Claremore Daily Progress

Breaking News

Sports

February 6, 2013

MLB: Cards RHP Carpenter likely out for 2013 season

ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Chris Carpenter, one of the best clutch pitchers in the storied history of the St. Louis Cardinals, may have thrown his final pitch.

General manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny announced Tuesday that Carpenter almost certainly won't pitch in 2013 and that his star-crossed career is probably over after a recurrence of a nerve injury that cost him most of last season. Carpenter did not attend, and Mozeliak said the emotions for the 37-year-old are still too raw.

Retirement isn't official yet. Carpenter plans to seek further medical evaluation. But Mozeliak seemed resigned to losing him.

"He's leaving the door slightly open, but it's unlikely,'' Mozeliak said of Carpenter's return.

Carpenter's career numbers don't reflect his value to the team. He is 144-94 with a 3.76 ERA in a career that began in Toronto in 1997. He spent six seasons with the Blue Jays and nine in St. Louis. He won the 2005 NL Cy Young Award, going 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA, and was second in 2009 after going 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA.

More telling are his postseason results, including a 10-4 record and 3.00 ERA in 18 starts. There were the eight innings of three-hit shutout baseball in a Game 3 World Series win over Detroit in 2006, a series the Cardinals won in five games; a 1-0 shutout to beat Roy Halladay in Philadelphia in the deciding game of the 2011 NL division series; and the gutty Game 7 World Series-clinching win over Texas on three days' rest in 2011.

His career is all the more remarkable considering the amount of time he spent on the disabled list due to various shoulder, elbow and nerve injuries. He missed most of 2002, all of 2003, most of 2007 and 2008, and then last year's season that was limited to three regular-season starts.

Carpenter phoned Mozeliak on Friday and told him that after trying to throw off a mound, the nerve injury was back, this time including numbness in his right arm, even bruising on his shoulder and hand.

"After speaking with him on the phone you certainly get a sense that he's more concerned about life after baseball,'' Mozeliak said.

The stunning news spread quickly. Third baseman David Freese tweeted: "Carp. 1 of the best teammates around. Heck of a competitor, impeccable leader. Passion for the game & to win, cant top. (hash)ace.''

Carpenter was a clubhouse force, a no-nonsense presence who set an example of grit and toughness. Consider 2012: He was written off as lost for the season after the nerve injury first emerged during spring training.

But in July, Carpenter had radical surgery that included removal of a rib, and it worked - he pitched three games down the stretch to help St. Louis earn the final NL wild card spot. He beat Washington in the division series but was 0-2 in the NL championship series against eventual World Series winner San Francisco, the velocity and command not up to his normal standard.

"I don't know if I've ever witnessed a better competitor than Chris, and also leader,'' said Matheny, a former catcher and teammate of Carpenter's before his current role as manager.

Mozeliak agreed.

"When he was healthy he was one of the best,'' Mozeliak said. "He was blessed with talent but he also worked extremely hard. When I think back over the last 10 to 15 years here in St. Louis he was one of those guys who just helped create the model of success. He left nothing to chance.''

Carpenter's contract calls for a $12.5 million salary this year, of which $2 million is deferred without interest and is to be paid in $200,000 installments each July 1 from 2017-26.

As recently as the Cardinals' annual fan gathering in mid-January, Carpenter was saying he was healthy and eager to pitch in 2013. Mozeliak said Carpenter tried throwing from a mound perhaps three times before calling him, emotionally saying he didn't think he could pitch.

"He felt to some degree he was letting us down,'' Mozeliak said. "I assured him nothing was further from the truth.''

Still, Matheny called the news "a kick in the gut'' and the Cardinals have been through this before, too. Adam Wainwright had Tommy John surgery after hurting his elbow in 2011 and missed the entire season.

"There are a lot of young arms ready to contribute and now they're going to get that opportunity,'' Mozeliak said.

He declined to speculate on whether the team would consider re-signing Kyle Lohse, who was 16-3 with a 2.86 in 211 innings for St. Louis last season but remains unsigned as a free agent.

