressed that the schedule can change and he will react based on how ready Carpenter feels.
Adam Wainwright skipped a scheduled bullpen session Sunday, choosing instead to throw on flat ground instead of off the mound. Wainwright's drill was labeled a "light side" and the coaches gave him the option of doing it away from the mound. Wainwright will face hitters for a second time on Tuesday, putting him ahead of the other rotation. The advanced schedule gives Wainwright some room to add a bullpen session or live batting practice before his first Grapefruit League start, pitching coach Derek Lilliquist said.
"There's wiggle room for everybody," Lilliquist said.
"One of the things I did was stepped up my intensity against hitters (Friday)," Wainwright said. "I want to step it up every time with hitters."
SWAGERTY ON HOLD
Prospect Jordan Swagerty, who pitched at four levels last summer and could be a fixture in the Class AAA bullpen this season, has had his program slowed because of stiffness near his right elbow. Swagerty had a magnetic resonance imaging scan taken of the joint late last week, and he said the scan did not reveal any structural issues. Bone spurs in the joint are causing some irritation and inflammation. Swagerty said he did not know when he is next scheduled to throw.
"It's one of those things where you want it to be 100 percent," he said.
LINEBRINK tests grip
Veteran reliever Scott Linebrink, a non-roster reliever vying for a spot in the big-league bullpen, starts his delivery by wedging the ball deep between his index and middle finger and then dangling to his side. The batter can clearly see that he has the forked grip for his split-finger fastball, but that's only how he starts.
"I change it (in the glove), and sometimes I don't," Linebrink said. "That's part of the mystery."
Linebrink, who had a 3.64 ERA in 64 appearances with the Atlanta Braves last season, faced hitters for the first time Sunday and displayed a fading change-up and a tightly spun split that Wainwright called "filthy." The split, with its late drop, can be an out pitch for Linebrink, who is using these early sessions on the mound to experiment with the best grip.
"That's a real feel pitch," he said. "I like tinkering with the grip here or there and sometimes you figure something out. It's not one of those pitches that you just wake up and throw. It takes work."
EXTRA BASES
Rule 5 pick Erik Komatsu took a foul ball off his right foot Saturday and was easing through his workout as a result. Komatsu played all of last season with a fracture in that same foot. ... The organization's warning about using Twitter and other social media responsibly was underscored in personal letters sent by Matheny to minor leaguers. "Making sure that they are careful," Matheny said. "They need to realize that every stupid thing they put out there gets to my desk and gets to Mo's desk, and if they're thinking properly that's not necessarily what they want. ... I think guys forget that they're not just talking to their friends, that that's hitting the world."
