Rick Ankiel is smoking the ball

[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.

[Migrant Redbird]

Rain delayed Cardinals - Cubs game at Wrigley Monday afternoon

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.

[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'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

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.