Suppan brings a durable arm to Redbirds' staff

JUPITER, Fla. -- As one of two pitchers to have thrown more than 200 innings in each of the past five seasons, Jeff Suppan says the key to pitching that much is staying healthy.

Suppan, who pitched for Boston and Pittsburgh in 2003 before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in December, has had at least 30 starts in each of the past five seasons.

Now, Suppan, 29, is trying to earn a spot in the Cardinals' rotation.

"All I am striving for right now is to be ready for my first start -- whenever that is," Suppan said Sunday, the second day of St. Louis' sprint-training workouts. "Of course the key to pitching a lot of innings is to stay healthy and you can work on a lot of things in spring training to stay healthy."

In 2003, Suppan posted a 10-7 record and 3.57 ERA with the Pirates before going to Boston, where he was 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA. In his final six NL starts, he was 5-0 with 2.45 ERA and tied for second among NL starters with two shutouts.

One of those shutouts, a seven-hitter in July, was against the Cardinals.

"Yes, I shut them out," Suppan recalled. "But I'll tell you what, they were one of the toughest lineups to go through."

Manager Tony La Russa said he was looking forward to Suppan pitching for St. Louis.

"For a young guy, he has really shown that reliability that you look for in a pitcher," La Russa said. "He is tough mentally. He is a guy who gets himself ready and he takes the ball every five days. Then when he pitches he likes to get deep into the game.

"That is what we expect of Suppan," La Russa said.

In the early part of training Suppan will be working on his control (only 51 walks in over 200 innings pitched in 2003) and keeping the ball down.

"Those are the things I try to get better at every spring along with changing speeds and trying to pitch faster," Suppan said.

The 6-2, 220-pounder from West Hills, Calif., sets goals for each season but keeps them to himself.

"Actually I plan to do that today," he said. "But they are simple goals just something to keep me focused and I usually don't share them with any one."

Noteworthy

Woody Williams, the Cardinals' top starter last season with an 18-9 record and 220 innings pitched, is suffering from shoulder tendinitis. La Russa said he plans to bring Williams along slowly.