St. Louis Cardinals righthander Chris Carpenter has been out all season with nerve irritation in his shoulder.

There's been no official timetable set for his return, but he's taking baby steps. Derrick Goold:

Carpenter, who has been out all season after nerve irritation caused weakness in his right shoulder, threw 26 fastballs at slightly less than full effort in a brief bullpen session at Busch Stadium. The workout was the next step in what Carpenter and the Cardinals are describing as a spring training-like schedule for the righty. The session was similar to one he would do within two weeks of reporting to spring training.

"It was a nice move in the right direction," Carpenter said. "We’re treating it like a lead-up to spring training here. ... Any time you move forward that’s an exciting thing. But you also want to hold back a little bit because you don’t want to get too carried away."

Well, let's see. A workout that's "one he would do within two weeks of reporting to spring training"? That would put it in late January or early February. That would put "spring training outing" for him about a month from now, and any possible regular-season action about two months from now, that is, if there's no rehab assignment in the minor leagues first.

I'm no math expert, but that would seem to indicate we won't see Carpenter on a major-league mound until September, if then.

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