JUPITER, Fla. • When a Cardinals catcher breaks from his crouch and rakes his cleats on the patch of ground between him and home plate he’s doing more than keeping his area tidy to avoid bad hops. He’s setting up a litmus test for his fundamentals.
The dirt doesn’t lie.
During a series of interviews over the past few days, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny echoed other members of the team, past and present, about how much can be learned from a few footprints. Matheny used the example of a pitcher throwing on a freshly groomed mound, and how different that canvas is after Adam Wainwright has used it vs.