Rick Ankiel is smoking the ball

[tennOsfan]

Check out these stats at AAA this season for the former hurler:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Rick%2520Ankiel&pos=&sid=t235&t=p_pbp&pid=150449

A home run every 11-12 at-bats. Wow.

[Moose Milligan]

I hope he makes it back. He was quite a pitching talent and then all of a sudden his control vanished through no fault of his own...

I don't see why the Cardinals couldn't use him right now.

[geschinger]

I hope he makes it back. He was quite a pitching talent and then all of a sudden his control vanished through no fault of his own...


Whose fault was it?



I don't see why the Cardinals couldn't use him right now.

They should give him a shot. I think he could hold his own right now. Is he capable defensively? That is a question I don't know the answe to although I don't see why it wouldn't be.

[bryanman8]

Walked people like crazy as a pitcher but can't walk as a hitter. That OBP is horrid.

[Leitch]

A .317 OBP in AAA is a really, really bad thing.

[Migrant Redbird]

Whose fault was it?

LaRussa's, but I can't prove it.



They should give him a shot. I think he could hold his own right now. Is he capable defensively? That is a question I don't know the answe to although I don't see why it wouldn't be.

He's quite capable defensively -- used to play outfield on the U.S. national team when he wasn't pitching. He has excellent speed, with 8 doubles and 2 triples to go along with his 19 home runs in just 213 at bats, but his getting caught 3 times in 5 stolen base attempts suggests he has a lot to learn when it comes to reading pitchers. He has played both center and right field for Memphis and played them well, albeit with a few mistakes that can be chalked up to inexperience. Naturally, he has a cannon for an arm.

Rick is a legitimate 5-tool outfielder once he gets enough experience, but he had only a little more than 500 total professional at bats altogether prior to this season and he really needs to season a little more at the AAA level before being brought up to face major league pitching. Last season was pretty well wiped out with injuries, so he really, really needs to get a full season under his belt at Memphis before being called up. Besides, the only way the Cardinals need him right now would be if he could step into the bedraggled rotation.

The problem is, since Rick has long been out of options, he really needs to be ready when he gets promoted to the major leagues. If he gets into a slump, he'll have to sit on the bench or be allowed to play his way out of it because he can't be returned to the minors without passing through waivers. And the way he's hitting, there's no way that the bottom feeders would allow him to go through waivers.

And as Leitch indicated, Rick really needs to learn to take a few more pitches and draw a few more walks. I'm not really too concerned about his .317 OBP by itself because he's a good enough hitter that he'll work his way through that. What I am concerned about is his only having 11 walks against 54 strikeouts -- a hitter with a .606 slugging percentage ought to be drawing more walks than that.

[Migrant Redbird]

It's getting more and more difficult to keep that boy down on the farm!


Randy Keisler tossed seven solid innings and Rick Ankiel and Joe Mather homered as Memphis routed visiting Albuquerque, 8-1, on Thursday.

.... Ankiel ripped his Pacific Coast League-leading 25th homer, a two-run shot in the first inning, and drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth.

Mather also clubbed a two-run homer in the first and Jarrett Hoffpauir went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored for Memphis (37-51).

Rick was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, which raises his BA to .267 and, I assume, lifts his .306 OBP to somewhere around .311, still rather feeble. However, his slugging is .587 and his OPS is .898, which is making some Cardinals fans salivate as they ponder an offense that's 23rd in home runs and 27th in runs scored among major league teams.

2 walks in 1 game after only 14 in his first 73 games; I hope that's an indication that he's finally beginning to develop a better eye and more patience at the plate. It could also reflect a growing reluctance of PCL pitchers to pitch to him.

[Hallas]

I wonder if plays at the plate will be a mirror of Vlad playing outfield; 50% chance he gets the guy by 10 feet, 50% chance he airmails it into the backstop.

[Migrant Redbird]

I predict that runners will learn not to challenge Rick's throwing arm.

[Hank Scorpio]

I found this to be quite amazing. This dude can rake.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Rick%2520Ankiel&pos=76&sid=l112&t=p_pbp&pid=150449

[Migrant Redbird]

It's already been discussed in this thread, which has the benefit of including Rick's name in the subject so that O's fans who could care less don't have to click on the thread to see who you're talking about.

