Coming
off a triumphant sweep of the Houston Astros, the St. Louis Cardinals traveled
to Arizona to go Diamondback hunting.  The Snakes put up a pretty good fight, but the
Cardinals won the series 2-1.  The Cardinals are
leading the Central, a full game ahead of the Cubs.  Yet, with Carpenter injured again, it feels
like we are losing.

Chris
Carpenter

Chris
Carpenter, if you are reading this (which, of course, you are not), I want you
to stop now.  Fans, continue on:

Chris
Carpenter needs to believe that he can comeback and have a full healthy
season.  I want him to believe that.  However, as fans, we need to be
realistic.  The fragility of Carpenter has
been proven over and over.  Injuries are
not a matter of “if”, but “when”, “how severe” and “how long”. 

Yet, the
few innings he has taken the mound, both this year and last, have been
beautiful.  The thing that amazes me most
is the man can be out for months and months, but when he comes back, he throws
a gem. 

So,
fellow fans, we need to thing of Carpenter as gravy.  Or, dessert. 
Anything he does this year will be a bonus.  A treat. 
Something to be savored, but not counted on.  The rest of the starting rotation has to be
the meat and potatoes.  Fortunately, they
are proving that they can be.

Starter
#6 – I actually called it

Before
Chris Carpenter made it to the clubhouse at the top of the fourth on Tuesday,
speculation began about who would be called on to start in his spot.  Names were tossed about:  Kyle McClellan, Brad Thompson, Mitchell
Boggs.  However, a different name came to
my mind, and I thought I must be wrong since no one seemed to be saying it.

In an
email to a friend this morning, I gave the name of the Memphis Redbird who I
thought would get the call–just to go on record.  When I saw the Chris Perez and Mitchell Boggs
call ups today, I knew I had missed it. 

But, maybe
not.  Later, I checked St. Louis
Post-Dispatch website, and there he was: 
P. J. Walters.  Walters will be
joining the Cardinals rotation on Friday against the Cubs, which will give an
extra day of rest for Lohse, Wellemeyer and Pineiro.

I saw P.
J. Walters pitch in Chris Carpenter’s spot in one of the Cardinals’ exhibition
games in Memphis.  And, he pitched well,
giving up only one run, which was unearned. 
Walters also had a fine start against the Oklahoma City Redhawks, going
seven shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 1 walk.

Walters,
24, was drafted by the Cardinals in the 11^th round in 2006.  He spent most of 2008 in Triple-A
Memphis.  He had a great Spring Training.
He will make his Major League debut at Wrigley Field going against Carlos
Zambrano.  It does not get much bigger
than that.  Welcome to the bigs, Mr.
Walters.

Notes
on the D-Backs Series

Despite the double loss in Tuesday’s game, there were many positives that came out of this series.  Felipe Lopez was not one of them.  

Felipe
Lopez

Late last
year, Felipe Lopez’s major league career was in the waste basket.  The Nationals put him on waivers.  How bad is your year going when possibly the
worst team in baseball kicks you out? 

The
Cardinals picked him up, dusted him off and he became a new man.  He hit like crazy in a Cardinals uniform.  He seemed to earn a spot in St. Louis. 
Yet, he did not get one.  The
Diamondbacks picked him up.

During
this series, Lopez was very much the rattlesnake we turned our back on.  He struck and struck and struck.  Hitting the ball again and again.  Making great defensive plays.  He was a Cardinal killer.

Don’t get
me wrong, I like Lopez.  I am glad he is
having success.  I just wish he would go
have it against the other National League teams, and not so much mine.

Todd
Wellemeyer

In Monday’s
start, Todd Wellemeyer looked like, well, Todd Wellemeyer.  That is the Todd Wellemeyer that was named
the National League’s Pitcher of the Month in May of last year.  Not, the Todd Wellemeyer that has struggled
in Spring Training.  The slight change in
his delivery seemed to do the trick. 
Great to have him back on track!

His
outing rounded out a five game winning streak by Cardinals starting pitching. It
was five beautiful days where, in the best possible way, it was impossible to
tell which pitcher is the staff ace.

Brian
Barden

Wow.  Game winning home run in his first game
against the team that originally drafted him and waivered him.  In addition, he made contributions both
offensively and defensively to keep the Cardinals in Tuesday’s game.  While we look rather longingly at Felipe
Lopez and wonder what might have been, D-Back fans are scratching their heads
trying to remember why they let Barden go.

Yadier
Molina

Even with
a day off on Monday, Molina got a workout behind the plate.  In particular, catching seven different
pitchers on Tuesday when Carpenter left after the third. 

On top of
that he was an offensive force, taking great at bats ending in clutch hits,
getting on base and even racking up a critical stolen base that put him in
position to score.  In two games, he has
racked up two runs, four hits, four RBI’s and three walks.  He was on base five out of five times in
Wednesday’s matinee with 3 hits and 2 walks.  

Up
Next

So far,
the Cardinals look like a great team, with a plethora of tools and moving
parts.  As a whole, they have been sharp
and effective.  Of course, the
competition has been the Pirates, Astros and Diamondbacks.  Not to discount these talented clubs, but
they are not the cubs. 

The
Cardinals go to Wrigley for a four-game series with the Chicago cubs.  Their mettle will be tested.  Come Monday, we will know.