St. Louis placed Lance Painter on the disabled list with a torn right hamstring on Thursday. Painter injured his leg while pitching in Thursday's game at Colorado. He collapsed on the mound and needed assistance to leave the field. Painter is now on crutches and unlikely to begin throwing again for at least a few weeks, though the leg could need even more time to fully heal. I don't expect him to be ready to rejoin the Cardinals before the All-Star break and this injury could put him out for the season.

The Cardinals called up LHP Kevin Ohme to replace Painter on the roster and in the bullpen. Minnesota drafted Ohme out of the University of North Florida with their ninth round pick of the 1993 draft. He spent the remainder of that season at A Fort Wayne in the Midwest League. Unfortunately, while he was off to a strong start back at A Fort Wayne in 1994, he went down early in the year with an elbow injury and his season ended with Tommy John surgery. He advanced to AA in 1995 and moved up to AAA in 1997. However, after the injury, Ohme was no longer able to maintain solid command. He left the Twins system as a free agent in 2000 and went to play in Japan for two years.

Last season, Ohme signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals and pitched for AAA Memphis in the Pacific Coast League. For the first time since his surgery, he displayed promising skills, compiling a 56:21 K:BB with 103 H and 10 HR allowed in 88 IP for a 4.52 ERA. He impressed St. Louis during Spring Training and will now have an opportunity to work behind Steve Kline and Jeff Fassero as the Cardinals' third lefty out of the pen. As Manager Tony LaRussa doesn't limit Kline and Fassero to specialist work, Ohme may be used in that role.

Today is Ohme's 32nd birthday, and within the next few days, he should make his major league debut. Regrettably, his history doesn't allow me to predict success for the rookie. I suspect he will post a high WHIP, which will likely lead to his demotion in a few weeks.

St. Louis may decide to stick with Ohme until Jason Isringhausen is ready to rejoin the team. However, Isringhausen recently suffered a setback in his return from off-season shoulder surgery. He'd begun throwing from a mound and worked his way up to 30 pitches, but after a plane ride to Colorado his shoulder gave him trouble in the thin air and cold weather of Coors. I question the judgment that encourages rehabbing players to travel with the team when they aren't expected to be activated during a road trip. Maintaining camaraderie with the team is commendable, but unless the injury is such that the strain of travel is negligibly likely to impede recovery, I can find little justification for assuming the additional risk.

After his setback, Isringhausen returned to St. Louis from the team's road trip and underwent an MRI. No additional damage was discovered, but he'll likely rest a few more days before beginning his rehab process again. The delay probably will push his return back into early May. Consequently, the Cardinals may want to replace Ohme before they're ready to activate Isringhausen.

If they want a left-handed pitcher, the only two healthy and not currently active that remain on the 40-man roster are Rick Ankiel and Les Walrond, though Tony Cogan is at AAA on a minor league deal. Although many eagerly anticipate the return of Ankiel to the majors after his rookie splash, the Cardinals do not seem inclined to call him up before they believe he's prepared to succeed. Ankiel is currently pitching at AA, and I believe he'll spend some time at AAA before jumping to the majors. Walrond possesses potential and has moved to relief at AAA. However, I don't believe Walrond even received an invitation to major league Spring Training, so he probably won't be seriously considered. Cogan should be left alone at AAA if the Cardinals hope to salvage his career.

The Cardinals need not replace Ohme with another left-handed reliever, as they are already carrying two. Mike Crudale might have been recalled to replace Painter had he not broken the little toe of his left foot while at AAA. Crudale should have been in line for saves during Isringhausen's time on the disabled list, but mechanical difficulties during Spring Training caused him to completely fail to make the team. Reports indicated he had moved past those difficulties by the time his injury occurred. Consequently, when he's recovered and made a couple rehab appearances 10 days from now, the Cardinals likely will strongly consider promoting him. In the meantime, Matt Duff and Gabe Molina are candidates for promotion.

St. Louis feared Fernando Vina incurred a stress fracture when checking a swing during Thursday's game. However, doctors reportedly have since diagnosed him with tenosynovitis, which is an inflammation of a tendon in his hand and its sheath. Vina received a cortisone injection to reduce swelling in the hand, but even after a few days rest, if he returns to the field he could easily aggravate the injury. Usually, rest and anti-inflammatory medication are successful in treatment but surgery is occasionally necessary and would probably cost him six weeks. Conversely, the pain caused by this injury likely is something Vina could tolerate playing through to the end of the season, though it would almost certainly decrease his productivity at the plate.