Rick Ankiel is smoking the ball (http://orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48709)

Believe it or not, there are some O's fans who would rather not hear about Cardinals prospects, unless there's a trade in the works to acquire some of them. :)

[Migrant Redbird]

Here are Rick's stats through Sunday, with the Memphis Redbirds having already clinched the first half title in their division.


G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
76 289 48 78 11 2 26 66 171 16 69 2 3 .270 .312 .592 .904

Here's the blurb from Saturday's game wrap up (http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t235&t=g_wra&gid=2007_07_07_albaaa_mrbaaa_1), when Rick hit his 26th home run. He's still not drawing many walks; he got 2 in 1 game a few days ago, but only has 16 for the season so far.


Rick Ankiel belted his 26th homer leading off the bottom of the seventh for the Redbirds (38-52) . The former pitcher is tied with Toledo's Mike Hessman for second in the Minor Leagues behind Omaha's Craig Brazell, who has 30.

There was a story in the New York Times a few days ago about Ankiel declining an invitation to the PCL All Star game, and refusing to grant interviews to ESPN.


Many minor league baseball players would be thrilled if ESPN sent a camera crew to do a profile on them. But Rick Ankiel did not want that. He has been on national television before and rejected ESPN’s recent repeated requests for an interview.

.... And some minor leaguers might be eager to play in the Class AAA All-Star Game in their first year as an outfielder at that level. Ankiel, of the Memphis Redbirds, said no thanks, electing to rest his surgically repaired left knee. He does not seem to crave attention.

Ankiel, who hits home runs often and impressively, will turn 28 on July 19. That is old for a professional prospect, but his hitting and fielding skills still seem unrefined, with good reason. A few years ago, Ankiel was one of the best young left-handed pitchers in the major leagues.

.... “It’s the past; I don’t really like talking about it,” Ankiel said in the dugout before a game this week. “I just deal with today and the future and go from there. The past is the past. You can’t change it. It is what it is.”

His comeback as an outfielder, which began in 2005, was delayed when he missed the 2006 season because of a knee injury.

.... Babe Ruth made the transition to slugger from pitcher, but few have done it successfully since. Some St. Louis fans are clamoring for Ankiel’s return to the majors, but the Cardinals have not rushed him.

.... Tony La Russa, the manager of the Cardinals, said this week on a visit to Shea Stadium that the plan was to give Ankiel “as much game time as he can get” in the highest level of the minors. As for promoting him, La Russa said it would be better to do it too late than too early.

.... Tagg Bozied, a 27-year-old first baseman and Ankiel’s closest friend on the team, [said] “He’s got a ton of talent and strength. He’s a hard worker. He’s only going to get better. He works out. He eats great. He’s dedicated — 100 percent.” .... He also said that Ankiel was “really raw, mentally” about hitting and that he lacked polish.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal (http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/redbirds/article/0,2673,MCA_22116_5620986,00.html) has a new story on Ankiel this morning.


If the pressure is building on Ankiel as he steams toward an increasingly inevitable return to the big leagues, it was difficult to tell on Sunday as the Redbirds hit the All-Star break on a high note with a 5-2 victory over Albuquerque at AutoZone Park.

Ankiel caused a bit of a stir recently by declining multiple interview requests from an ESPN crew that traveled to Memphis to film an "Outside the Lines" segment. The 27-year-old center fielder is apparently no fan of the network, which he feels made a meal of his 2000 meltdown with the Cardinals.

.... "I think it's been better than anybody expected," Redbirds manager Chris Maloney said of Ankiel's first half in Memphis. "He's made faster progress in the outfield than I expected. We thought he had the ability to be a good, solid center fielder, but he's already one now."

While Ankiel has committed six errors, he also has four outfield assists. Just because he isn't pitching anymore doesn't mean he's lost anything in his throwing arm.

.... "His strike zone still needs improving," Maloney said. "That's the biggest thing to me, and it's just a matter of getting repetitions. I think he'll be fine."

Another area in which Ankiel has performed above expectations is against left-handed pitching. With four outfielders commanding regular playing time, Maloney has given Ankiel occasional off days when the opposition is starting a left-hander.

Of Ankiel's 289 at-bats, just over a quarter have come against lefties. Yet Ankiel is hitting .293 (24-for-82) against such pitchers, with seven homers and 21 RBI.

