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He runs the back of a calloused hand across his forehead
A hand that has endured the beatings of splintering bats against its naked flesh
A hand rough and abused from years of neglect
Yet gentle enough to meticulously apply the perfect amount of under eye black
And guide misplaced pitches into outfield gaps
MATTHEW MARTIN CARPENTER:
- Remember when Matt Carpenter wasn't a second baseman?
Viva el Birdos: How long will the Matt Carpenter second base experiment hold out? - Remember when lil' Carp "wasn't hitting"?
Viva el Birdos: Does Matt Carpenter have another slump in his future? - Remember when Carp was an All-Star?
Viva el Birdos: Matt Carpenter Gets His Due - Remember when Matt Carpenter got that 6-year extension?
ESPN: Matt Carpenter signs 6-year deal
Cardinals Fan in Cubs Land: Did the Cardinals overpay on Matt Carpenter's extension?
MLBSH: Cardinals sign Carpenter to six-year extension
Beyond the Box Score: Cardinals extend Matt Carpenter, keep being Cardinals
MLB Daily Dish: Matt Carpenter Extension: The Cardinal Way, from late rounds of the draft to October
STL Today: Carpenter's deal makes him a Cardinal Cornerstone
Viva el Birdos: St. Louis Cardinals Bet on Matt Carpenter's Skills with Extension
Viva el Birdos: Matt Carpenter Extension Brings Stability to Third Base
MLB: Carpenter happy to be part of Cards' long-term core
CBS Sports: Cardinals sign Matt Carpenter to six-year, $52 million extension
MLB: Carpenter's unlikely ascent testament to work ethic
Reaction around the Web...
Cardinals have called a press conference; contract announcement for Matt Carpenter likely. pic.twitter.com/RsEzgsXMgf
— Matt Sebek (@MattSebek) March 8, 2014
Carpenter signing looks good - ZiPS suggests 6/62: 0.5, then 5.1, 9.0, 12.1 in arb, then 18.3, 17.0 in the two FA years.
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) March 8, 2014
Big couple weeks in Carpenter family as father Rick wins No. 700 as high school baseball coach and son Matt signs $52m extension #Cardinals
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 8, 2014
"This was a no brainer for me"--Matt Carpenter on his extension.
— Dan McLaughlin (@DannyMacTV) March 8, 2014
PHOTO: Wainwright, Holliday, Molina & Craig watch the Matt Carpenter press conference pic.twitter.com/uy1isGphDz
— KMOXSports (@KMOXSports) March 8, 2014
Matt Carpenter struck out just 29.4% of the time after 0-2 counts in 2013. #Cardinals
— Beyond the Box Score (@BtBScore) March 8, 2014
Matt Carpenter grins at question from Matt Holliday during presser to announce new contract with… http://t.co/wL6bGLXTsL
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 8, 2014
Matt Carpenter, now w/ #STLCards through at least 2019: "The day you think you’ve arrived is the day you stop growing as a baseball player."
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) March 8, 2014
Congratulations on the extension, @MattCarp13! Much deserved. We'd love to interview you for the site at some point. pic.twitter.com/gDSyRV0X8L
— viva el birdos (@vivaelbirdos) March 8, 2014
As Matt Carpenter, duh RT @AaronBaronHill: @lazyrasmus I'm still waiting for you to tell us how you sexually identify
— 1 Dog (@lazyrasmus) March 8, 2014
Non Carpenter News...
- The Cardinals have also signed Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz, the person Joe has been fan-girling over for the past several weeks (Exhibit A and Exhibit B). Contract details were not available at publish time and by that I mean it is 1:25am and I have no details and will not be able to update this before it goes live at 10:30am. - Viva el Birdos
Weekend Scoreboard:
Friday, March 7 Cardinals (SS) 5 Mets 5
Friday, March 7 Marlins 7 Cardinals (SS) 3
Saturday, March 8 Nationals 4 Cardinals 4
Sunday, March 9 Cardinals 1 Nationals 11
(I am having technical difficulties with my charts, so hopefully this will suffice!)
At 12:05pm CST Shelby Miller of the Cardinals is slated to take on St. Louisan, Max Scherzer, of the Tigers. Look here for a full schedule of Spring Training action. The game will be available on MLB TV and Fox Sports Midwest. A complete listing of broadcast information is available here. Fink should be here shortly with your gamethread.
21 days until Opening Day, yo!
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