John Rodriguez sustained a left shoulder strain on Friday at Tradition Field. Rodriguez was one of the remaining outfielders left in camp. He was believed to have had a spot on the team after John Gall and Chris Duncan were sent down earlier this week.
Rodriguez joined Larry Bigbie and Rick Ankiel as injured St. Louis outfielders. This means the Cardinals could bring one of the demoted outfielders back up. If he misses any time, it looks as if Skip Schumaker has a spot on the team.
There's just a few more roster spots available for the Cardinals. It looks as if it shakes down to this: Brian Falkenborg, Josh Hancock and Alan Benes are all options for the final bullpen spot. Adam Wainwright is in. Jeff Nelson is out.
On offense, Scott Spiezio, Aaron Miles, Hector Luna, Skip Schumaker and John Rodriguez are playing for four spots.
Here's a quick look at how they fared on Thursday:
Spiezio: 0-1
Luna: 0-0, BB, Error
Miles: 0-1
Schumaker: 0-2
Rodriguez: 1-3, BB, run
Pitching;
Falkenborg: 1 1/3 innings, 1 hit allowed, no runs and escapd a bases-loaded jam.
By DUNN NEUGEBAUER
Nobody has been a hotter hitter lately than
Cardinal shortstop David Eckstein. Just over a week
ago, he was hitting a paltry .154. Since then,
however, he is 13 for his last 25 and has lifted his
average to .333.
On Wednesday against the Marlins, he singled to
open the game, then followed with a double in the
third. He finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk.
Manager Tony La Russa still has roster decisions to
make by this weekend. Any questions of who will be
playing shortstop, however, have been answered.
I don't think I'm going out on a limb here, but I'd be really surprised if Adam Wainwright does not make this club. The kid has been lights out this spring, and if all were equal, he would have gotten a longer look as a starting pitcher. Things were not all equal with Sidney Ponson getting the starting nod. Ponson does have more experience than Wainwright, and he's a safer choice, as odd as that might sound. But Wainwright has not faltered in the bullpen, and that must be encouraging for manager Tony La Russa.
The Cardinals decided not to make any cuts on Monday. With the road trip set for Tuesday, it will probably take until Wednesday for the team to make the next set of trims.
There's a lot of debate in the press box as to which outfielders will make the team. Chris Duncan throws a wrench into everything. If Duncan makes the team, the Cardinals might not be able to keep John Rodriguez because they would need a better defensive outfielder off the bench, assuming So Taguchi gets the starting gig. Skip Schumaker and John Gall would then be the other outfielder. Rick Ankiel is another wild card, but the Cardinals might try to sneak him through waivers before he gets any more at-bats.
If you look at the Cardinals' lineup, it doesn't look nearly as ferocious as it did last season. Scott Rolen is still getting back to being a power player. They don't have much offensively at second base, and even though Juan Encarnacion is solid, he's not Reggie Sanders. It will be interesting to see how many runs this Cardinals' club scores.
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