Cardinals Minor League Spring Training Notebook: 04/04

Highlights from Sunday’s St. Louis Cardinals minor league spring training games in Florida.

I have not enjoyed being wrong this spring any more than today. On my schedule, Saturday was the last day of spring play for St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers before they headed to their initial 2010 regular season assignments. Turns out that only Springfield had a Sunday morning flight out, so the other four clubs once again hit the fields in Jupiter, Florida for intrasquad action.

So, consider this unexpected bonus coverage!

Cardinals director of minor league operations John Vuch shares game highlights as he has all along. The raw data is his, with the comments mine.

Once the regular season begins, check out our daily Cardinals Major League and Minor League Notebooks at TheCardinalNation.com, each returning for the new year.

Team summary: As an equalizer, teams “generally” faced their own pitchers in the Memphis-Palm Beach game, but Memphis still won. I am not sure what to make of that. The extended spring training club spanked young Shelby Miller and Quad Cities. I surely don’t know what to make of that, either.

Combined records: The Cardinals records on the day were 2-2 once again. Final (I think) spring totals are 31-37-8 (.456) overall and 19-25-4 (.432) versus external competition.

Shane Robinson (Brian Walton photo)My Pitcher of the Day: Quad Cities’ Jesse Simpson collected seven outs, five of them on strikeouts. He did not allow a hit in his 2 1/3 innings.

My Hitter of the Day:  Shane Robinson of Memphis (pictured) had two triples, a single and three RBI. No word if he played in centerfield or second base or perhaps both.

Monday’s schedule: Players will be boarding planes for Memphis and Quad Cities for open house, meet the fans and similar events early in the week. The Cardinal Nation subscribers can access the most recent working rosters on the main site, but be aware they will not be final until Thursday.

Memphis (5-9-3) defeated Palm Beach (8-8-1), 6-3 (pitchers generally faced their own club)

Memphis Pitching

Rich Hill – 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K’s – Does the gaudy strikeout total obscure the walks?
Scott McGregor – 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K’s – A strong outing.
Kevin Thomas – 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 K

Memphis Hitting

Shane Robinson – 3-for-4 with two triples and 3 RBIs – Player of the Day. Despite good speed, Robinson has just ten career triples in 1,159 regular-season at-bats.
Tyler Greene – 3-for-4 with a solo HR – Good to see Tyler hitting again. He batted just .194 in major league camp earlier.
Luis DeLaCruz – doubled, walked, scored twice and had an RBI – Memphis’ catcher for a day is listed on the Palm Beach working roster.
Mark Shorey – singled, walked and scored a run – Multiple mentions this week for career .287 hitter with a lifetime .799 OPS.
Amaury Cazana – singled and scored a run – Will he stay with Memphis? Passport problem has him there to start season.
Daniel Descalso – singled and walked

“Palm Beach” Pitching

Adam Ottavino – 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K’s – Hmmm. Only allowed the same total of three earned runs in 11 1/3 innings in major league camp earlier.
Brandon Dickson – 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB – Solid outing.
Tyler Norrick – 1 IP, 1 H
Matt Scherer – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER
Josh Kinney – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K – May be coming around.

Palm Beach Hitting

Rich Racobaldo – 2-for-3
Tommy Pham – 1-for-2 with a walk and RBI – Doing so well this spring that getting on base twice seems like a bad day…
Jermaine Curtis and Xavier Scruggs – each doubled and scored a run
Alex Castellanos – singled and walked
Jose Martinez – RBI double and walked – May need to earn back a starting job after missing 2009.

Extended Spring Training (formerly QC2) (4-4-1) defeated Quad Cities (6-10), 3-0 (pitchers from various clubs)

Quad Cities Pitching

Shelby Miller – 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s – See specifics in the hitters report below.
Jesse Simpson – 2.1 IP, 0 H, 5 K’s – The top pitching performance of the day.
Kyle Heim – one perfect inning
Michael Thompson – 1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K’s
David Carpenter – one perfect inning with 2 K’s – Very nice outing for QCs closer last year.

Quad Cities Hitting

Jason Stidham – tripled – Had two three-base hits in 211 at-bats during his debut last year.
Luis Mateo, Ivan Castro and D’Marcus Ingram – each singled for QC’s only other hits

EST Pitching

Deryk Hooker – 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K’s – Should not be part of the group left behind in Jupiter.
Scott Schneider – three perfect innings with 1 K – Could easily be the pitching line of the day. Sorry, Scott!
Ramon Delgado – one perfect inning with a K
Matt Frevert – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB
Joel Pichardo – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s

EST Hitting

Three run rally off Shelby Miller in the second inning – Roberto DeLaCruz singled, Romulo Ruiz RBI double, C.J. Beatty RBI double, Ted Obregon RBI single
Ross Smith – singled in his only AB

Follow me on Twitter.
Follow The Cardinal Nation Blog on Facebook.