Baseball's Mardi Gras

This is it, folks: the last day before spring training begins and baseball awakens.

I've said before that you could compare spring training to Lent, the 40 days before Easter. It's about preparation and renewal.

The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday, which means that today is like baseball's Mardi Gras. Wrap your mind around that on this Friday the 13th!

So, after a lot of talk and brinksmanship, the Cardinals came to terms with Rick Ankiel without having to go to a hearing. The deal was right smack dab in the middle, which means either someone blinked and accepted an offer that had been out there or someone saved a shot for the last day.

Whichever way, it's nice to see the Cards avoid a hearing with Rick. We'll have to see if they are able to do the same with Ryan Ludwick next week.

If you aren't on Twitter, might I suggest it?  Because then you can follow Derrick Goold as he reports from Jupiter and gets gems like this:

"Carpenter has retired the "progressing nicely" phrase of yore. These are no longer your busted-wing Cardinals.
"

Of course, if you are reading the new Cardinal Beat blog at the Post-Dispatch, you might find that note as well. The point remains, though, that Chris Carpenter, in his mind, isn't rehabbing or trying to get back to form, he's getting ready for the season.

Which has major ramifications on the Cardinals, of course, but is probably the most optimistic thing to come out in quite some time.  There's no guarantee he won't get hurt again, but at least now Carpenter really does appear healthy.

Joe Strauss has a pre-spring training look at the Cards, including 10 questions about the team that will be answered during the season. It's nice to see his line for Carpenter being healthy at 3-5, meaning it's more likely than not.

A rotation with a healthy Carpenter and Adam Wainwright at the front could keep the Cardinals in the running most of the year.

Strauss also thinks Joe Thurston has the lead on at least most of the playing time at second base. Thurston is an unknown quantity to Cardinal fans, just coming over in the off-season, so it'll be interesting to see if he can develop with some regular playing time.  Or as regular as anyone in that situation can get under Tony La Russa.

Playing Pepper today with the Blue Jays and the Nationals, so be sure to check back for those.