stevereno159

Like i said in the something old, something new post, i like ponson and i hope he gets back in full health soon

"Sidney Ponson wants to get back on the mound and build on some impressive early season accomplishments with the Cardinals. But his main concern right now is making sure that a small problem doesn't mushroom into a large one.
Sidelined because of a strained flexor muscle near his right elbow, Ponson is systematically working his way back. The next step in the process will come on Monday when Ponson throws a simulated game in San Francisco.

"I don't want to know if I'm going to be pitching a week from now," Ponson said. "I just want to make sure the simulated game in San Francisco will be all right."

Ponson, who has had two bullpen sessions with no complications since leaving his May 7 start against the Marlins, has gone only with fastballs. When he tests himself with breaking pitches, he'll have a better feel for a timetable regarding a return to the rotation.

"I still have to throw my curveball, my slider and my changeup," Ponson said. "Then I'll be able to determine how I really feel."

Ponson is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA in six starts. When he felt the discomfort in the second inning against the Marlins on May 7, and it persisted in the third, Ponson alerted Cardinals officials.

"In the past, I might have kept quiet and just gone back out there and grinded it out," Ponson said. "But it's better to get it taken care of right away because we're still very early in the season and have a long way to go. I want to be in position to come back and help this club win a lot of games the rest of the year."

First save: Thanks to Adam Wainwright finishing the game on Friday, the Cardinals now have someone on their pitching staff other than Jason Isringhausen with a save.

Wainwright went the final 2 2/3 innings against the Royals and lowered his ERA to 1.37.

The J.D. Drew trade, which brought Wainwright to the Cards from the Atlanta organization, is looking better and better as Wainright blossoms.

"I'm definitely different this year than I've ever been confidence-wise," Wainwright said. "Having a whole year of Triple-A ball last season helped me a lot. I threw a lot of innings (182) and faced a lot of good hitters. The September callup helped me, too. It showed me I can play with any of these guys."



Complete coverage >Challenging Bonds: After leaving Kansas City on Sunday evening, the Cardinals will run smack into Barry Bonds home run hoopla as they open a three-game series in San Francisco on Monday night.

Don't look for the Cardinals to pitch around Bonds unless the game situation dictates it. The mission is to win the game, not tiptoe around Bonds so that he doesn't set a home run record on the Cardinals' watch.

"It's the Giants vs. the Cardinals," La Russa said. "We're trying to win the competition. You have to respect how dangerous Bonds is. At the same time, you want your pitching staff to compete."

Around the horn: One byproduct of the committee approach that the Cards have used at second base and in left field is that it helps keep more guys sharp. So Taguchi started in left field on Friday and John Rodriguez got the call at that spot on Saturday. Hector Luna got the start at second on Friday and Aaron Miles was at second on Saturday. "Nobody gets rusty on the roster," La Russa said. "There's always some way to get everybody involved and have them feel they are a part of what we're doing. Good or bad, they are part of it.". ... In order to get right-hander Anthony Reyes on the 25-man roster to make Saturday's start, the Cardinals optioned reliever Brian Falkenborg to Triple-A Memphis."

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Clinton Lumberkings - *A* of the Texas Rangers