Although manager Mike Matheny initially implied Carpenter was unlikely to be ready by opening day, he recently softened his stance. "We were only talking about him having two or three [spring-training starts] from Day 1," Matheny told Goold. "As of right now we're going to leave it in limbo. When he says that he's ready to go, we hold that pretty high. That holds a lot of weight."
Carpenter is scheduled to throw live batting practice for the second time on Wednesday, and over the weekend he turned in a pain-free bullpen session and 40-pitch simulated game. Needless to say, the 37-year-old Carpenter is vital to the Cardinals' repeat hopes in 2012, especially with Adam Wainwright in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
If Carpenter suffers a setback, then Lance Lynn, who has a 1.64 ERA and eight strikeouts in 11.0 spring innings, would likely replace him in the rotation. In all likelihood, though, the Cardinals will be able to go with a four-man rotation until April 23 because of the way the schedule falls.