For the first time in his major-league career, Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter enters spring training with expectations, and that's fine with him, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"The thing that I’m so excited about for me personally this year is there are expectations," Carpenter said. "This is the first time in my career that I’ve had that chance, that I’ve had those expectations. Think about it. Every year, it’s been like maybe he’ll make the team. Then the next year, it’s maybe he’ll play second base. This year, well he’s going to play and this is what he did, so there’s an expectation. For the first time in my career, I get a chance to live up to an expectation.
"My goal is to exceed those."