"Ten days since last facing a hitter, Chris Carpenter and his cooperative left hamstring climbed the mound Friday for live batting practice. He worked without a screen, without reservation, apparently without patience.

The previous time Carpenter saw hitters, he walked from the mound unable to put weight on his landing leg. He missed two Grapefruit League starts, one due to discomfort, the second as a precaution.

But on a chilly, gusting morning on a remote field against minor-leaguers Adron Chambers, Pete Kozma, Bryan Anderson and Tony Cruz, nothing else mattered to Carpenter except that he couldn't throw his fastball for strikes.

Carpenter cursed three pitches into the process and slapped at himself before seeing his third hitter. Disgusted at his lack of command, Carpenter stalked to a dugout to briefly sit alone after throwing the first of four 15-pitch "innings."

"I expect to go out there and do the things I know how to do. If I don't, it's unacceptable to me," Carpenter insisted earlier in camp, more than a week before he suffered a strained left hamstring in a March 1 exhibition game."