Isringhausen could be placed on DL

Cardinals reliever felt 'pop' in right knee while stretching
KANSAS CITY -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wrote Jason Isringhausen's name on the lineup card Friday, but he did so belatedly and hesitantly.

Isringhausen is dealing with a right knee injury and could be placed on the disabled list this weekend. He felt something "pop" in the joint on Thursday, in between innings of his 2 1/3-inning stint against the Tigers.

"They said it's a strained ligament, a strained tendon and a strained capsule," Isringhausen said.

The right-hander underwent an MRI exam in Kansas City on Friday. However, the Cardinals are waiting on their own head team physician, Dr. George Paletta, to review the results before they decide whether to make a roster move.

"There's clearly some reason for concern at this point," general manager John Mozeliak said.

Isringhausen felt something when he was trying to stretch between innings on Thursday. He retired Gary Sheffield to end the sixth, and as he was trying to stretch out his hips, he evidently knocked something in his knee out of place. He pitched two more innings, however, and, in fact, turned in some of his best pitching of the year after sustaining the injury.

"I'm not a doctor, but to me, I'm like, if I was able to pitch two innings on it, then it's a pain issue," Isringhausen said. "If they can get rid of the pain, I can pitch. Now, they might say if I go out there and try to pitch on it, it could tear it. I don't know. I'm going to talk to the doctor about it."