ankiel's story

by _pistol_ on Mar 17, 2008 5:06 PM EDT

In light of the media beating (and rightly so) Ankiel took with hgh story last year, perhaps a more personal story will soften the hearts of vebbers. This article in the Palm Beach Post explores the tumultuous relationship between Rick and his dad.

Admittedly, last year I was a bit ambivalent about his return - maybe a bit leery of the spectacle and concerned that he would again let us down as Cardinal fans. But lo and behold, his presence was absolutely magical. He gave us hope last year. Sadly, after the hgh media blowup, he had a couple precipitous moments - ugly strike-outs, followed by some horrendous defensive mistakes. But somehow, with TLR's guilt-ridden patience, he rebounded and now appears to have become a viable major-league hitter.

I'm not sure what to expect out of him this year. His k's and low obp will likely continue to be an issue. But as he seems to have a matured and created a more stable life away from baseball, his prospects are looking up.

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Hobbs

I too was leery of Rick's return last year but believe Hobbs will improve at the plate in 2008. He's still a relatively inexperienced batter. I have hope that his plate discipline improves translating into more walks and a higher OBP. The problem with Rick is the amount of MLB service time he already has in with Boras as an agent. The Cards will have to make up their minds soon whether to invest big dollars longterm on Hobbs. But it's a win-win if Hobbs explodes in 2008 IMHO. If we decide we can't sign him longterm due to salary demands ala JD Drew, we ought to be able to flip him for a nice haul (again assuming Rick proves himself in 2008).

by jjray on Mar 17, 2008 5:20 PM EDT reply actions

His OBP

looks pretty good so far this spring...

by mikeonthecards on Mar 17, 2008 6:49 PM EDT reply actions

Grain of salt

I'm not saying I want him to do bad in spring training, but it doesn't matter much either way. As long as he gets his timing down and he's healthy, it's a successful spring training.

That being said, all of his offensive stats look good to me as well. Hopefully he can be a catalyst for this team and lessen Pujol's pressure in the early goings.

I''m a Jenius!

by gibbons on Mar 17, 2008 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions

The Natural

I didn't become a believer in Rick until I caught one of my annual Memphis - Iowa Cub series in late June of last year. My buddy had been singing his praises for most of the year, but I was skeptical that he could truly turn it around. He slugged 3 homers out of park that doesn't give up very many on a night where the wind was blowing in. At that point I knew that it was only a matter of time before he was going to get his call-up.

I remain optimistic that he's on the lower part of the learning curve in terms of plate discipline and working counts, so his OBP numbers could improve and I've been impressed by the way that he's handled pitches from lefties. I'd love to see him hit in the 4 hole with Albert in front and Glaus behind him so he will get plenty of pitches to hit with men on base. I could see him hitting 30+ homers if he gets 500 at-bats in that spot.

"I just wish that the late Harry Caray were still around so I could hear him mispronounce 'Kosuke Fukudome' every fukun' night" -- Dennis Miller

by fourstick on Mar 17, 2008 11:23 PM EDT reply actions

Speaking of Ankiel

There is an article in the post dispatch today that talks about him batting 4th behind Pujols as if it could actually happen. I would love to see this to start the year:

Schumaker CF
Ludwick RF
Pujols 1B
Ankiel RF
Glaus 3B
Molina C
Ryan SS
Waino P
Kennedy 2B

(lineup adjusted for a lefty...I know Izturis (GAH!) has the upper-hand at the starting SS role)

by stlfan on Mar 18, 2008 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

Ankiel

I wonder what Ankiel's career would have been like if he had started out as an outfielder. I think he would have been in the show pretty quickly and stayed. He truly is an exceptional talent, even when compared to other major league players. I think he would have traveled a similar career path to Rasmus as they have very similar skill sets. I have often wondered how the decision was made to make him (or any other similarly multi-talented player) a pitcher rather than an outfielder. It would seem to me that in this age of five man pitching rotations (or 9 man rotations in the case of the Cardinals), he would potentially offer more value (in terms of WARP3 or win shares or whatever measure you want to use) to the organization as a center fielder than as a pitcher. I guess the possibility of a left handed ace was more enticing to the organization at the time. If I recall, Rasmus also pitched in high school but the organization went in the other direction with him. I'd be interested in knowing the reasons.

by CURVEBALL on Mar 18, 2008 12:49 PM EDT reply actions

hard to say

that ank would have been more valuable to the organization as an outfielder than a pitcher. his rookie year he looked like an absolute stud on the mound and looked to be the next randy johnson. a left handed ace (heck, any ace pitcher) is far more valuable to the organization than an outfielder, there are far more outfielders available.

by lopey986 on Mar 18, 2008 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions