Chris Carpenter (neck) said his bullpen session Friday went better than he expected. Carp threw 25-30 fastballs at about 75 percent effort. The Cardinals will wait and see Saturday how he feels before deciding on the next step, but the treatment for the right-hander's neck is finished, and he'll now focus on strengthening the muscles in his neck so he doesn't have any more issues. Things are moving in the right direction, but it's not clear when he'll appear in a game or if he'll be ready by the start of the season.