"There are infielders he knows and infielders he's had as teammates who have spent their lives reading hops and don't need to see a single ground ball chopped their way during the offseason. Skip Schumaker doesn't have that luxury. He started fielding grounders on Dec. 1. "I'm trying," he said. "I need the experience." The Cardinals' second baseman, approaching his third season since being transplanted from the outfield, has altered his winter workouts to more baseball-specific exercises. That includes plyometric training and exercises against resistance that he started in October, doing most of them while wearing his infielder's glove to better simulate game feel. Twice a week since the start of December, he's also hit the turf to take infield, months before he'll scoop that first grounder in Florida. The inspiration for moving Schumaker to second base was to keep his .300 average in the lineup. The Cardinals were willing to try a defensive experiment to keep an offensive asset, and though Schumaker's average sank in 2010, the club believes in his ability to rebound at the plate and improve in the field. There are similarities in the team's approach this offseason as the Cardinals turn over the shortstop and right field positions — giving some defensively to gain offensively." Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/base...cle_1985b01b-9f85-55d8-b235-7588e759ffea.html
