A Wing and A Prayer

Actually, it is more like a Leg and A Prayer: Izzy throws from mound, reports no discomfort

Cardinals pitchers and catchers aren’t due to report for another week, but the first significant pitch of spring may have been thrown Tuesday behind Roger Dean Stadium.

Climbing a mound for the first time since undergoing Sept. 21 hip surgery, closer Jason Isringhausen threw 20 pitches without discomfort before laying out a schedule that would have him ready for the defending world champions’ April 1 season opener.

Isringhausen threw easily. More important, the club’s all-time saves leader reported no problems landing on his left leg, a move that left him in agony for much of last season.

Isringhausen last appeared in a game Sept. 6, when he dropped a save against the Washington Nationals. The blown save was Isringhausen’s 10th of the season and occurred as he pitched for a third consecutive day. He approached team trainers afterward, admitted that his condition was deteriorating and was disabled the next day.

The September surgery was the second performed on Isringhausen’s arthritic left hip since after the 2004 season.

"The doctor said this could give me another four years," Isringhausen said late Tuesday morning. "That’s good to know, because I’m a free agent after this one."

As our entire rotation is basically depending on Izzy's ability to re-assume the closers role...and soon...this is at least encouraging news.

The question becomes, what does this team do if someone blows a gasket and is gone for the year? I already get the feeling that Narveson will get 20+ starts this year, so what could possibly be plan C, D or E?

Comments

Early Thoughts on City 2025

There are few things harder to keep track of than an MLS side in their off-season, at least for me. Despite the fact it takes place roughly during the time the MLB Hot Stove season is in full swing, it is nowhere near as easy to follow along with as baseball. Part of it is how disconnected MLS is with the international soccer calendar. St. Louis City SC is still digesting the moves it made last summer even though those players have already played important games for the club. It is all weird and disjointed, and I always feel like I am playing catch-up. Happily, the moves made in the off-season this year were not numerous. German Timo Baumgartl comes over from Europe as an option at center back, which is good because that was a position that was a little rocky for City last season. Given his own troubles over the last few seasons (cancer and uneven play in the aftermath of that), a spell with City can give Baumgartl a chance to have a re-set. Given his pedigree and the fact City si...

Blues Fall Off a Cliff

Hockey seasons will have their ups and downs. For whatever reason, be it injuries, a challenging schedule, an inexplicable loss of form, it is difficult for teams to maintain a good level of compete for an entire season. The good teams just limit their funks. The St. Louis Blues, however, are not a good team. They are a poor team, and poor teams sink under the weight of "here we go again" night after night. I will admit I only watched the first two periods of last night's 5-0 loss to a Colorado team that had been scuffling of late. Two periods were more than enough to get the gist of it. It was also enough to lead me to a diagnosis as to what ails the team. It isn't that they are young and are going through growing pains. No, the reason the Blues are so bad is that the veterans who are being paid to be the backbone of this team are not doing their jobs. I'm talking about Schenn, Buchnevich, Faulk, and even Binnington and Parayko. Over $30M of the salary cap is b...

My Life Amongst the Moguls

It maybe trendy YOLO nonsense, but as I get older I have taken to "experiences" more than I used to in the past. Do not get me wrong, I still love stuff, and I am not unaware that having cash at my disposal opens up the range of possible experiences. However, I must say my mood is often "I'll try anything once," as often as not. To that end I recently became a part owner in three racehorses. Through the website MyRaceHorse.com I have purchased ownership shares in three horses, 1 share each in an as yet unnamed colt and unnamed filly, and 2 shares in a colt named Munny Problem. All of these horses are 2-year-olds who are just beginning their lives as potential racehorses. I say potential because there is no guarantee any of them will ever make it to the starting gate of an official race. The race game is a tough one and plenty of well-bred horses don't make the cut for various reasons; they can get injured, they don't take to the training, they turn ou...

(Get) A Sporting Life

Search This Blog