Cardinals sign right-hander Ohka Veteran scheduled to make a start for Triple-A Memphis ST. LOUIS -- With no illusions that they had acquired a savior, the Cardinals announced on Tuesday that they have signed right-hander Tomo Ohka to a Minor League contract. Ohka will report to Triple-A Memphis and will start for the Redbirds on Wednesday against Round Rock. His stay in the Minors should be short. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Ohka must be recalled within two weeks, or else be let go. "He's fitting in at Triple-A to see what he's got," said manager Tony La Russa. "He's got a track record of success, so he goes down there and starts a little bit and guys will evaluate where he is. I think it's a good acquisition, but it really depends on how he pitches." It is perhaps telling that Ohka will start on Wednesday, which is the same day that Todd Wellemeyer makes his next start for St. Louis. Wellemeyer, a converted reliever, Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes would all be potential candidates to be bumped when and if the Cardinals add Ohka to their rotation. St. Louis starters rank last in the National League with a 5.63 ERA, fully half a run worse than the 15th-place Washington Nationals. Ace Chris Carpenter, Braden Looper and Mark Mulder are all on the disabled list, while Wells and Reyes have combined for 19 losses on the year. Through the 2005 season, Ohka was a consistently effective starter. In each of the four seasons from 2002-2005, he posted an ERA better than the league average, making 29 or more starts in three of those years. However, he came down with shoulder trouble in 2006 and has been less effective since. In 10 starts with the Blue Jays, Ohka went 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA. He was designated for assignment, then given his outright release by Toronto. St. Louis signed him at a pro-rated portion of the Major League minimum salary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitching-poor Cardinals sign Ohka to minor league contract By R.B. FALLSTROM ST. LOUIS - Tomo Ohka signed a minor league contract with the pitching-strapped St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, one day after being released by the Toronto Blue Jays. The 31-year-old right-hander was 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA in 10 starts with the Blue Jays, who designated him for assignment June 7. He signed a $1.5 million, one-year deal during the offseason with Toronto. Ohka is scheduled to start on Wednesday for Triple-A Memphis. "I think it's a smart move to get him into our organization and see what he's got," manager Tony La Russa said. "But there's no guarantees. It depends on how he pitches." The Cardinals' beat-up rotation features three former relievers starting for the first time in the big leagues along with two others, Anthony Reyes and Kip Wells, who are a combined 2-19. Braden Looper, a fourth former reliever, went on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with a shoulder strain. Ace Chris Carpenter is rehabbing from surgery in May to remove bone spurs from his elbow and Mark Mulder is recovering from rotator cuff surgery in September. Neither is expected back in the near future. Carpenter, the NL Cy Young Award winner in 2005, is scheduled to throw in the bullpen on Wednesday for the second time since his operation. Team physician Dr. George Paletta said if all goes well Carpenter, who threw at 75 percent effort on Sunday and is set to repeat that level on Wednesday, will increase intensity this weekend. "We've got to take it step by step but right now he's certainly on schedule," Paletta said. "He really had no soreness at all. It was positive all the way around." Last year, the Cardinals were ultimately successful with another struggling pitcher when Jeff Weaver hit his stride late in the season and had a victory in each round of the postseason. La Russa said pitching coach Dave Duncan had seen a lot of videotape on Weaver, but in this case it appears that the team is simply taking a flier. "In this case, the expectation is send him to Triple-A and see how he throws," La Russa said. "If he throws better than one of the five guys we have, he's here." The move came on the same day the Cardinals decided to scratch Wells, who leads the major leagues with 11 losses and a 6.93 ERA from his scheduled start against the Royals. Wells was informed about three hours before game-time. Ohka, a native of Kyoto, Japan, had his best year in 2003 when he was 13-8 with a 3.16 ERA for the Montreal Expos. He would be the second Japanese player on the team along with reserve outfielder So Taguchi. -- 在奇怪的時刻突然想寫blog http://chordate.blogspot.com/ --

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