Cardinals scout Ramon Garcia, who covers Mexico for the team, raises his radar gun to get a reading on a pitch from Juan Gerardo Salas, a 16-year-old righthander who will be eligible to sign officially as of July 2. Garcia and scouts from a handful of other teams traveled an hour outside of Monterrey, Mexico, to scout Salas and two or three other talents at an academy run by Mexico's professional teams. (Photo by Derrick Goold)
Derrick GooldSEATTLE • For the first time since taking over the reins of the Cardinals' international scouting and signing initiatives, Luis Morales did not have to work with the confines of Major League Baseball's limitations, only the ones set by the Cardinals' approach and past experience.