.... "Growing up, I didn't see as many (left-handers) as I did right-handers," Ankiel said. "That's an adjustment I'm trying to make. The ball breaks the other way on you. I'm trying to get better at dealing with that every day."

Ankiel's biggest concern heading into the season was how his surgically repaired left knee would hold up to the strain of playing every day. While he has experienced occasional "tightness" in the knee, his only extensive time on the sideline came as a result of an Achilles tendon strain. The result of a collision with left fielder Nick Stavinoha, it landed him on the disabled list for a week in mid-May.

"[i]Coming into this year, the big question mark was whether my knee was gonna hold up," Ankiel said. "I wasn't sure whether I was gonna have to miss time, if I'd get tendinitis or if it was gonna flare up. Every day I have to answer that question."

While Ankiel cited the desire to rest his knee as the reason he declined his All-Star Game invitation, he thinks he's responded well to the wear and tear.

"I'm happy with how my body's handled it," he said. "It's just about regular maintenance."

.... While his body might be holding up to the strain of playing every day, how Ankiel will respond to the media glare awaiting his return to St. Louis is another matter.

Asked that question point-blank, he said, "I don't know."

"I've been through it before," he said. "I'm just trying to block it out right now and trying to focus on what I've got to do every day despite what whoever is saying."

At the same time, however, he said he is aware that his story is being presented mainly as one of inspiration and redemption.

I anticipate that Rick will probably be called up sometime in early September. If the Cardinals wait a couple days after the 1st, they will have him under their control for an additional year. However, Memphis will be in the PCL playoffs and the Cards are very unlikely to still be in the NL Central race at that time, so they could just let him continue playing with Memphis until their season ends, and then give Rick the remainder of the year off.

If he does get called up in September, it will probably be the biggest regular season media circus in St. Louis since McGwire and Sosa were in their home run race in 1998. I doubt if it will match the Dice-K or Rocket phenomenas. If Rick's return was postponed until next year, he'd have time to get used to it during the lower key atmosphere of spring training.

[tennOsfan]

I'm really pulling for Ankiel. His is a great story of never giving up.

I hope he hits 30 homers for the Cards next year.

[Migrant Redbird]

I'm really pulling for Ankiel. His is a great story of never giving up.

Well, he's had a lot of bad breaks. He grew up in a broken home. His dad is in jail for dealing drugs. There is a thread at the SLSF Cardinals Forum (http://stlouissportsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=536) dedicated to articles and discussion of Ankiel's minor league season, and one of the more recent articles posted there contained this.


When Ankiel was a boy in Florida, one of his instructors was his father, who often shouted at him during youth league games and later went to prison on a drug conviction. One of Ankiel’s former coaches told The New York Times Magazine in 2001 that Ankiel’s father argued with umpires and coaches.

“I was terribly shy,” Ankiel said in that article. “Maybe it was because my dad yelled at me so much. I was afraid to mess up.” Ankiel recently married, and his wife, Lory, showed him a phrase in a book that he has repeated frequently this season: “Life is about re-creating yourself.”

Some fans have claimed or implied that Rick was using drugs himself, but I've never seen anything in print that would seem to confirm it. It might be simply a case of fans trying to tar him with the same brush as his father.


I hope he hits 30 homers for the Cards next year.

Or 40. I'm really pulling for him to succeed. I kept him on my team in a dynasty league for a year and a half after his melt down in the 2000 playoffs. I talked to him for a while in 2001 back when he was pitching for Johnson City in the Applachian rookie league, trying to regain his control. Rick was pretty nice, but seemed a little quiet and reserved. He signed a couple of baseballs for me, one of which was for a friend of mine who was dying of lung cancer.

[Migrant Redbird]

Updated with a personal report on Ankiel by one of our Cardinals fans.


I attended the Memphis/Nashville games on Friday & Saturday in Nashville. Ankiel had a very nice game Friday. 3 hits (all solid line drives) and 2 walks. Saturday was a bit of a struggle for Rick and the entire team, but Ankiel did make an impressive throw to nail a runner trying to tag from 1st to second on a deep fly to center. I thought he looked very smooth in the outfield. He is just an athlete, plain & simple. Mather played right both nights, and he also showed off an impressive throwing arm on a couple of throws. Mather does not get cheated at the plate. He looks to be a work in progress to me. Memphis seems to have the same problem as the Cards....weak starting pitching. Neither Parisi (Friday) nor Mike Smith were impressive in the least. Edgar Gonzalez looks like a pretty polished hitter, and Hoffpaur looked good on Friday night. Stavinhoa hit a monstrous HR Saturday. The Nashville LFer never even moved on it. It was my first time at the Nashville ballpark. I think it is safe to say it is not one of the nicer AAA venues. At any rate, my main purose for going to the games was to see Mr. Ankiel, and I came away with a favorable impression of his play. BTW, both Nashville starters were southpaws. I must admit that I am really pulling for Rick. As I have said before, I can hardly imagine what the ovation is going to be like when he steps into the batter's box at Busch for the first time.

