Chris Carpenter, SP, St. Louis Cardinals

June 5, 2006 @ 14:29:34

By Joshua Ellis
Edited by KFFL Staff

When St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter (shoulder) broke into Major League Baseball in 1997 with the Toronto Blue Jays, a lot was expected of him.  He spent six mediocre seasons with Toronto before the Cardinals signed him after the 2002 season.  Carpenter's career with the red birds got off to a slow start as he missed the entire 2003 season with arm problems.  He returned in 2004 and posted impressive numbers only to be sidelined again with arm problems, which kept him out of the postseason.  Once again Carpenter came back strong with a Cy Young winning performance in 2005 where he posted a 21-5 record, a 2.15 earned run average and seven complete games.  Carpenter has had arm problems throughout his career but has shown an uncanny ability to return from those injuries strong. 

It was familiar news for fantasy owners of Carpenter when May 20, he was placed on the disabled list for right shoulder bursitis.  The injury occurs when the tendon and the bone in your shoulder continually rub and create friction which leads to an inflammation.  This makes the shoulder painful and stiff when moved and usually requires three weeks to heal.  After throwing two bullpen sessions, Carpenter is scheduled to return to the Cardinals rotation June 6 to face the Cincinnati Reds.

This season the Reds are hitting .259 as a team and average 5.15 runs per game.  In his career, Carpenter has enjoyed pitching against the Reds and has posted a 2-2 record with a 1.81 ERA.  This season, he faced Cincinnati at home April 8.  Carpenter went eight strong innings where he surrendered just four hits, three walks and one earned run.  He struck out six but got the loss in a 1-0 game.  Opposing Carpenter will be pitcher Eric Milton for the Reds.  This is likely to be a good comeback start for Carpenter who has owned the Reds in his career.

Carpenter has been equally as effective this season so far as he was in his Cy Young season in 2005.  Through his first ten starts, Carpenter is 4-2 with a 2.63 era and a 1.22 WHIP.  Carpenter has also struck out an average of 7.3 batters per nine innings.

The news of Carpenter's return is not music to the ears of starting pitcher Anthony Reyes.  Reyes was brought up to pitch in Carpenter's absence and did a fine job in two starts.  Reyes went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA but was optioned back to Triple-A Memphis last Friday.  Other significant news from St. Louis is the injury to the 2005 MVP, first baseman Albert Pujols.  Pujols strained his right oblique going for a foul ball in Saturdays' loss to the Chicago Cubs.  An MRI on the area will determine the timetable for a return, but Pujols is expected to be sidelined for three to six weeks.  With such a dominant hitter like Pujols going down, Carpenter's return is of utter importance to the Cardinals.  It is significant to note that Carpenter was expected to return Tuesday against the Reds before the injury to Pujols occurred, meaning that Carpenter isn't being rushed back because of the injury to Pujols.  First baseman Chris Duncan was recalled from Triple-A Memphis where he was hitting .272 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 42 games this season.  Utilityman Jim Edmonds returned from his abdominal injury to play first base for Pujols in Sunday's win against the Cubs.   

Although it has only been just two weeks since Carpenter suffered his injury, he has thrown two successful bullpen sessions and has reported that he is good to go. Carpenter should be on a pitch count on Tuesday but he will likely be effective against a Reds team that he has dominated in his career.  As for the long-term effect of the injury on Carpenter, he should be kept on a smaller pitch count than usual for his first few starts back, but he insists he feels great after his bullpen sessions.  The injury doesn't appear related to the surgery he had on his shoulder in 2003 and the bicep injury that hampered him at the end of 2004.  Throughout his career, Carpenter has been stronger after injuries then he was before them.  In 2004 he was named Comeback Player of the Year and in 2005 he won the Cy Young award, each award coming after seasons with injuries.  With a fairly small injury like right shoulder bursitis, Carpenter will likely recover and be fine, with a small chance that the problem will reoccur throughout the season.

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Joshua Ellis
Joshua has been a KFFL contributor since 2006.

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