MVN - Most Valuable Network

Ankiel Avoids The Disabled List…For Now

Rick’s Health and the state of the Cardinals Outfield:

Rick Ankiel was held out of the lineup both Saturday and Sunday as the Cardinals played the Tampa Bay Rays. He was nursing a strained right shoulder that was aggravated by swinging a bat. Tony even took note, saying “He can’t swing 100 percent without aggravating it.” Rick met with team doctors to determine how much rest would be needed to get him back to 100%. The Cardinals were prepared to call up Joe Mather from Memphis should they end up placing Rick Ankiel on the 15 day DL retroactive to Saturday. But it now looks like Mather will have to wait a bit longer. Rick was feeling much better Sunday as the team boarded their flight to San Diego. It looks like he will need to rest for days not weeks.

One thing is for sure, we don’t want to rush him back into action. The way he has been playing defense, diving for balls, crashing into walls, etc. could aggravate his condition and turn a small problem into a bigger one. Ankiel is a major contributor to this team and the Cardinals are smart enough to do the right thing here.

But from Joe Mather’s perspective, I don’t know how much longer you can keep a guy at AAA that is absolutely smashing the ball when you have guys like Brain Barton and Chris Duncan taking up spots on the major league roster but giving you mediocre results. Barton is a rule 5, meaning if he is not on the major league roster all season, then Cleveland has the right to get him back for $50,000, a move they would probably make. So if you demote him, you probably lose him. But he is only hitting .258 and hasn’t been consistent at the dish. I still say we keep him for now.

The bigger concern with me is Chris Duncan. I just don’t see him being a Cardinal long term. When he first arrived on the scene, he hit for so much power. Last season, he underwent hernia surgery and has never been the same. In 2006, he hit a home run every 12.7 at bats. Last year that rate fell to every 17.9 at bats. And this season, he is only hitting a home run once every 26.5 at bats. And his batting average of .255 just isn’t as impressive as Mather’s .316 at AAA Memphis. And by the way, Mather is hitting a home run once every 11.9 at bats. Mather’s defense is solid, while Chris Duncan continues to look like a drunk ballerina at times. He makes the plays more than last year, but he sure makes then harder than need be.

All in all, I love the Cardinals outfield this season. Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick have become critical components of the offense and Rick Ankiel has become even more important to the team. He is making plays that even Edmonds didn’t make, and trust me, that is high praise. Ankiel threw out two runners at third in Colorado and one of the plays was the single greatest throw I have ever seen a position player make in all my years of watching baseball.

And then you have Colby. Colby is known for slow starts, but his “slow start” this year has cost him his lead-off spot in the Memphis batting order. He is hitting a mere .182 through Sunday. I think he is going to take much more time to develop than previously thought. And even when he does make it to St. Louis, why do you move Rick “The Natural” Ankiel from center field? The answer is…you don’t! Leave Rick in center. And if Colby is as good as he is supposed to be, play him in left or right. That leaves the final spot for Schumaker and Ludwick to fight over. But wow, what a good problem to have. But I just don’t see room for Chris Duncan on the team at that point. I say package him with Reyes and shop them to see what is out there via a trade. We might be surprised.

But for now, let’s just hope Rick is okay and back in action soon. And if not, trust me when I tell you that Joe Mather is VERY capable.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 12:15 pm and is filed under 2008 Cardinals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.