After spending the previous two months watching the whipsaw of negotiations between players and owners that delayed the return of baseball and sometimes felt to him like “fingernails on a chalkboard,” Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter had only to look at the calendar to erase any frustration.
“The worst two months for me are the first two months,” Carpenter said Thursday from his home in Texas. “Let’s get rid of those and go right to my favorites. I looking forward to it, to what’s possible — in a 60-game sprint.”
Carpenter plans to be part of the first parade of players to reach Busch Stadium on Saturday to begin entry testing for next week’s official start to the preseason camp.