JUPITER, Fla. -- The results on the back fields, the spring thinking goes, hardly matter. The impressions, though, the takeaways, could go a long way toward shaping a season. Take Tuesday, for example, when Cardinals pitchers faced hitters for the first time in live batting practice.
Luke Voit won't remember grounding a Jordan Hicks sinker to short. Kolten Wong won't remember squaring up one of Hicks' heaters, then squibbing the next. But Voit won't forget the sink, just like Wong won't forget the sizzle that made him hop out from under the batting turtle, hands stinging, and say: "Wow.