Should Ankiel find his stroke at Memphis?
[Ed. note: Pip is on vacation this week, so fellow SABRen Mark Stangl will be posting in his absence. Enjoy!]
It’s always hard to point out something that is not working after the Cards beat the Brewers 5-0 tonight and increased their lead over the Brew Crew by two games in the NL Central but it might serve the team better if Rick Ankiel goes and visits Elvis and gets his timing back in Memphis. His April was OK .264 BA 2 HR 11 RBI. But since he came back from the DL May 24 his numbers are .206 BA 3 HR and 11 RBI. If he had 10-14 HR, the 52 strikeouts in 212 AB through tonight’s game would be easier to take. But he doesn’t! The rust hasn’t come off. With DeRosa due back before the All-Star game, Schumaker can be moved to left, Rasmus stays in Center and Ludwick in Right. Barden goes to second. With a team that has lacked consistency on offense , it’s worth a shot. My thoughts on why he didn’t go down after coming back. The possibility existed that he could find his power stroke up here. What Rick has found is a lot of strikeouts. Going down to AAA could get him to be cognizant of driving the ball and then the power will return. Unless he hasn’t completely recovered from those injuries.