I told my buddy that with our luck, he would get called up during the day Friday. One other thing that struck me was that Ankiel really seemed to be enjoying himself out there. He signed lots of autographs before each game, and seemed really relaxed doing so.

It looks like Rick has been drawing walks a little better now, although it's still subject to the "small sample" caveat. He's got his OBP up to .319 now, still not too impressive for a guy who's slugging almost .600!

Here's Rick's current numbers, sandwiched in among some other representative Memphis players. Hoffpauir and Mather are recent promotions from the AA club in Springfield.


Player POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
Jarrett Hoffpauir 2B 8 25 7 10 3 0 1 7 4 1 0 0 .400 .483 .640 1.123
* Ryan Ludwick OF 29 106 27 36 8 0 8 36 10 20 1 1 .340 .380 .642 1.022
Rico Washington 1B 54 168 24 53 12 2 7 23 17 24 2 0 .315 .374 .536 .909
* Skip Schumaker OF 30 118 16 37 7 0 5 14 12 22 1 2 .314 .379 .500 .879
Edgar Gonzalez 2B 90 332 52 101 20 3 7 37 33 50 8 1 .304 .368 .446 .814
Nick Stavinoha OF 91 320 33 92 12 0 10 38 18 51 3 1 .288 .327 .419 .746
Mike McCoy 2B 50 136 21 39 7 0 3 14 27 19 6 2 .287 .405 .404 .809
Rick Ankiel OF 79 301 49 82 13 2 26 69 19 71 2 3 .272 .319 .588 .907
* Brendan Ryan SS 66 265 42 70 8 5 1 15 19 35 13 5 .264 .317 .343 .660
John Rodriguez OF 54 159 35 42 12 1 8 27 23 35 1 0 .264 .377 .503 .880
Tagg Bozied 1B 81 275 44 72 19 2 14 46 33 58 3 0 .262 .350 .498 .849
Joe Mather 1B 21 74 10 15 3 1 5 8 5 15 1 0 .203 .289 .473 .762
* currently on major league 25 player roster

Since Memphis is in the PCL playoffs, I wouldn't be surprised if Rick spends the rest of the season with them and didn't get called up to the Cardinals in September.

[Migrant Redbird]

Brendan Ryan, the rookie shortstop on the list above, just hit a pinch hit home run for the Cards in a 10-0 rout of the Phillies. Gotta think that Dave Eckstein will be a free agent this winter. That might be a little awkward, with his brother Rick being the hitting coach with Memphis. Maybe the Cardinals will promote Rick Eckstein along with Rick Ankiel next year?

[Migrant Redbird]

The latest on Rick, and a couple other interesting prospects in Memphis. Rick's 29 home runs lead the PCL and he's beginning to draw a few walks.


Player POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
Jarrett Hoffpauir 2B 19 63 16 20 6 0 2 11 10 8 1 1 .317 .411 .508 .919
Rico Washington 1B 54 168 24 53 12 2 7 23 17 24 2 0 .315 .374 .536 .909
Edgar Gonzalez 2B 101 371 56 110 24 3 7 38 39 54 9 1 .296 .363 .434 .797
Rick Ankiel OF 90 342 55 93 13 2 29 76 23 81 3 3 .272 .321 .576 .897

The 2008 outfield is getting a little too crowded. Edmonds and Encarnacion are guaranteed $8M and $6.5M respectively. Chris Duncan deserves to be an everyday player (instead of sitting out most of the time against lefthanders). Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick deserve a shot, but Ankiel has to be penciled in as the leading candidate either at center or right for next year, despite the $14.5M in front of him there. Then there's John Rodriguez, who posted an .818 OPS in 2005 and an .806 OPS in 2006, and still got shuttled off to AAA for the 2007 season.

