1. Schumaker 2B
2. Lugo SS
3. Stavinoha DH
4. Ludwick RF
5. Rasmus CF
6. Freese 3B
7. Mather 1B
8. Jay LF
9. LaRue C
MacLane, P

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2010_03_04_slnmlb_nynmlb_1

Mets

1. Gary Matthews Jr., CF
2. Luis Castillo, 2B
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Daniel Murphy, 1B
6. Jeff Francoeur, RF
7. Fernando Tatis, DH
8. Henry Blanco, C
9. Ruben Tejada, SS
Jose Reyes is out of the lineup today for a follow-up exam, according to the New York media. The Mets will start R.A. Dickey, a knuckleballer.

Live Blog: http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=702840&sid=839ccb234ac2ba9bc7b97599f61a9e31

12:10 p.m. St. Louis time ... Schumaker takes five straight pitches before putting full-count pitch in play. 6-3. No headfirst slide into first this time of year.

12:16 p.m. St. Louis time ... Stavinoha told before the game that he's faced Dickey before. It was back in the minors, and it was the first knuckleballer that he had faced in his career. Stavinoha went up to the plate thinking that he'd take the first pitch just so he could see the flighty pitch. Instead, Dickey fired a fastball, up in the zone. Stavinoha said, "To with this." And he slashed a single. He saw a knuckleball later in the game. Stavinoha did the same thing today. He lashed a single to left field. But he was stranded there after Ludwick popped up to center field to end the inning.

Ugly start to spring games for the Cardinals. Rasmus misplays a fly ball in the high sky, allowing the first hitter of the game to reach second. He then skips a throw from shallow center to the catcher, allowing the runner to easily score. Not a crisp beginning.

Not a shabby start for a guy who struggled with power. David Wright, the Mets' third baseman and an annual pick for MVP candidate, hit only 10 home runs last season. It could have been the unfriendly dimensions of Citi Field. It could have been healthy. Whatever it was, it didn't follow him into his first swing of spring. Wright drilled a pitch to the opposite field. It was helped by the wind, sure, but it was probably out anyway. The two-run shot gives the Mets a 3-0 lead.

Jason Bay followed with his first at-bat as a Met. He struck out, swinging.

Jon Jay hits the Cardinals into a run, and then runs the Cardinals out of the inning. After Mather’s double down the left-field line, lefthanded hitter Jay comes up and does what he’s expected to do – slash a base hit up the middle. Jay has been a high-average hitter throughout most of his minor-league career. He has the kind of swing that scouts expect to produce line drive base hits. Just like this one. He complicated things however by taking too wide a turn around first to make sure Mather scored. Jay was out 8-3-4-6-3 in the rundown to end the top of the second inning.

The goal for Evan MacLane, who has now retired six in a row, is to throw about 40 or so pitches. He needed six pitches to finish the bottom of the second inning. MacLane will be followed by Adam Ottavino, and the former first-round pick for the Cardinals will throw about the same.
It’s interesting to note the styles that the Cardinals will throw out there today. After MacLane, a finesse lefty, will be Ottavino, a power-ball righthander. Sanchez and Samuel are also fireballers, and then comes Zink, a knuckleballer. But then, again, it’s spring, and the same hitters that see MacLane won’t be in there against, say, Sanchez, and likewise for Zink.

Jason LaRue has keyed a rally here during the top of the third inning with a single through the right side of the infield. That allowed the top of the Cardinals order to pull them back into the game against Dickey.

Schumaker took four straight pitches for a walk, and Lugo followed with a single to load the bases for No. 3 hitter Stavinoha. With his second consecutive quality at-bat of the game, Stavinoha lofted a flyball to right field to score LaRue on the sacrifice fly.

Ludwick had the big blast of the inning – so far – with a two-run double to deep center. That gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead. Rasmus followed with a walk, which set the stage for the leading hitter of the early, early, early, early, early stages of spring …

Mather’s second hit of the game – in the second consecutive inning he’s had an at-bat – was a roped single up the middle. Mather had a nose for RBIs last season, too. He led the team for a stretch and was tied with Khalil Greene near the top of the Grapefruit League standings. He did that however while not batting all that high. The few hits he had were hits with runners in scoring position.
Two-for-2 is a good way to inflate the average early.

