The Battle for Second Base

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While Kolten Wong will be manning second base for a long time to come, the focus at the present time is on both Matt Carpenter and Daniel Descalso.
Feb 19, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter (13) poses for a picture during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Image Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Whether one will take the field more games than the other, I don’t know. What I can say for certain is that the Cardinals have yet to play Carpenter at either first base, third base, or even the outfield this spring. The Cardinals know that he can play those positions. He has done so in the past.

What they want to see is how well he can play at second base. Whether Carpenter becomes the Skip Schumaker of this team in future seasons, I don’t know. That’s not for me to say. Not right now, anyway.

While the Cardinals lost to the New York Mets today, there was some good news for Jaime Garcia.

"Garica, troubled off and on with shoulder issues last year, hasn’t had any difficulty in camp this spring and appeared to display that today as he walked two and struck out one before repairing to the bullpen for a few more pitches."

This is definitely what the Cardinals would like to see in Garcia. Last season was a rough one for the pitcher. His spring could be a sign of a bright season for him.

Monday afternoon’s road game in Tampa against the New York Yankees will be televised live ESPN and an encore airing of the game takes place on the MLB Network at midnight (Eastern)/11 PM (Central). Lance Lynn will take the start for the Cardinals. Left-handed reliever Randy Choate and right-handed pitchers Seth Maness, Maikel Cleto, Michael Blazek, Eric Fornataro, and Jorge Rondon are available out of the bullpen for the Cardinals.

Games airing on Fox Sports Midwest will start airing on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, MLB Network will have a live telecast of Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. On Sunday, while many will be focused on watching conference championship games, the MLB Network will have a live telecast of the Cardinals taking on the Miami Marlins.