JUPITER, Fla. — To create some extra at-bats for players in the major-league camp today, the St. Louis Cardinals have found willing opponents for a B-game scrimmage on the back field.

The mini-campers.

The Cardinals invited a handful of the organization’s top prospects from the lower rungs of the system to participate in a pre-camp week here at Roger Dean Stadium. Some of the players present have had an at-bat or an inning with a full-season club. The week has included drills, of course, but also clinics with major-league coaches, interraction with major-league players and off-field discussions about adapting to life in the professional leagues.

As a reward … the mini-campers get to play against 10 players from the major-league camp. They do get help, though. The mini-camp lineup features one player just sent out of big-league camp and a catcher still in it.

The lineups for the 10 a.m. St. Louis time scrimmage:

CARDS

1. Pete Kozma, SS

2. Adron Chambers, CF

3. Nick Stavinoha, 1B

4. Amaury Cazana, LF

5. Tony Cruz, 3B

6. Cody Stanley, DH

7. Shane Robinson, RF

8. Donovan Solano, 2B

9. Robert Stock, C

Starting pitcher: Maikel Cleto, RHP.

**

MINI-CAMP

1. Tommy Pham, CF

2. Ryan Jackson, SS

3. Zack Cox, 3B

4. Matt Adams, 1B

5. Alex Castellanos, RF

6. Oscar Taveras, LF

7. Aaron Luna, DH

8. Bryan Anderson, C

9. Luis Mateo, 2B

Starting pitcher: P. J. Walters, RHP.

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Lance Lynn made his first appearance of Spring Training 2011 Wednesday afternoon, appearing after a less-than-stellar debut from Jake Westbrook, and did not disappoint, throwing three scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ 3-2 win over the New York Mets. The result? Some classic Dave Duncan kind-of-impressed Crash Davis speak. 

How close can Dunc get to the edge of complimenting Lance Lynn’s pitching? Witness a master at work: “I was impressed with the way he handled himself… his mound presence was good… the pace of game was good… you can’t argue with the results.” Just as he gets to the point where he is forced to confront Lynn’s results, he throws the burden of judgment on you, the viewer. Perfect. 

The Cardinals’ ostensibly youth-averse braintrust deserves no little slack for this perceived fault a year after putting Jaime Garcia in the Major League rotation less than 40 innings removed from elbow surgery, but it’s clear that Lynn has an uphill battle to starting 2011 in the rotation. But maybe that’s just Tony La Russa’s way—I don’t think he’s comfortable unless there’s some uphill battle to be fought. 

Raul Valdes is the starter, and Bryan Augenstein and Blake King are among the relievers set to follow him up, but Spring Training 2011 is officially in session—the St. Louis Cardinals will play the Florida Marlins Monday at 12:05 CST at Jupiter, Florida’s Roger Dean Stadium. The Post-Dispatch reports that Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman will start, which should give Valdes and King more run support than they are historically accustomed to. 

Berkman is starting (and playing in the outfield) after struggling to loosen up a sore elbow over the weekend. David Freese, recovering from ankle problems that claimed much of the 2009 and 2010 seasons, won’t play, although he expects to be back in at least a limited capacity well before Opening Day. 

Among the pitchers in today’s action, Valdes and Augenstein are at least ostensibly candidates for the fifth-starter spot vacated following Adam Wainwright’s elbow injury. Fernando Salas, set to pitch third, is likely to break camp in the Major League bullpen, while Eduardo Sanchez remains one of the Cardinals’ top relief prospects. Blake King and Francisco Samuel are hard-throwing relievers whose control problems have oscillated between “serious” and “legendary.” 

Follow all the action along with an extremely active game thread at Viva El Birdos. 