I still think the Cards need to find an AL team in desperate lack of a decent DH and get some pitching back for Chris Duncan.

[Sports Guy]

Ankiel was called up and hit a 3 run homer for the Cards tonight.

That is awesome for him.

[Migrant Redbird]

It's a feel good story and I'm thrilled to death for Rick, but I still believe that bringing him up before the AAA season ended is a big mistake. He needs to be in the lineup every day, and he could do that in Memphis. If the Cards could trade Encarnacion, then Ankiel could play every day, but that's not going to happen. I'm going to be infuriated the first time I see a lineup card without his name, unless he's injured. Given that Rick is hitting southpaws at a better clip than righthanders, there's no justification for sitting him out when the Cards face a lefthander. However, Encarnacion is probably the 3rd best hitter on a relatively weak hitting team and there's no way that he ought to be benched either.

[scOtt]

I saw that on an AP article. Man, you just can't write a script like that. Nobody would believe it. Great stuff!

[MikeAD]

He just hit another one today off Derek Lowe in the first inning, a 2 run shot.

What a story.

[TyCobb]

Has 2 hrs today.

[RayFink1e]

I hope people remember just how great of a pitcher Ankiel was. He was a stud. He looked like a number 1 before his problems.

[Moose Milligan]

He also made an awesome catch in the field today, too.

I think everyones rooting for him, how can you not? Ankiel and Josh Hamilton are the two feel good stories in baseball this year. And they're amazing one of a kind stories, too.

[scOtt]

Former pitchers make great outfielders too, with guns. See Markakis, Nick.

[mweb]

Looking at Ankiel's pitching stats, what made him give it up after 2004? I can't recall. He actually pitched alright in 10 innings, had a 9/1 k/bb ratio.

[Migrant Redbird]

Looking at Ankiel's pitching stats, what made him give it up after 2004? I can't recall. He actually pitched alright in 10 innings, had a 9/1 k/bb ratio.

He really had not re-established his effectiveness as a top notch pitcher after recovering from elbow surgery and, despite the 9 Ks versus only 1 BB, a 5.40 ERA over 10 innings of relief was nothing to write home about. When the wildness resurfaced the next spring, Rick decided to hang it up. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Ankiel)


In 2002, Ankiel missed the whole season with a left elbow sprain. After being cleared to throw off the mound in December of that year, Ankiel returned to the minors in 2003, posting a 6.20 ERA in 10 starts before undergoing, in July, season-ending Tommy John surgery for his left elbow. In 54.1 innings he walked 49 batters and threw 10 wild pitches.

Ankiel returned to the majors in September 2004, posting a 5.40 ERA in five relief appearances. Ankiel's control was impressive, as he walked just one while striking out nine in ten innings. In the minors, similarly, he walked only 2 batters in 23.2 innings, while striking out 23.

On March 9, 2005, after a successful winter pitching in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, Ankiel suddenly announced that he was switching to the outfield[1], after an unsuccessful practice outing in which his wildness reappeared, as he threw only three strikes out of 20 pitches.

Rick Ankiel, Cal Ripken, and Babe Ruth, three anecdotal items of evidence why the DH is such an abomination.

Rick was a great hitter in high school and for the US national team before getting drafted in 1997 in the 2nd round by the Cardinals. He was also a "decent" hitter in his rookie season in 2000, hitting .250 with 2 HRs in 78 at bats despite having only about a dozen professional at bats using wooden bats in his life up to that point.

It's a great story, but if the Cards somehow manage to sneak into the playoffs, we'll be treated to about 10 clips of Rick's post season meltdowns per game.

We were at yesterday's game, but a traffic tieup made us late arriving and Rick had already given the Cards a 2-0 lead. His single loaded the bases in the 4th and those 3 runners eventually scored, giving the Cards a 5-0 lead. The heat was oppressive and my wife announced at that point that her asthma was tightening up, so we got a shuttle cart to run us over to Hrabosky's saloon for a post game party. There we saw Rick's 2nd home run which produced the final 6-1 score.

I'm very happy for Rick and his .417 BA, but it's only 3 games. When he hits 74 home runs next season, then I'll be willing to admit that he's made it all the way back.

