Punto after drastic action

 

Nick Punto was, in his words, so "emotionally distraught" Sunday about his uncooperative elbow and potentially a third trip to the disabled list that he did what his father suggested. He sneaked down into the batting cage at Cincinnati and channeled all that frustration into one violent throw.
"If it explodes, at least you know," he explained Tuesday. "If you don't do that then you'll never know. I plan on playing another five years, but if it ended (with that throw), that'd be OK. It was one of those moments where I had to find out what was going on."
On Tuesday, he shared what he learned with the Cardinals.
Punto went through a battery of infield work a few hours before the Cardinals' game against the New York Mets to prove to the coaches and trainers that he was fit to remain on the active roster. He had already proven it to himself Sunday by surviving that throw and feeling a release of pain and discomfort. Punto said it's his opinion the aggressive throw broke up scar tissue inside the elbow.
"I felt like it released something," he said. "I truly believe it was some scar tissue locked up in there."
Punto sidestepped the disabled list the same day shortstop Ryan Theriot was hit with a two-game suspension and opted to appeal it. Had different decisions been made, both events would have left the Cardinals with only one fielder with shortstop experience this season. Theriot was suspended and fined for "inappropriate actions," according to an official release from Major League Baseball. The actions "included making contact with umpire Mike Muchlinski."
During the sixth inning Sunday, Theriot was ejected after vehemently arguing a call at second base, where he believed he had tapped the bag for a force out. Muchlinski felt otherwise.
It was the first ejection of Theriot's career, the Cardinals confirmed.
"I've never been suspended for anything in my life," Theriot said. "It stinks. It is what it is. We're going to appeal it and hopefully get it reduced."
No date has been set for his appeal, Theriot said.
Punto started the year on the disabled list because of abdominal surgery, and he returned there in May with a strain in his right elbow. This past weekend in Cincinnati, manager Tony La Russa said they saw a player hesitant to throw at full strength, and any limits on Punto's arm was also a limit on his usefulness as a utility infielder for the team.
"To remain on the roster, he's going to have to throw," La Russa explained before Punto's workout at shortstop and third during batting practice Tuesday. "He can run, he can swing, he can probably flip the ball from second base. But we need him to play short and third. He's concerned about letting it go. He's flipping it over there. You can't play that way."
With an angry throw Sunday Punto learned he doesn't have to.
McClellan's workload
The Cardinals purposefully pushed Kyle McClellan's first start of the second half to this series in New York to buy him as much rest as possible over the break. McClellan will have gone 12 days between starts, the longest for any non-injured Cardinals starter this season. As McClellan's innings inch toward 100 - he'll reach that with 21/3 innings tonight - the Cardinals are aware of the workload. While monitoring McClellan's work, the Cardinals are also out shopping for pitching.
"One guy we were going to get out of the first series and into the second one (was McClellan)," La Russa said. Asked if the Cardinals could consider a four-man rotation, off days allowing, the manager said: "We feel he's in a good place because of that and this. When we get down to the last six weeks and you have four guys and one really struggling, that's when you reconsider. We try to keep our arms fresh."
THIRD-ROUNDER SIGNED
Although the heft of the deal had been in place for a while, the Cardinals finalized and announced a contract with third-round pick C.J. McElroy on Tuesday. McElroy, 18, is an outfielder who chose baseball over a football scholarship at the University of Houston. According to Baseball America, he received a bonus of $510,000.
The Clear Creek (Texas) High School grad hit .488 and stole a school-record 33 bases. He'll begin his pro career with the Cardinals' affiliate in Jupiter, Fla. The Cardinals have signed three of their top five picks well before the Aug. 15 deadline, and they remain optimistic about signing Illinois prep outfielder Charlie Tilson (second round) and Oregon State pitcher Sam Gaviglio (fifth round).
EXTRA BASES
Mets All-Stars Jose Reyes (hamstring) and Carlos Beltran (flu) returned to the lineup Tuesday. Beltran had missed three consecutive games, and Reyes, who had a run as the most productive hitter in the National League this season, had been on the disabled list since July 3. "I would have taken the other lineup," La Russa deadpanned when notified both players were starting. ... To make room on the roster for Reyes, the Mets put catcher Josh Thole on the paternity list. Thole, a native of Breese, Ill., and his wife are expecting. The move left the Mets with one catcher on the active roster.

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