Cards Notes: Molina on the DL and More

[msneezie31]

ST. LOUIS -- After playing short-handed for more than a week, the Cardinals put Yadier Molina on the disabled list on Sunday. Molina, who suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand on July 7 in Phoenix, had his DL stint backdated, so he will be eligible to be activated next weekend against the Cubs.
It's not expected that the catcher will need more time than the minimum. But with his healing taking a little longer than expected, and with Reggie Sanders sidelined due to bruised ribs, the Cards elected to add an extra body. Utilityman Hector Luna was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take Molina's roster spot.

"He's still sore," manager Tony La Russa said of Molina. "It's better just to keep him in shape, let him heal and not be tempted to use him in an emergency."

Einar Diaz and Mike Mahoney have shared the catching duties in Molina's absence. Mahoney, a veteran of 11 professional seasons, made his second consecutive start on Sunday. Diaz offers a slightly better bat, but Mahoney is considered an exemplary defensive catcher.

Luna provides depth on the bench, allowing La Russa to feel more comfortable using Abraham Nunez more often.

"Without [Luna], we were playing with [only] one extra infielder," La Russa said. "There's a lot of ways you can use Abe, and you hesitate to use him. This gives us that little freedom. And [Luna] is so versatile -- he can play the outfield, and all of the infield positions, he runs well."

The Cardinals had hoped Molina would be ready to play sometime this weekend against Houston, but he has been completely unavailable.

"He's just not ready yet," said head athletic trainer Barry Weinberg. "I don't predict in the next three, four, five days that he'll be quite ready, as sore as he is today. He got a little better initially and kind of just plateaued.

"It's just that the location is just where his bat sits. It's just an awkward spot for him to apply any pressure, so we have to wait until it heals a little more."

Lineup shifts: When you're going up against the man who may be the greatest pitcher since World War II, it's understandable if you want to tweak your lineup a little bit. That's just what La Russa did on Sunday against Roger Clemens.

Mark Grudzielanek, who has been hitting sixth or seventh lately, was bumped up to the two spot. Grudzielanek entered the game with three straight multi-hit showings, and he's hit Clemens well.

Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker, the only left-handers in the lineup, found themselves in the fourth and fifth spots, and Scott Rolen was bumped down to sixth. It was only the third time this year Rolen has hit in the No. 6 spot, but he entered Sunday in a 1-for-26 slump.

Today in Busch history: On July 17, 1974, Bob Gibson became the second pitcher in history with 3,000 strikeouts when he fanned Cincinnati's Cesar Geronimo in the second inning. The Cardinals went on to lose the game, 6-4, in 12 innings. Thanks to Project Retrosheet for the information.

Baby 'Birds: Skip Schumaker doubled and tripled, John Rodriguez had three more hits and Chris Duncan hit a home run, but Bill Pulsipher was hit hard in Memphis' 12-3 loss to New Orleans on Saturday. ... Five different players had at least two hits for Double-A Springfield in a 5-4 win over San Antonio. Jeremy Cummings allowed four runs, two earned, over seven innings for the win. ... Class A Palm Beach was rained out against Tampa. ... Rick Ankiel and Nick Stavinoha drove in three runs each for Class A Quad Cities, which beat Dayton, 10-1. Stavinoha, who singled and doubled, is hitting .369 for the Swing in his first pro season. ... Blake Hawksworth pitched three solid innings, but short-season New Jersey was thumped by Oneonta, 8-0. Hawksworth allowed a run on three hits, striking out four and walking one. ... Rookie-level Johnson City swept a doubleheader against Princeton, 9-5 and 3-1. Randy Roth doubled twice and homered, driving in four runs.

The player of the day is Quad Cities right-hander Matt Scherer, the Cardinals' 16th-round draft pick last year. Scherer pitched six shutout innings, allowing six hits and two walks and striking out five. He's 7-5 with a 3.55 ERA in his first full professional season, with 66 Ks and 29 walks in 91 1/3 innings.

Coming up: The Cardinals welcome the Brewers to town on Monday for the start of a four-game series. Matt Morris makes his second-half debut against Milwaukee right-hander Victor Santos, with the first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. CT.

All I know is, Mike Mahoney really sucks

[aTrUeCUBsFaN]

All I know is, Mike Mahoney really sucks

Compeltely agree. At least Molina is coming back soon, and you guys are all the way on top, so nothign to worry.

[redsrbetter]

Still sucks that Molina is out for now. He is going to be so good for these Cards for years to come. I have to agree with aTrUE here, you guys can deal without him.

[missionhockey21]

The Cards could deal with having Pujols for a few weeks, they're that good (and have that big of a lead.)