Cardinals utility man Matt Carpenter continues to work towards competing for the second base job and coach Jose Oquendo says he's slightly ahead of the schedule Skip Schumaker was on back in 2009 when he converted from the outfield to 2B, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It isn’t that big of a surprise,” Oquendo said. “Schumaker did great on routine plays. But Schumaker had a tough time reading balls off the bat because of being in the outfield. (Carpenter) has been an infielder (third base, first base) almost all his time. He can read balls a lot better.”