JUPITER, Fla. — Some morsels from St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa’s breakfast-at-Dean chat with the media:

– Lance Lynn is the first of the insurance starters to take the mound for live BP today. Lynn, a righthander who made all of his starts in Triple-A Memphis last season, is jockeying for position with P.J. Walters mostly. Adam Ottavino and Ian Snell are also in the mix. Any of that group, plus a handful of others, could use a good spring to make an impression for when/if the Cardinals need a spot starter during the regular season.

“The important thing they can do here is get themselves ready because it’s going to come down to who is pitching the best if there’s a need,” La Russa said. “In the meantime, part of them getting ready is, like today, Lynn is throwing — showcasing. (Pitching coach Dave Duncan) is going to be watching every throw. Showcasing that here it is 2011 and I’ve got better command, my stuff is good enough. It’s a competition.”

– Infielder Nick Punto is dealing with an undefined “soreness,” per La Russa. He’ll be eased back in workouts today.

– La Russa tried to talk around it but eventually surrendered to the obvious: Miguel Batista is the favorite for the opening in the bullpen. La Russa agreed with argument that Batista was a straight-swap for Blake Hawksworth, adding that Batista’s experience as a closer and versatility as a “utility righthander” adds to his value. The Cardinals’ pursuit of Batista over the past three, four years telegraphed their intent to put him on the major-league team — barring an unforeseen thud this spring.

– Catcher Bryan Anderson is set as the Cardinals No. 3 catcher, and while Tony Cruz will get some exposure to the major-league pitchers this spring will be spent familiarizing Anderson with the arms he could see in spot appearances in St. Louis.

“He’s in a position he wasn’t in last year,” La Russa said. “He’s a guy who is going to get better prepared than he was in the past.”

– La Russa spoke briefly about Colby Rasmus and the notion that he has to cut down on strikeouts to be a better hitter.

“I think he really wants to be a winning player,” the skipper said. “And the winning play a lot of times is just to put the ball in play, especially when you have a live bat and live legs. If you’re talking about how he has to change his game for the RBI spot or first or second — none. Just get ready to take really great at-bats.”

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2011 Spring Training is officially underway for the St. Louis Cardinals: with today’s final deadline, pitchers, catchers, position players, and Albert Pujols have all reported to Jupiter, Florida, where they’ll each be asked to field questions about their own contract status for next year. (Pujols’s locker is the one with the line.)  

The Cardinals’ first base situation in 2012 isn’t the only question mark they bring into Spring Training. The fifth starter spot is Kyle Lohse’s to lose, but he just might manage it; Skip Schumaker and Ryan Theriot don’t make an especially intimidating middle infield, but they’re locked in; and Jim Edmonds’s health is still a question, as is his status on the Major League roster. It’ll be an exciting Spring Training, and finally for reasons that involve actual baseball on actual baseball diamonds.

But for another few days, of course, it will all revolve around Albert Pujols. There aren’t enough reporting position players in the world to keep that from dragging through the weekend, not even if one of them were A.J. Pujols. 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals and reliever Kyle McClellan have agreed on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.

The 26-year-old right-hander appeared in 68 games in a setup role last season, going 1-4 with a career-best 2.27 ERA and two saves.

McClellan was the only Cardinals player that filed for arbitration. He’s been durable in all three of his major league seasons with St. Louis, totaling 202 appearances.

St. Louis announced the deal on Saturday.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals and reliever Kyle McClellan have agreed on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.

The 26-year-old right-hander appeared in 68 games in a setup role last season, going 1-4 with a career-best 2.27 ERA and two saves.

McClellan was the only Cardinals player that filed for arbitration. He’s been durable in all three of his major league seasons with St. Louis, totaling 202 appearances.

St. Louis announced the deal on Saturday.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Fifteen years after first serving as a Major League pitching coach with the St. Louis Cardinals, Mark Riggins is getting another chance.

This time, however, it comes with the Cardinals’ fiercest rival.

The Chicago Cubs announced Monday that Riggins, a Murray resident and former baseball standout at Murray State, had been named the team’s pitching coach, replacing Larry Rothschild, who left to take the same position with the New York Yankees in November.

