--OF Skip Schumaker, who signed as a shortstop in 2001, said he would bring an infielder's glove with him to camp. With a crowded outfield and little infield depth, Schumaker is likely to take some grounders at second base this spring.
--Schumaker, as he has done in other years, spent several days a week this offseason hitting under the watchful eye of former Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, a neighbor in Southern California. Manager Tony La Russa has tried for several years to get McGwire to come to camp as an instructor, but McGwire has declined those invitations. --The Cardinals have shown no inclination to sign any more left-handed relievers, preferring to go with the trio they signed to one-year deals in the offseason -- Trever Miller, Royce Ring and Charlie Manning.
--Although the Cardinals had a National League-leading .281 batting average last season, they would like to improve their hitting with the bases loaded. In those situations, the club batted just .246 with four grand slams. C Yadier Molina batted .455 with the bases loaded, but 3B Troy Glaus, who fell one RBI short of 100, hit only .118 with three runners on.
--The Cardinals' exhibition schedule features home-and-home games with both World Series contestants, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, in addition to a home-and-home series with the Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals haven't played an exhibition game against the Rays in 11 years.
--RHP Chris Carpenter, who has missed virtually all of the last two seasons with arm problems, was one of the early arrivals in camp at Jupiter, Fla.
BY THE NUMBERS: 2 -- Catchers on the Cardinals' 40-man roster, Yadier Molina and Jason LaRue.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "My thinking was Brett Wallace would start at Double-A and then see what happens from there. That's still the plan, but the plan with Brett Wallace is that you cannot set a plan." -- Cardinals farm director Jeff Luhnow on the club's fast-rising top pick in 2008.
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