Sunday, March 14, 2010
VIERA, Fla. – Adam Wainwright was very critical of his own performance in his first start of the spring against the Minnesota Twins. In his second start on Sunday, he was much more forgiving.
“I wasn’t at my best today,” said Wainwright, who pitched on a day when the wind was consistently blowing between 20 and 25 miles an hour. “But my purpose with each pitch was much better. My stuff was not as sharp as I like it, but I knew the intent of the pitch, and that was what I was trying to accomplish.
“If you have a plan for each pitch and you can execute it most of the time, you’re going to have success.”
Wainwright singled out a couple of pitches in particular which he would have liked to have thrown differently, but he was proud of one accomplishment.
“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever gotten Adam Dunn out,” he said of the Nationals’ first baseman. Wainwright got Dunn to hit into a fielder’s choice grounded in the third.
Wainwright’s memory apparently only allows him to remember the hits Dunn has recorded off of him. In reality, Dunn is only 7-for-16 lifetime off Wainwright in the regular season.
Manager Tony La Russa was pleased with Wainwright’s performance.
“I thought he was pretty good – real good,” La Russa said. “Tough to hit pitches. He got better every time he went out there. I thought he was very impressive.”
ESPN trade rumor denied
There appears to be no validity to a rumor floated on ESPN Sunday that the Phillies have discussed offering the Cardinals a potential Albert Pujols for Ryan Howard trade.
In denying the rumor that the Phillies have had internal discussions about proposing such a trade, Philadelphia General Manager Ruben Amaro used the word “lie” three times.
"Lies," Amaro told ESPN’s Buster Olney. “That's a lie. I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie."
Both Howard, a St. Louis native, and Pujols are eligible to become free agents after the 2011 season.
Kinney progressing from shoulder inflammation
One of the players not making the trip to Viera was pitcher Josh Kinney, who played catch for a second-straight day after having a cortisone shot on Wednesday to treat inflammation in his right shoulder.
Kinney, who missed almost all of 2007 and 2008 with arm injuries, will see a doctor again on Tuesday before hopefully being cleared to return to the mound.
“I feel great,” Kinney said. “I’ve thrown the last few days. I had some inflammation in there. I had been getting treatment for it since I’ve been down here but it just wasn’t going away. It wasn’t getting any worse but for me, I learned something from my past, you just can’t keep going on and on. If you have a little something, you might as well get it addressed.
“I felt pretty good about the way I threw the ball, but I don’t want to be dealing with this down the road. I’ll be fine. I’d rather be playing obviously, but I need to throw the ball the right way or I’m no good to the team or myself anyway.”
Walters throws live batting practice, family doing well
Minor league pitcher P.J. Walters threw 30 pitches to Brendan Ryan and Ryan Ludwick on Sunday in Jupiter and hopes he might only have one more session of throwing live batting practice before he can appear in a game.
Ludwick and Ryan didn’t swing, instead tracking pitches to work on timing and strike zone judgment.
Walters has thrown two live batting practice sessions and said that he likely will need only one more to be game ready. The righthander has missed time on two different occasions to be with his family in Alabama.
“It was pretty good,” Walters said. “I started off and was kind of all over the place but the last 10-15 pitches were better. Everything felt good. My pitches were all good. It’s just a matter of locating them. I’m ready to get going.”
Walters also reported that his daughter Annabelle is doing well after intestinal surgery and that “so far, everything has gone as planned.”
News and Notes
La Russa said the Cardinals likely will make their next round of roster cuts on Monday or Tuesday… He said infielder Julio Lugo, who pulled up running to first on Sunday with a strained groin, likely will be out about five to seven days.
Contact Globe-Democrat.com Sports Editor Rob Rains at rrains@globe-democrat.com. Sports writer B.J. Rains contributed to this story.
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