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PITTSBURGH聽鈥� With one game remaining on his rehab assignment and a good idea who he would be facing upon his return to the majors, Hunter Dobbins opted to use his innings for Class AAA Memphis against Norfolk to actually prepare for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

What better place for a dress rehearsal than in the minors.

PITTSBURGH聽鈥� Cardinals manager Oli Marmol had plenty of words to describe what he was thinking as the baseball and the game soared toward the left field seats, but before speaking them, he first had a question:

鈥淔or print?鈥� he asked.

PITTSBURGH聽鈥� The Cardinals showed they could win with an improbable comeback Monday, that they could run away with a game Tuesday and here was their chance Wednesday to just hold on for dear life.

And it all came down to a home run robbed by Nathan Church at the left field fence.

PITTSBURGH聽鈥� The Pirates starter threw eight consecutive balls to start the fifth inning Tuesday, meaning before any Cardinal took a swing, there were already two on base, and Alec Burleson went to the plate feeling pretty good about what pitch he would see.

He was looking for the 鈥渕iddle-middle heater, a get-ahead鈥� fastball聽鈥� just the type of pitch that might untrack his swing and sweep away the aftertaste of two strikeouts already in the game.

The 1930s pitcher Roy Parmelee was so wild, the spicy old sportswriter Jimmy Powers called him 鈥淭arzan.鈥�

Indeed, Parmelee infamously led baseball in 1934 in both wild pitches and hit batters. And in 1935, his inaccuracy led to another level of futility, as he finished first in the NL in base on balls.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol's natural default is to project an air of positivity, and that's even before you factor in that a lot of bumps, bruises and frustration were baked into the recipe for this season from the start.

Sometimes you've got to apply a filter to that positive spin. Other times, Marmol's unabashed optimism simply reflects the vibe around this current group of Cardinals.

PITTSBURGH聽鈥� He could only guess how old he was, maybe 8 or 9. One of his friends texted JJ Wetherholt recently that he鈥檚 pretty sure the Pirates鈥� opponent that day was the Cardinals at PNC Park, which 鈥渨ould be pretty cool,鈥� the rookie said, but he cannot be certain.

There is one thing about that day he knows for sure.

PITTSBURGH — Welcome to the first Monday edition of the weekly question-and-answer session with the baseball writers here at

You鈥檝e got questions.

PITTSBURGH聽鈥� It wasn鈥檛 the sharpest of outings that will slingshot Hunter Dobbins back to the majors and into his Cardinals debut, but the timing is right for the big league club.

Dobbins will meet the team in Pittsburgh, and he鈥檚 set to join the active roster and start聽Thursday, manager Oli Marmol told a group of reporters that included Post-Dispatch writers Sunday afternoon. Dobbins鈥� arrival means the Cardinals will upshift to a six-man rotation for at least this week as they continue a stretch of 17 games in 17 days.

If you freeze the April 14 video of , it looks like an off-brand version of Nike鈥檚 Jumpman logo, with the legs spread just a bit wider and the toes pointing up.

This wasn鈥檛 simply a leap; it was a levitation.

We all heard the edict and acknowledged it, but we tend to remember things when it鈥檚 convenient. Yes, Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom and manager Oli Marmol鈥檚 messages came through loud and clear. Sure, we understand that the long-term needs outweigh short-term concerns.

That鈥檚 all fine and well, but there are shiny new toys with impressive statistics down at Triple-A Memphis. We鈥檝e also heard about the player development focus. We鈥檝e seen the farm system rankings. There are a handful of names that get bandied about as potential contributors we still haven鈥檛 seen yet.