Mather’s single over the shortstop’s head drove in Ludwick for the utility fielder’s first RBI of the season. In the second inning, Mather drilled a double down the line and then scored the Cardinals first run. Mather’s single chased Dickey from the game, and brought in Tobi Stoner, a righty.

Cards up 5-3

Ottavino is in and he’s struggling with his command at the start. The righthander, a first-round pick in 2006, has annually battled his mechanics … until finding a comfortable delivery late last season. La Russa said he’s had some “impressive throws” this spring, and it has a lot do to with the lack of magpies chirping on his shoulder with every pitch. Ottavino had a lot of advisers early in his career with the Cardinals. He had “natural mechanic” concerns and “personal mechanics” suggestions and so on and so on. Earlier this spring, he said he’s really tried to simplify his delivery – and also not try to please everyone by following every tidbit of advice he gets. It has also helped that Dave Duncan has made some suggestions.
Duncan, you’ll recall, expressed concern with the development of some of the minor-league pitchers. He said he felt out of the loop. He did not discuss individuals when he went public with his concerns. It is, however, safe to say Ottavino was one of the arms on his mind. Ottavino has a live arm. And last year he showed what he’s capable of while pitching for Team Italy against a tough Team Venezuela lineup in the World Baseball Classic. Duncan watched that game encouraged by the young righty.
He hasn’t been that righty today. But he has been before this spring.
In his bullpens and against hitters, Ottavino has settled on a delivery that not only is comfortable and “natural” for him, but is also repeatable from pitch to pitch. Could be nerves that has him a little wild today. Ottavino has walked the first two batters of the third inning here – leadoff hitter Matthews and No. 2 Castillo. He’s worked his way back in the count to deliver …
A real nasty 2-2 slider to get Wright frozen on strike three.

That was the composed Ottavino the Cardinals have seen previously this spring.

And then he walks Bay to load the bases ...

Ottavino wouldn’t have given up a run if not for an error. Go figure. The Mets scored a run on a potential sacrifice fly to center. Murphy flew out to center, and Matthews looked like he wasn’t going to attempt to score … until Mather dropped the ball on the throw from center. The error allowed Matthews to score, and it kept Ottavino from conjuring a scoreless inning out of a mess.

Instead he got Francoeur to skip into a grounder to second, a handcuff shot that Schumaker may not have fielded as smoothly a year ago at this time. Schumaker absorbed the bad hop and quickly stepped on second for the forceout. End of the third,

Cardinals leading, 5-4.

1:30 p.m. STL … A far more aggressive and assure Ottavino comes out for his second inning. Working against the bottom three hitters of the Mets’ lineup, Ottavino gets ahead in the count and works a perfect inning. He struck out Blanco in between two meek popups by Tatis and Tejada. Ottavino was straying up in the zone during the inning, but he did so by keeping the hitters off-balance enough that they went after pitches up and popped up.


Knuckleballer Zink is warming up in the Cardinals bullpen.

Ludwick just drilled 2-2 pitch to right-center field for an opposite field home run. Two of the hardest hit balls of the day go to Ludwick – a double to deep, deep center field and then this home run to the hill in right-center.

Last year, Ludwick entered games still tight and uncomfortable with his swing. He looked it, too. His wasn’t as loose and his swing looked stilted, even mechanical. This spring he’s said that he feels better going through drills and that he hasn’t been as sore. He credits his off-season workout program, which, among other things, stressed flexibility and stretching as well as strength-building.

In 2008, Ludwick came in saying his motto was “short to, long through,” and he became an All-Star.

In 2009, Ludwick came in intent on adding to his power numbers and proving he was deserving of the All-Star nod and Silver Slugger. He also had added on a bunch of muscle. He struggled to find his swing all spring and his extra-base pop vanished as the strikeouts climbed.

In 2010, all he’s done is hit.

Changes abound, but most notably is the change not made: Schumaker remains at second base. He’s due up third in the next inning. It will be his fourth plate appearance of the game. Usually some veterans will bring up an extra car so that they can head back to Jupiter early. Starting pitchers often do this. Asked before the game if he did, Schumaker said no. La Russa commented how Schumaker likes to get his work in during the spring, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if the second baseman saw fewer innings this year than in years past. He was, after all, trying to learn a new position last year and he was trying to make the team as a leadoff hitter the year before that.

