JUPITER, Fla. -- For Jason Isringhausen, "normal" has not been the same as "uneventful." Unfortunately, through most of Isringhausen's career, grueling winters have been the norm.

So while Isringhausen had an uneventful offseason this year, you couldn't exactly describe it as normal. For other guys, sure -- but not for the Cardinals' closer.

Isringhausen's spring, however, will not be normal by any measure. He said he expects to stick to batting practice and Minor League games through the early part of camp. It's not a result of any sort of injury, he said. Rather, it's to help preserve him for a long season and to minimize his exposure to the hitters who will be facing him during the year.

"I'll still be doing my own thing a little bit, taking it easy," he said. "I won't be getting in a game probably for a while after games start. Work on a few things here and there, just get my mechanics back to where I want.

"I don't want to be facing any guys I'll be facing during the year, because I might only face them one time during the year. The less familiarity, the better. I can get most of my work done on the back fields, face some Minor League guys or whatever. It's still hitters. It doesn't matter who's up there. If I make good pitches, I get people out."

Isringhausen wore down late in 2007, and said recently that he's been doing more cardio work over the winter to prevent a repeat of that in '08.

Carp closing? Isringhausen didn't make manager Tony La Russa's list of favorite people over the winter. The right-hander came into possession of a pair of tickets to Led Zeppelin's reunion concert in London in December -- and gave them to bullpen coach Marty Mason, rather than the manager. La Russa is an avid concertgoer, who saw Velvet Revolver and the Foo Fighters shortly before coming to camp.

As a result, La Russa playfully suggested he might bump Isringhausen from his accustomed role at the start of the year.

"I'm anxious to get Chris Carpenter back," La Russa said. "I've been told middle of the summer before he can throw 110 or 120 pitches. So I came in today and I said that he could be in condition to throw 30 pitches by Opening Day. So I was going to anoint him the [closer] and Izzy would be his setup man.

"I was on my way out of my office to do that before Dunc [pitching coach Dave Duncan] heard me."

Early arrivals: Of the seven outfielders most likely to compete for spots on the Opening Day roster, four are already in camp and working out. Rick Ankiel and Chris Duncan have been working out for several weeks now -- Ankiel said he's been coming since the beginning of November. Also, already present are Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick, as well as prospect Joe Mather, who is likely to start the season at Triple-A Memphis.

Those who have not arrived include Juan Gonzalez, Colby Rasmus and Rule 5 Draft pick Brian Barton. They are not required to report until Monday.

"It's a good sign, an important tell-tale," said La Russa. "The outfielders are usually the last guys to report, and you walk in there and there are more outfielders than infielders. It shows you the spirit of the competition which I think is going to be a highlight of this camp."

Minicampers get a day off: The Cardinals held a minicamp at the Roger Dean Stadium complex for six of their top prospects, and the camp ended on Wednesday. As a result, the prospects -- Mitchell Boggs, Jaime Garcia, Clayton Mortensen, Adam Ottavino, Chris Perez and P.J. Walters -- received Thursday off before they begin working out with the remainder of the pitchers and catchers on Friday.

Weather report: Wish you were here. Thursday was perfect, with no clouds and temperatures reaching the low 70s, and Friday should bring another lovely day. The forecast calls for a temperature of about 80 with a few clouds and light breezes.

Coming up: Pitchers and catchers begin official workouts on Friday, though many of them have been present and working out for quite some time. The full squad reports on Monday, with full-squad workouts getting under way Tuesday.