Cardinals go high tech in the dugout

ST. LOUIS -- Long reliant on his set of iPads (he has three) for pregame preparation and scouting, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny no longer has to put down that technology when the game begins.

With the blessing of Major League Baseball, teams have been permitted to utilize iPads in the dugout to call up statistics, scouting reports, spray charts and more. Teams received the go-ahead to incorporate the technology beginning on Monday. They cannot hook their devices to WiFi and only information downloaded before first pitch can be used.

While most of the information isn't so much new -- the Cardinals have always had stacks of paper with all that information -- cueing it up on an iPad screen, Matheny believes, could be more efficient. And in some cases, it can also complement what the team already has in paper form.

"If they want to see what somebody's tendencies are in a two-strike count against left-handed pitching, they can come over and open up that file and see it pretty quickly," Matheny said. "We're very open to new technology. We're just trying to figure out how this can help us because we have so much stuff that we have made our routine. We're toying with it. I think that over time it will be what information can help us with in-game decisions."

Bench coach David Bell and Triple-A manager Mike Shildt, who has joined the big league team for the remainder of the season, have been especially engaged in helping the Cardinals determine how best to use the in-game technology. Matheny said that a few players went to the iPad for information during the first two games it was in the dugout.

MLB has told teams that they will be allowed to use iPads in this way during the postseason, as well.

"I think anytime baseball is trying to be forward thinking." Matheny said, "we're going to be right there with them."