The Cardinals also have uncertainty about left-hander Jaime Garcia, who was 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA last season but was limited to just 20 starts due to shoulder fatigue. He was lost for the rest of the postseason after injuring his left shoulder in Game 2 against the Nationals.

Wainwright, Jake Westbrook and Lance Lynn are expected to be in the rotation. Younger pitchers Joe Kelly, Trevor Rosenthal and Shelby Miller will compete for a spot.

"As we head into spring now there's certainly a void there, but there's also an opportunity,'' Matheny said. "We have to have some other guys step up.''

 

Text Only
Sports
  • Gasso trusts that Ricketts will find her timing again

    Oklahoma pitcher Keilani Ricketts was not at her best on Sunday. The defending USA Softball Player of the Year didn’t give up a run in her two and two-thirds innings of work, but she was far from the dominant pitcher who tossed a no-hitter last week.

    May 20, 2013

  • Sooners claim regular season finale with win over K-State

    Oklahoma managed to end the regular season on a positive note Sunday. Kolbey Carpenter went 2 for 4 and drove in three runs to help power the Sooners to a 7-3 victory over Kansas State at Tointon Stadium.

    May 20, 2013

  • Chamberlain's curtain call only the beginning

    The chant reaching near-deafening levels, Lauren Chamberlain finally realized what she was supposed to do.

    Moments after blasting a three-run home run that broke open what had been a close regional final, the sophomore tepidly stepped up out of the dugout and waved to the home crowd, enjoying the first curtain call of her career.

    May 20, 2013

  • OU's dominant victory a shining example of how tough Sooners are in softball

    On the first day Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso thought it was better to go with Michelle Gascoigne over Keilani Ricketts against Arkansas’ bats, the Sooners beat the Razorbacks by five runs.

    A day later Gasso had the same thought. OU prevailed by 13 runs.

    May 20, 2013

  • Cowboys fall short in Big 12 regular season finale

    Oklahoma State University played catch up the entire game of Saturday’s series finale with West Virginia at Allie P. Reynolds, and never could quite get over the hump.
    The Cowboys would respond after each Mountaineer score but it wouldn’t be enough as they lost the finale 5-4 on Senior Day.

    May 20, 2013

  • Referees stop Lake Eufaula Classic with South on top

     It was an outcome unlike any in the 29 years of the Lake Eufaula Classic, and a bruise different than any player has ever departed with.

    Officials, following the second serious skirmish of the game, walked off the field and the game was called, the South leading the North 12-10 at Paul Bell Stadium.

    May 20, 2013

  • Grand Junction Bound: Connors State advances to JUCO World Series

    All season long, Connors State coach Perry Keith has said his team was winning a lot of ball games ugly.

    On Saturday, the game between the Cowboys and No. 1 Delgado (La.) was anything but as Connors beat the Dolphins 3-1 to capture the South Central district championship and a berth in next week’s NJCAA College World Series.

    May 20, 2013

  • Young Americans waste no time qualifying for Indy 500

    Bump Day at Indianapolis followed the script.
    No surprises, no drama and no drivers getting bumped.
    On a day devoid of tension and rumors, all nine drivers who made attempts on the second and final day of Indianapolis 500 qualifications made it into the 33-car field, led by two young Americans - Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal - who easily had the two fastest cars on the track.

    May 20, 2013

  • NCAA WOMEN'S BB: Texas Tech hires OSU assistant Candi Whitaker

    Texas Tech has hired Oklahoma State assistant Candi Whitaker to coach its women's basketball team.
    The school announced Monday that the former Lady Raiders player would return to her alma mater as coach. The move comes about a week after Kristy Curry left for Alabama.

    May 20, 2013

  • Pacers, Heat start bracing to square off again

    A year ago when Miami and Indiana faced off in the postseason, there were blood-drawing hits, flagrant fouls, technical fouls, choke signs being directed toward LeBron James and more than a few sharp-tongued comments.
    Here they possibly go again, at least on the comment front.
    The Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Pacers won't begin until Wednesday night, but there's already signs that the animosity present throughout last season's Miami-Indiana second-round series will likely return this time around.

    May 20, 2013