Cardinals make moves after Molina's injury

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Short a catcher after Yadier Molina sprained his left ankle running to first, the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday recalled Mike Mahoney from Triple-A Memphis.

The team designated reliever Bill Pulsipher for assignment. Pulsipher, 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in five games, cleared waivers and said he would accept the assignment.

''I wasn't coming to the yard today expecting this at all,'' Pulsipher said. ''But I'm going to go down and pitch. Hopefully the situation remedies itself and I'll get back here as soon as possible.''

Medical tests showed only a sprain for Molina, who was batting .200 with five RBIs and strong defensive skills in his first year as the full-time starter, and the team is hopeful he'll be sidelined only a few days. In the meantime, the team needed protection behind the plate.

''Actually, there's not a lot of swelling,'' manager Tony La Russa said. ''We're going to try to buy him some more time before we make a move. Right now, it looks like it might not be the whole disabled period.''

Molina was injured when he stepped awkwardly on first base running out a ground ball in the seventh inning Sunday. The throw from Padres shortstop Damian Jackson pulled first baseman Mike Sweeney to the other side of the bag and Molina had to be helped off the field by two trainers, putting no weight on the left leg.

But later in the clubhouse with the ankle wrapped he felt a lot better.

''I felt terrible yesterday, I felt bad, I felt like my ankle was broken,'' Molina said Monday. ''But thank God I worked out this morning and it was good.''

Pulsipher was the odd man out because the team decided to go with two left-handers in the bullpen for the time being, Randy Flores and Ray King. The Cardinals also were impressed with the major league debut of 23-year-old Brad Thompson, who earned a three-inning save on Sunday.

''I know one thing that was speculated yesterday was that Thompson had just pitched and it would be OK,'' La Russa said. ''But that's not the move we want to make; we want right-handers.''

Pulsipher has twice injured his right hamstring, but he doesn't believe that factored in the team's decision. He made two appearances, one good and one bad, after being activated off the 15-day disabled list on Thursday following three rehab outings.

''Maybe the fact I haven't pitched a whole lot recently gives them an opportunity for me to go down and finish my 30-day rehab assignment,'' Pulsipher said. ''Just not on rehab assignment.

''If I go down, be a professional and perform well, I'll have an opportunity to come back as soon as possible.''

Mahoney, who was hitting .212 at Memphis with two homers and seven RBIs, is in the major leagues for the first time since 2002 with the Cubs. Mahoney, 32, is one of the few healthy catchers in the organization.

With the Cardinals, he'll be the backup to Einar Diaz, who was batting .400 in 15 at-bats with three RBIs.

''I've been the only one there full time,'' Mahoney said. ''Everyone else has had nicks and bruises and broken bones.''

Mahoney said getting stuck in the minors hasn't been overly frustrating.

''I'm 32 years old and if you're going to be doing it that long you'd better be enjoying it,'' Mahoney said. ''I enjoy everything about it, so it was a no-brainer to keep playing for a couple more years.

''When they chase me around the locker room to rip my jersey off, I'll have a pretty good idea.''