Carpenter Building Great Spring

Chris Carpenter did exactly what Cardinal fans needed to see on Thursday. The bullpen did too. And so did Joe Mather, who is still trying to assert himself to be the opening day third baseman if Glaus is not ready. All of these parts put together meant a Redbird victory against the Red Sox.

We'll start with Carp. He went four scoreless innings in his longest outing of the spring. He gave up only two hits, but also walked two. His ERA this spring still sits at 0.00 through 3 starts and 8 IP. Let's try to keep it that way through September or so. Or is that too much to ask? I don't want to seem greedy.

"It was another nice step forward, and I'm throwing more pitches," Carpenter said of his performance. "I'm healthy. That's what counts. It's been going well. I haven't had any issues yet. Results wise, it's been good... It was fun going out there and competing."

Carp's pitching coach, 'The Magician', Dave Duncan, was also feeling good after watching Carpenter so far this spring.

(Have you seen Duncan's Magic Show? For his first trick he pulls a Cy-Young out of a Carpenter. Maybe for his next trick he can transform a Pineiro into a Roger Clemens...minus the steroids. And face it, he took steroids. There's no way he took vitamin shots in his back side. Last time I walked down the vitamin aisle at Wal-Mart, there seemed to be much easier ways of taking vitamins. They have these very convenient pills now. Maybe Clemens is just 'behind' the times. HA.)

Anyway, back from my sarcastic sidebar - Duncan was happy with Carpenter's performance. "It was another positive outing for him. If you asked me what I was hoping for, this would be it. I consider it a very positive day. So far, it's very encouraging what's taken place."

Josh Kinney also had a very solid outing earning him a win. He pitched a perfect one-two-three 9th inning and struck out two of the three he faced, His ERA on the spring, like Carpenter, remains unblemished at a perfect 0.00.

Joe Mather also had another good day at the plate. After a four-rbi game yesterday, driving in 2 in the 9th to seal the victory, Mather hit a two-out walk-off home run against the Red Sox today propel the Cards to a 4-2 win.

Tomorrow the Cards are playing a split squad doubleheader. Half the team is playing the Orioles on the road at noon. Kyle McClellan is the scheduled starter for this one. The other half of the team is also playing the Orioles, however they are at home. The starter for this one is Joel Pineiro. C'mon Duncan...let the magic begin.

Go Cards.