ST. LOUIS -- Jim Edmonds has stayed patient throughout his
early slump, reminding himself that he got a late start in spring
training.
The St. Louis Cardinals' center fielder was batting .233 with no
RBIs in 30 at-bats entering Monday night's game against Pittsburgh.
His swing has looked a lot better the last few games, though, and
he was able to shrug off a couple of nice defensive plays that
robbed him of hits against the Brewers on Sunday.
"I've played this game too long," Edmonds said. "Given the
circumstances of not having very many at-bats and what I'm going
through, I just kind of shake it off.
"We won, that's what's important."
Brewers right fielder Corey Hart made a diving catch on Edmonds'
drive in the first inning and second baseman Rickie Weeks snared
his smash up the middle in the third, turning it into a double-play
ball. Edmonds ended up 0-for-4 with a walk, and manager Tony La
Russa anticipated frustration.
"At the end of the day he got an 0-fer, but it wasn't really an
0-fer," La Russa said. "It has a way of getting under your skin
and you can come out of your game a little bit."
The 36-year-old Edmonds underwent surgery on his right shoulder
and left foot after helping the Cardinals win their first World
Series title in 24 years, and didn't start playing in spring
training until a week before opening day. He's coming off his worst
season since coming to St. Louis in 2000 after being hampered much
of the second half by post-concussion syndrome.
Edmonds batted .257 with 19 homers and 70 RBIs in 110 games.
"I was basically in a walking cast for six weeks, so I really
don't have the muscle strength in my left leg that I need to keep
my legs fresh," Edmonds said. "I'm trying to build on that and
play at the same time, and it's been a little difficult at times.
"But I'm happy to go out there and play every day."
Edmonds said he feels better at the plate than in center field,
noting that his upper body is catching up quicker than his lower
body.
"I've surprised myself how I've been able to do the things that
I've actually wanted to do," Edmonds said. "There's been a couple
of bad swings that haven't felt great, but there have been way more
good swings than bad, so I'm happy with that."