There is a time every year, inevitably, when someone who calls a clubhouse home for most of March suggests that spring training is too long and the days too repetitive and it’s time for the hamster wheel to stop so that the season can start. This April offers the counterpoint. As the Cardinals open May with Windy City week at Busch Stadium — a two-day visit from the White Sox followed by the Cubs and their fans gusting into town — they have a handful of players who are getting their spring work when the games count.
The Cardinals have described Holland’s schedule as “spring-like,” even as he’s called in to close out a three-run lead Friday in Pittsburgh.