[DrungoHazewood]

My bet is that his final major league numbers look like Geronimo Berroa (http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/berroge01.shtml)'s, just with about 30%-50% as many walks. That's not a dig at him, it's just about as much of a career as you can have when you're not in the majors until you're 28 and you have Corey Patterson's plate discipline. He'll really need to work on that walk rate - 20 UIBBs in over 400 PAs in AAA is pretty ugly when translated to the majors.

[TGO]

My bet is that his final major league numbers look like Geronimo Berroa (http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/berroge01.shtml)'s, just with about 30%-50% as many walks. That's not a dig at him, it's just about as much of a career as you can have when you're not in the majors until you're 28 and you have Corey Patterson's plate discipline. He'll really need to work on that walk rate - 20 UIBBs in over 400 PAs in AAA is pretty ugly when translated to the majors.

That's my thought. Eventually these pitchers will realize they not pitching to another pitcher but to a guy with some serious hitting ability and power. At that point he will either have to start taking more pitches and working counts or he will keep swinging and look like Tony Batista or Juan Uribe. Should be interesting.

[Migrant Redbird]

He'll really need to work on that walk rate - 20 UIBBs in over 400 PAs in AAA is pretty ugly when translated to the majors.

I don't believe that the traditional methods of extrapolation are applicable. Ankiel's career path up to 2005 was not at all conducive to development of his hitting skills and he missed portions of the 2005 season and all of the 2006 season to injuries. He's more analogous to a hitter who jumps directly from high school to AAA and there's a lot more room for him to develop as a hitter than there is for the ordinary 28 year old rookie.

[DrungoHazewood]

I don't believe that the traditional methods of extrapolation are applicable. Ankiel's career path up to 2005 was not at all conducive to development of his hitting skills and he missed portions of the 2005 season and all of the 2006 season to injuries. He's more analogous to a hitter who jumps directly from high school to AAA and there's a lot more room for him to develop as a hitter than there is for the ordinary 28 year old rookie.

Maybe. I'll believe it when I see it.

I didn't start playing soccer until I was 25, but that doesn't mean I peaked at 36. It just means I was way behind the curve, and will never catch up to people who'd played their whole lives but were not any more talented than I was. Ankiel's body will betray him more and more, and his knowledge will be in a constant struggle to make up for that, just like anyone else.

There's a pretty good article on comparable historical players on the Hardball Times here (http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/rube-bressler-redux/).

[Migrant Redbird]

Rain delayed Cardinals - Cubs game at Wrigley Monday afternoon (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap;_ylt=AoJqCWSlv.IzFtq.YKlqeuYp0bYF?gid=270820 116&prov=ap)


Rick Ankiel showed off the arm that once made him a promising pitcher.... Chicago leadoff hitter Ryan Theriot drove a pitch to left in the first that a leaping Ankiel couldn't catch. But when the ball bounded off Wrigley Field's hard ivy-covered wall, Ankiel hustled to pick it up and then made a one-hop throw to Scott Rolen at third to cut down the speedy Theriot.

"An aggressive play by Theriot," Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. "I'll tell you what, Ankiel is an athlete. I didn't think he had a chance at him. You can tell he was a pitcher."

"It was a great play and unbelievable throw. I just saw something that maybe I hadn't seen before," Rolen said.

"It was a perfect throw. It hit the dirt and softened up for me when it got there. But it was right on the base. When the ball came out, I was saying 'that was special."'

Ankiel doubled in the first inning and hit his 4th home run in the 7th, in just 32 major league at bats since being called up from AAA. After sitting out the first 2 games in Chicago against left handed pitching (although he hit southpaws better than right handers in AAA), Ankiel returned to the lineup with a vengeance. (Sunday's game was rained out, but Ankiel had a feeble at bat or two against Zambrano before the game was called.)

[tennOsfan]

He's got my All-Star vote for next year.

[rolliefingers]

That throw to get Theriot was insane.

He's gotta be the feel-good story of the decade. Weaker men (and those with less pure talent) would have given up a long time ago.

God Speed, Rick Ankiel.

[RZNJ]

It won't be long before the Rick Ankiel story is a feature length movie. Bank on it. :)

[rolliefingers]

It won't be long before the Rick Ankiel story is a feature length movie. Bank on it. :)

I have this sinking feeling that Matthew McConaughey will somehow be involved with that.

[DrungoHazewood]

I have this sinking feeling that Matthew McConaughey will somehow be involved with that.