Riggins, 53, is a native of Loogootee, Ind., and played four seasons of college ball at Murray State from 1976-79, where he had a career record of 15-4 as a lefthander.

“This is a great opportunity for myself and my family,” Riggins said via cell phone Tuesday from the Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla.

“It’s something we work for in the minor leagues, to make it to the major league level. It’s been a long run … 15 years since I was there. I’m happy to get another opportunity.”

Riggins was hired as the Cardinals pitching coach in 1995, where he served under manager Joe Torre. Torre was let go toward the end of the season, and Riggins continued to work under interim manager Mike Jorgensen.

When the Cardinals hired Tony La Russa prior to the 1996 season, he brought his own coaches with him to St. Louis, and Riggins became the minor league pitching coordinator, where he served through 2007.

In 2008, he was hired for the same position in Chicago, where he says he saw a greater opportunity.

“I didn’t think the opportunity (to coach in the majors) was as good with Tony and (pitching coach) Dave Duncan,” he said. “Opportunities don’t knock at your door every year, so I took advantage of it and put myself in a place to be available when an opening happened.”

The Cubs rewarded Riggins’ good timing by giving him the job without extending the search beyond the organization.

As a minor league pitching coordinator for both the Cubs and the Cardinals, Riggins was able to live in Murray and travel back and forth to the teams’ affiliates.

He and his family resided in St. Louis up until 1996, when his new job allowed him to more or less live wherever he wanted.

He chose to come back to the place where he had spent his college days playing under longtime Thoroughbreds coach Johnny Reagan.

Though he’ll now be spending much more of his time in Chicago, Riggins says Murray is and will remain his home.

His wife, Tammie, works in Accounting and Financial Services at Murray State while his daughter is finished up course work at MSU.

Riggins has also worked with a number of local high school pitchers from Murray and Calloway County.

Riggins credited exceptional coaching mentors throughout his athletic career (he played high school basketball under the winningest coach in Indiana history), one of which was Reagan, who coached the ’Breds for 36 years from 1958-93.

“The coaches I’ve been under have been the best,” he said. “Reagan is such a class person. We never thought about losing. We always had a winning season, a winning tradition. That’s one reason why I chose Murray State.”

Riggins said his favorite memory of his time as a ’Bred was when the team advanced to the regional final in 1979, losing to Mississippi State and missing out on the College World Series by just one game.

Though his position with the Cubs is a new one, he will be surrounded by familiar faces. Many of the pitchers he helped develop as they worked their up through the minor league system are now on the big-league roster in Chicago, including relievers Andrew Cashner, James Russell and Justin Berg, as well as Casey Coleman, who got eight starts in 2009 and notched four victories.

“I think I have an advantage with knowing those kids that went up there this year,” he said. “I’ve been in this organization for three years, and I’ve got a good hold on what’s going on in the farm system.”

“The veterans, you let them do their thing and tweak them here and there, but the big thing is getting the young guys comfortable and helping them produce.”

Seattle just acquired infielder Brendan Ryan from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for minor league right-hander Maikel Cleto.

“In acquiring Brendan Ryan we have added a player who is athletic, has played multiple positions, has been an everyday Major League shortstop, and is playoff tested,” Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said in a release. “We look forward to Brendon’s contributions as well as him competing for a starting position.”

Ryan appeared in 139 games for the Cards last season, hitting .223 with 19 doubles, three triples and two homers.

Sounds like a guy who can be shortstop insurance for Jack Wilson, as well as a temporary second baseman until Dustin Ackley is ready.

Photo Credit: AP

Ryan, 28, hit .292 in 2009 and has a .259 career batting average over four major league seasons, while playing solid defense.

Cleto, 21, went 4-9 with a 6.16 ERA in 23 games for Class A High Desert last season. He was one of the players acquired in the J.J. Putz deal two years ago. The Mariners added him to their 40-man roster a few weeks back.