Time to regroup Morris tries to heal body, mind

ST. LOUIS -- A break in the action certainly can't hurt Matt Morris, the way he's been pitching.

The St. Louis Cardinals' ace won 39 games the past two seasons, each time making the All-Star team. But he was 2-2 in June with a 9.51 ERA as shoulder soreness led to an altered delivery, reduced velocity and effectiveness.

So Morris wasn't arguing when the team decided to have him skip a turn in the rotation on Monday, giving the start instead to rookie Dan Haren. Morris didn't have much input in any case.

"It's tough to ask a player because I'll be hardheaded and say I can go -- until I break down," Morris said. "They really took the bull by the horns, which I'm not sad about."

Morris is certain he'll be ready to resume pitching on Saturday.

"Without a doubt," he said Tuesday.

But, if needed, the Cardinals will skip him again. He's too valuable of a commodity to the team's drive for a fourth straight trip to the postseason.

"If he doesn't feel really good in all respects, we'll just keep holding out until he does," manager Tony La Russa said.

Morris threw consecutive shutouts in mid-May, and has been among the league leaders in innings all season. But in his last six outings, he's given up 28 runs in 31 innings. His fastball, normally in the mid-90s, has dipped to the mid-80s. His curveball has lost its bite, too.

The uncharacteristically awful stretch began around the time interleague play began. After complaining of tightness in his shoulder the previous start, he stubbornly insisted on pitching against the Yankees in early June and lasted only two-thirds of an inning.

The rest of the month was a battle for a pitcher who's used to dominating hitters. He beat the Reds last week only because the Cardinals' offense put up nine runs to overcome his six-inning, five-run generosity.

Morris believes his woes are partly mental, partly physical.

"I think they both go hand in hand," Morris said. "And I think we've dissected the problem. We'll fix it."

Morris struggled around midseason last year, too, partly from depression caused by the death of teammate and close friend Darryl Kile and partly because of general fatigue. He went from June 19 to July 18 between victories last season.

On Monday, Morris' turn to pitch, he was taking it easy. Shoulder soreness is the source of his woes, so instead of throwing his way out of trouble he's fine-tuning by going through the motions.

Besides looking at lots of videotape, a favorite technique is facing a mirror as he pantomimes his delivery.

"It's probably the best thing you can do," Morris said. "The best thing is to see yourself. You're out there pitching thinking your arm is up and thinking you're staying closed with your body, and then you look at a tape and you're like 'Oh my god, that's what I look like."'

Morris wasn't nearly as sore on Tuesday, the day after his missed start. There also was a sense of relief because the opportunity was no longer there.

"Right now I'm acting as though I pitched but really didn't do any damage to balloon my ERA any more than it already is," Morris said. "All in all, it's going to pay off in the end."