You know it'll be made by Disney, and the climax will involve Ankiel hitting a go-ahead homer in the top of the 9th inning of Game 7, then a series of unfortunate events conspire together leading to him taking the mound for the first time in a decade and notching the World's Greatest Save. The next day he marries his high school sweetheart (played by Jessica Biel), and the movie ends with a flash forward of him having a catch with his boy in an Iowa cornfield.

I'd really rather watch a faithful-to-the-book film version of The Natural, with Roy weeping on the sidewalk after his life has been destroyed.

[Migrant Redbird]

It won't be long before the Rick Ankiel story is a feature length movie. Bank on it. :)

ESPN was already talking it up on BT -- Kruk if I recall correctly.

[rolliefingers]

ESPN was already talking it up on BT -- Kruk if I recall correctly.

I wonder if Krukkie is angling for the lead role...;)

[Migrant Redbird]

My bet is that his final major league numbers look like Geronimo Berroa (http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/berroge01.shtml)'s, just with about 30%-50% as many walks. That's not a dig at him, it's just about as much of a career as you can have when you're not in the majors until you're 28 and you have Corey Patterson's plate discipline. He'll really need to work on that walk rate - 20 UIBBs in over 400 PAs in AAA is pretty ugly when translated to the majors.


G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
18 65 14 23 4 0 5 17 5 19 .354 .389 .646 1.035 166

This is not an "I told you so!", since I realize that 65 major league at bats is way too small to be making any projections from. ESPN has already christianed Ankiel as "The Natural", but I still expect him to struggle his first couple of seasons (somewhat the way Chris Duncan is struggling the last couple months). However, Ankiel is a far superior athlete than Duncan is, and I think Rick's ceiling is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of a Jim Edmonds.

Rick's first grand slam, Encarnacion's injury (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/FFD0ED07F1EA4476862573490015FF83?OpenDocument)


The Cardinals had plenty to celebrate after Rick Ankiel's grand slam stirred a come-from-behind victory Friday night with historic import. But any elation was muted elation as their thoughts remained fixed on a teammate in pain.

A foul ball struck Juan Encarnacion in the left eye as the right fielder was standing in the on-deck circle in the sixth inning. Encarnacion dropped instantly and lay face down and still for several uneasy moments.

Helped off the field by teammates, Encarnacion was conscious as he went from the ballpark to a hospital, officials said.

He left a team unsettled and, far less important, trailing.

"It's about as bad as it gets, as far as what you can see on a baseball field," center fielder Jim Edmonds said. "I think it's everybody's biggest fear — any time a ball gets up in the face area. I think everybody is still pretty shaken. To come back is ... amazing."

Four batters after Encarnacion's injury, Ankiel drilled his first career grand slam and upended the Cincinnati Reds' lead for an 8-5 victory at Busch Stadium....

Encarnacion was getting ready to pinch-hit in the sixth inning, while Aaron Miles led off. Miles whipped at an outside pitch and sent it streaking toward the on-deck circle. Encarnacion had no time to move and it took him less time to collapse. Encarnacion's stillness scared the stadium silent. The ball hit Encarnacion flush in the left eye.

La Russa and assistant trainer Greg Hauck bounded out of the dugout and reached Encarnacion as he flipped his batting helmet away. La Russa said the outfielder was conscious when they arrived.

A car with a stretcher came out to take Encarnacion off the field, but it was waved away as he stood on his own. Edmonds and others helped Encarnacion down the dugout steps and to the training room, where Scott Rolen assisted moving him onto one of the tables. The Cardinals said Encarnacion remained conscious as he was taken for further examinations through the night at a hospital.

"It's not a good feeling right now," Miles said after the game. "To be here and know that a teammate is hurt, really hurt and struggling somewhere ... you just hope he's all right."

The hitter who came in to pinch-hit in Encarnacion's place, So Taguchi, sparked the game-winning rally by scalding a double down the right-field line. Brendan Ryan's infield single followed and David Eckstein was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Reds, who had won eight of their last 10 games, brought in former closer Eddie Guardado, a lefty, to face the lefthanded Ankiel.

Ankiel first flailed at a changeup.

Then he flashed a flair for the dramatic.

The former pitcher drilled Guardado's 1-1 pitch over the right-center field wall to snap the Cardinals from a one-run deficit to a three-run lead.

The team was still dazed and concerned from Encarnacion's injury when Ankiel took his curtain call.