Carpenter bouncing back

July 8, 2008 · Paul Raymond · Jump to comments

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Just a few weeks ago, Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals was beginning to doubt his return from Tommy John surgery. He was wondering whether the pains he was experiencing was new pains or the normal soreness that goes with the rehab. Well you know what it must of been just the general soreness. Carpenter threw his second simulated game on Monday and the team called the performance “glowing”.

Carpenter threw 60 pitches at the teams Jupiter, Florida training complex. General Manager John Mozeliak was pretty impressed by saying “His intensity was way up” and the outing was “glowing”. The team will look to increasing that pitch total over the next two weeks and get him near 80-90 before allowing a rehab assignment to begin. That could come by the end of the month.

So Cardinals fans you may see your ace back in the bigs sooner then you think. They’ll definitely need him as the team looks like they’ll be in a dogfight with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central title and Wild Card.

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Dave Pendleton on July 15th, 2008 8:39 am

Hopefully, for the Cardinals, Carp’s return will be a real shot in the arm. They’re going to need it if they hope to be in close competition at the end of the season.
With their current ace, Adam Wainwright, sidelined Kyle Lohse (11-2) has taken center stage.
The rest of the pitching staff seems to be held together with glue and paper clips.
Even so, the Cardinals have managed to rank among the top 5 pitching staff staffs in the league.
The long awaited return of Mark Mulder yielded what many of us had expected…not much. Actually, it was even less. Sixteen pitches to three hitters was all it took to send him back to Siberia….probably forever.
Chris Carpenter’s return has a more optimistic feel to it.
But I tend to temper my optimism more than most. He’s been out for a long time. Don’t expect Carp to return and pick up where he left off. If he does it’ll be a bonus. But just having him back on the roster should be a plus.
If the Cardinals defense, rated among the best in baseball, and their streaky offense, can continue, then maybe they can squeeze out 4 wins for Carp over the second half. MAYBE!
As it is, Cy Young may have trouble picking up a win with the Cardinals’ bullpen behind him.
I wish Carpenter well, but being a realist, all I’m hoping for are some decent outings and no setbacks. I look at the rest of this season as being the final phase of his rehab.
As they use to say in Boston…”maybe next year.”
Good Luck, Chris!