Robinson is back, but without his bags
ST. LOUIS – About the time Shane Robinson's bags were landing in Atlanta, he was arriving back in St. Louis to rejoin the Cardinals after a two-day absence.
Robinson, sent to AAA Memphis on Sunday when Lance Berkman was activated from the disabled list, was recalled Tuesday morning when the club placed outfielder Jon Jay on the disabled list with a sprained right shoulder.
So the outfielder packed his bags and flew to St. Louis in time for Tuesday's afternoon tilt at Busch Stadium against the Chicago Cubs. But he soon realized his bags weren't on the same flight.
A mishap with Delta caused his bags – one with his personal clothing and one with his glove, bats and other baseball gear – to be put on a flight for Atlanta instead of his for St. Louis.
So if he gets in Tuesday's game, he'll have to borrow a teammates glove.
"I'll have to walk around and see which one feels as close to mine," Robinson said Tuesday morning. "I'll have to see if they are nice enough to let me borrow it."
Robinson's wife Jessica and newborn daughter Tinley remained in St. Louis Monday when the outfielder flew to Memphis to rejoin the AAA club. He went 3-for-4 Monday night before manager Pop Warner informed him after the game that he was headed right back to St. Louis.
"I played last night and after the game Pop was like, ‘Well dude, it was good seeing you,'" Robinson said. "‘You're going back up. Appreciate you coming.'"
With the club aware that Jay's lingering shoulder pain could force him to the disabled list in the coming days, Matheny told Robinson not to relocate his family just yet while things played out.
And it turned out to be nothing more than a 24-hour detour through Memphis for Robinson, who is hitting .311 in 23 games with the Cardinals this season.
Robinson's wife picked him up at the airport Tuesday morning, bringing a suit for him to wear on the team charter to San Francisco after the game. The hope is that his luggage will arrive from Atlanta in time to make that trip.
Jay injured his shoulder while colliding with the wall in center field on April 19. He returned April 27 and despite not being at 100 percent, hit .339 and had a .397 on-base percentage from that point forward.
But he fell into a 9-for-42 (.214) slump, eventually deciding Monday night that the shoulder wasn't fit enough to continue playing.
"It's been bothering me," Jay said. "Even when I came back I still felt it. I wanted to be out there and try to do the most I could, but it got to the point where it's just better to take a step back now and get some rest and go from there.
"I haven't been swinging the same. I couldn't really follow through the way I wanted to for the last week or so. I couldn't hit the ball hard. I was kind of spraying it. It's just got to the point to where we're at now. My body just couldn't hold up anymore."
Jay hopes to return when he's eligible to come off the disabled list in 15 days. Outfielder Carlos Beltran missed a second straight game Tuesday with a sore right knee, but he hopes to play Wednesday night in San Francisco.