The changes (as Matthews goes opposite field with a home run): Greene in at shortstop, Gotay in at third, Hamilton in to play first base and Daryl Jones is out in right field. Zink is now pitching.

I just got home and it's in the 6th inn. and the Mets are up 9 - 6. I had my gizmo set to record the whole game so I'll get to watch it all later tonite. DAMMNN, BASEBALL IS BACK !!!!!!!!!

I was watching Samuel pitch and from the first batter on it appeared to me he is pitching with a sore arm. I never saw him before but he was short arming the ball and had no control and that's usually a sign of a sore arm for most pitchers. Anybody ever see him before? Is that his usual motion etc.?

METS 17, CARDINALS 11
at Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Thursday, March 4

Cardinals at the plate: Starting right fielder Ryan Ludwick paced the Cardinals' offense, going 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs scored and a team-high three RBIs. Joe Mather, competing for a spot on the roster, also impressed, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Meanwhile, St. Louis' projected starter at third base, David Freese, finished 0-for-3 with a punchout.

Mets at the plate: The top of the order was in full gear. Gary Matthews Jr. and Luis Castillo combined to go 4-for-4 with five runs scored and two RBIs. David Wright hit a two-run homer on a line drive to right field in the first inning, and Matthews added a solo shot in the fifth. Jason Bay, making his Mets debut, went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. Ike Davis pounded a ninth-inning grand slam well past the picnic tables in right field.

Cardinals on the mound: Evan MacLane, who put up a 4.02 ERA in Triple-A last year, yielded three runs on three hits in his two-inning start. Adam Ottavino followed up and had a hard time finding the strike zone, as he walked three batters and gave up an unearned run in two frames. The game then blew open when knuckleballer Charlie Zink checked in to start the fifth and gave up seven runs (five earned) in 1 2/3 innings.

Mets on the mound: R.A. Dickey had his knuckleball working early, then it went downhill. He was unable to finish the third inning, and his outing ended with five earned runs allowed on seven hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. Tobi Stoner followed up and gave up a run in 2 1/3 frames. Jack Egbert hurled two shutout innings, striking out three and walking two. Sean Green checked in for the eighth, but he was able to get just two outs and exited early. He was charged with two runs.

Worth noting: The wind was estimated to be blowing at about 18 mph at Tradition Field, which made for an interesting sight considering two knuckleballers -- Dickey and Zink -- saw action. But the wind factor was never more evident than in the top of the third, when Ludwick's liner to straightaway center field hooked towards right field and spun Matthews completely around, resulting in a two-run double.

Grapefruit League records: Mets 2-1; Cardinals 0-1

Up next: The Cardinals play their home opener on Friday against the Mets at 12:05 p.m. CT, and they'll do so with their biggest names back in the lineup. Friday's game at Roger Dean Stadium is expected to feature the Grapefruit League debuts of Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina, none of whom made the trip up to Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Thursday. It also will feature Brad Penny's first game appearance in a Cardinals uniform.

Conrail wrote:I was watching Samuel pitch and from the first batter on it appeared to me he is pitching with a sore arm. I never saw him before but he was short arming the ball and had no control and that's usually a sign of a sore arm for most pitchers. Anybody ever see him before? Is that his usual motion etc.?

I checked the box score of the game, and the guy's game ERA was 54.0. Holy cow! He must have had one BAD outing!

Bunch a guys I never heard of.....

About Colby droppin that routine flyball?

Ya think he's in Tony's doghouse already?
(i noted the wind speed in Rod's thread above, but
saw it on MLB hi-lights)

Luddy must be ready to have a showdown with Matt!

Carter, I posted yesterday that it'd be on today, maybe
you should at least glance through all of my posts!

hicard wrote:Bunch a guys I never heard of.....

About Colby droppin that routine flyball?

Ya think he's in Tony's doghouse already?
(i noted the wind speed in Rod's thread above, but
saw it on MLB hi-lights)

Luddy must be ready to have a showdown with Matt!

Carter, I posted yesterday that it'd be on today, maybe
you should at least glance through all of my posts!

OMG! I gotta read every dam post to find your hidden messages to your PALS!!?? Make a new thread that say's: Cards play Mets tomorro on TV, you no good Bastage!!

What about the times I talk about you, hell
you'll miss em!

Next time I'll be more succinct, K?

And yer my pal too, dingus magee!