All-Star Game could be true scorcher

~ Cardinals players are used to the sweltering conditions at Busch.

ST. LOUIS -- Joel Pineiro's right leg gave way at the end of his seven-inning stint in 90-degree heat last week, the cramping in his calf so painful that his teammates had to carry the Cardinals pitcher off the field. He tried to walk it off in the dugout, but wound up begging trainer Barry Weinberg for help.

"I was like 'Barry, it hurts too much,'" Pineiro recalled.

Infielder Brendan Ryan also had cramps and second baseman Skip Schumaker required IV fluids for dehydration. Two days earlier, Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander wilted in the St. Louis heat.

"I was exhausted," Verlander said after lasting only four innings. "I think after the first inning, I was just gassed. I couldn't get my legs underneath me."

All this and there's still three weeks to go before St. Louis hosts its first All-Star Game since 1966 -- that one memorable for being held in 105-degree temperatures at old Busch Stadium.

Having all the reserves for the July 14 game could be a good thing: The new Busch Stadium, now four years old, doesn't have the artificial turf that made hot days extra miserable. But triple-digit temperatures are a distinct possibility and the elements could play a role.

On steamy days like Pineiro's last start, messages on the scoreboard advise fans to drink plenty of fluids. Players don't have to be reminded, but Pineiro wound up changing three soaked undershirts plus his uniform top during his outing. He retired 16 batters in a row after giving up four runs in the first inning before fading.

Schumaker had company taking IV fluids.

"There's a lot of guys that have done that," he said. "It's not easy to stay hydrated. It's really difficult. I don't know how the pitchers and catchers do it."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland, whose team was around for the first truly searing series this year, said overcoming the heat is largely a case of mind over matter. His advice for rookie pitcher Rick Porcello before pitching the finale of a three-game series last week: "I think you drink a lot of water, you drink a lot of fluids, you do what your mommy told you."

Leyland remembers when it was much worse, before the Cardinals scrapped artificial turf leading into the 1996 season. The present scenario is a "piece of cake" compared to the days when thermometers on the field approached 130 degrees and the glass windows from the stadium club produced a magnifying effect.

The only conditions more onerous from a personal standpoint was the time he had to catch both ends of a minor league doubleheader at Savannah, Ga., back in the 1960s.

Leyland said he lost 11 pounds and "I only weighed like 175 to start with."

"It's humid, it's hot, but I can assure you it's not nearly as bad as when they had the turf," Leyland said. "When the turf was here, it was the hottest place I'd ever been in the summertime.

"Guys used to have to come in between innings and put their feet in buckets. You can see the steam coming up."

Sort of like Tuesday in St. Louis, where it was 98 degrees with a heat index of 104 shortly after midday. And like it very well could be for the All-Star Game.

"It's just part of the game," Pineiro said. "We're just starting now. Wait until July and August roll around."