Cardinals Get a Longer Look at Themselves as Spring Games Begin to Carry Weight

MARCH 21TH Beat Article

Cardinals Get a Longer Look at Themselves as Spring Games Begin to Carry Weight

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — March 20, 1926

The Cardinals are still in March, but the questions are starting to sound like April.

St. Louis took the field again this afternoon at League Park, and for the first time this spring, the game carried a little more shape to it. The innings stretched a touch longer, the pitchers were left out a touch deeper, and the manager watched with a touch less patience.

That is how this part of camp goes.

Rogers Hornsby remained near the dugout for much of the afternoon, keeping his eyes on the field and his thoughts to himself. He has seen enough of spring drills. What he is watching now is how it plays when nobody calls time.

The Cardinals got steady work from their regulars. Jim Bottomley continued to look comfortable at the plate, driving the ball with the same easy authority that has become expected of him. Chick Hafey followed with a solid swing of his own, suggesting his timing is arriving right on schedule.

Tommy Thevenow handled his chances cleanly at shortstop, making the routine play without trouble and the difficult one without delay. It is not the sort of work that draws attention, but it is the kind that keeps a club in ballgames.

Which is the point.

On the mound, Bill Sherdel worked through a longer stretch than earlier in the week, mixing speeds and showing the sort of control that has kept him in steady favor. Jesse Haines followed with his usual calm, pitching as though the calendar had already turned.

Flint Rhem again showed his two sides. The arm is there, no one doubts that. The question is how often it arrives at the same time as his control. Today, it came and went.

That, too, is being noted.

The Cardinals handled the field more cleanly than they had a few days prior, and that alone was enough to keep the afternoon moving without interruption. A club does not need to be perfect in March, but it does need to be better.

This was better.

The crowd, small but attentive, followed along as the innings moved without much pause. Spring baseball does not always provide answers, but it does begin to narrow the questions.

The Cardinals are not finished. Not close.

But they are beginning to look like a club that understands what is being asked of it.

And more importantly, one that knows it is being watched.

See ya tomorrow folks,

Mike Allen - Bird Chatter Post