Chris Carpenter has not played in a Grapefruit League game yet, but he has still been involved with the Cardinals. Carpenter has been dealing with a bulging disc in his neck. "He's usually barking at people," manager Mike Matheny said. "Last game, I tried to convince him to drink decaf on the bench, because he's barking at the umpire and everybody else." Carpenter threw to live hitters on Sunday, just two days after throwing his first bullpen session since March 3. "I was all right," he said. "It's a good step to get back out there and throw a little bit. Now we move on to the next step. If I wake up good enough tomorrow, then I'm going to go out and do that again maybe sometime soon."