Blog: April 5-April 11, 2010

April 5, 2010. The Cards won on opening day for the first time since 2006. Hope that's an omen... Joe Mather debuted his #22 while Felipe Lopez did, indeed, switch to #3. Though they didn't play, I could see that Allen Craig was wearing Lopez's spring training #8 and Nick Stavinoha had #34 on his back. You may recall his old #19 was given to Matt Pagnozzi last September... Bat use in 2010 looks similar to 2009. Marucci was used by Pujols (Gwynn finish), Ryan (Gywnn), Freese (black), Lopez (Gwynn with black tape) and Mather (natural with white and black tape); X-Bat was swung by Schumaker (Gwynn), Molina (Hornsby/black) and Carpenter (Gwynn); Holliday used a black Sam Bat, Ludwick used a black Rawlings and Rasmus used a black LS M9... Looking at that list, it seems every player used a maple bat today... Seeing more black maple bats this season, though they all have natural wood "windows" where the slope test can be done. Most "windows" are rectangles, but Freese's Marucci had a round void.

April 7, 2010. The only player batting tonight who didn't bat on opening day was Wainwright, who used his normal, unfinished LS ash bat... At least three bats were broken tonight, including one by Pujols, one by Freese and one by Schumaker, which absolutely shattered... Is it just me, or does the logo on Rasmus' helmet look off center?... Once again this year, Molina is the only player opting for the Cool Flo helmet.

April 8, 2010. Brad Penny used a Hornsby/Black Sam Bat in his Cardinals debut. Jason LaRue was swinging a black LS M9 while Felipe Lopez used a black Old Hickory. I couldn't get a good look at Allen Craig's bat. It had a Gwynn finish and white handle tape. Craig used A-Bat in spring training, so there's a good chance this also was an A-Bat... Matt Holliday traded his black Sam Bat for a natural one and promptly hit a home run... If you have any photos of a Cardinals player wearing a road jersey circa 1922-25, I'd love to see a copy. Robert Edward Auctions is featuring a 1922-23 jersey in its current auction, but as you can see, the team's logo in 1922 is much different than that of the offered jersey. That's Austin McHenry, who died after the 1922 season. Since '22 was the first year of the birds on bat logo, we know the photo is from 1922. The first evidence I have of the logo on REA's shirt is an early 1924 team photo. It's assumed that road unis had pinstripes starting in 1924, and it's known that at least home jerseys had uniform numbers on the left sleeve in 1923-24. With that as background, I have no idea how to explain the REA jersey. A 1923 road? Possibly. So, if you can help, it would be appreciated.

April 9, 2010. Just one strike away from having to witness Milwaukee's little untucking routine, Nick Stavinoha golfed a game-winning home run to steal a victory. He used a Gwynn-finished Marucci bat... Kyle Lohse also was swinging a Gwynn-finished Marucci... Schumaker used a rare bat for him -- an ash LS with a Gwynn finish. Don't see Skip straying from X-Bat often... I've noticed only Ludwick is wearing the gray undershirt from last season. Everyone else has migrated to solid red or navy shirts with a Nike Swoosh (ugh) on the collar. Pujols and Molina are wearing navy shirts; everyone else is in red. The NFL would never allow that kind of non-uniformity.

April 10, 2010. Schumaker led off the game using a Marucci with a Gwynn finish. It's the first time I've noticed him using Marucci... Jaime Garcia was swinging a natural LS ash bat... Mather used a Gwynn-finished LS M9 bat with the H&B 125th anniversary logo. Since H&B stopped putting that logo on bats by September 1, 2009, we know Joey Bombs' bat is a little dated... I was missing Joel Piñeiro's red glove, but Garcia took care of that.

April 11, 2010. Three catchers tonight, three different color combinations. Molina was decked out in navy, with just a touch of red on his helmet. LaRue used navy shinguards, but had a red chest protector and red (with some navy) headgear. Stavinoha was clad totally in red, using a Wilson mask and borrowing Yadi's red chest protector... Mather was using a natural LS M9... Didn't get a good look at Carpenter's bat, but it was black, a change from opening day.