JUPITER, Fla. — Fanning out to all three fields where live batting practice took place Friday morning, 21 Cardinals pitchers – every one of the non-throwers in camp – were assigned one vital task essential to helping their peers.
Counterespionage.
The longest lists of names on the Cardinals’ schedule for workouts on Monday came on the pitchers’ side of the page handed it media. Beside three columns of seven names each, each grouped under a specific field, read: “11:20 TIPPING.” Three pitchers stood behind the mound, three behind the plate, and there were sometimes pitchers to the side, too.