After two months on the shelf and a couple of set-backs, Adam Wainwright looks like he's finally ready to rejoin the Cardinal rotation. He's got a rehab start tentatively scheduled for Saturday and the injured pulley in his right middle finger doesn't seem to be bothering him at all any more. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Adam Wainwright's arm and finger, if not his mechanics, were strong enough during a simulated game Tuesday for the Cardinals to send the righthander out for a rehab start Saturday. Wainwright threw 35 pitches to teammates Nick Stavinoha and Rick Ankiel in a controlled setting at Busch Stadium. Wild at times, Wainwright also hung a slider that Ankiel crushed for a home run to deep right-center field.
[...]
"I don't think I was very sharp, but I would have gotten some outs today," Wainwright said. "I didn't have a second thought about (throwing a curve). I feel ready to go."
If that's the case, the rehab assignement is necessary to help him get back into the groove of things and he's talking like it should only take one start before he's ready to rejoin the Cardinals. With Chris Carpenter already looking pretty strong in two starts, the Cardinals may have suddenly trumped CC Sabathia's addition to the Brewers by simply getting healthy.
