TOWER GROVE — Flush with the giddiness of Rick Ankiel’s game-winning single this afternoon, manager Tony La Russa sat in office at Busch Stadium, removed his white socks and, having worn out all of the other adjectives available for his center fielder, offered up a new one.

“He should get some consideration, right?” La Russa said. “He’s an All-Star.”

The rosters for this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game — the midsummer classic, held this season at baseball’s Bronx cathedral, Yankee Stadium — will be announced today. There are the usual suspects, the annual All-Stars, of which Albert Pujols is one. (What position will he play this year with all the first baseman the NL has to offer? Said Cubs’ Derrek Lee when I asked him about his peers today: “It’s not just in this division, it’s the entire league. You don’t want to be the guy who falls behind the others.”) But the Cardinals, one of two teams in league with 50 wins, deserve more than Pujols.

But who? How many?

In a poll of its baseball writers and commentators, ESPN said two Cardinals are worthy of being on the All-Star team — Pujols at DH and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield. The voters picked the starting lineup and the starting pitcher, leaving the bench and pitching staff open for interpretation. Several performances out at the ballpark Saturday strengthen some Cardinals’ candidacy.

• Ludwick doubled in the tying run, pegged Jim Edmonds at the plate and walked to spark the rally against Cubs closer Kerry Wood.
• Kyle Lohse pitched exceptional. Again. Not to be lost in ruptured bullpen and the late-game rally, Lohse pitched well enough to become the third starter in the NL to win his 11th game. Unbeaten in June, Lohse allowed fewer than three runs and pitched at least six innings for the fifth time in six starts. Lohse lowered his ERA to 3.61, which puts him 16th in the league, behind some surefire All-Star selections such as Edinson Volquez, Tim Lincecum and Aaron Cook. 
• Ankiel hit his 18th home run of the season and with his two-run single to win the game in the ninth comes into Sunday’s game with 45 RBIs. That came upon us suddenly.

Throughout the past month or so, the Cardinals have internally mentioned a few players who they hoped would get All-Star consideration. La Russa even told Hall of Fame scribe Rick Hummel that the fans needed to get their hanging chad in gear and boost the vote totals. La Russa has worn his catcher Yadier Molina All-Star campaign button on his sleeve before, and a few officials suggested Ryan Franklin as a candidate for how moved into and handled the closers role.

There are three favorites from the Cardinals, and Ankiel makes an interesting fourth.

Pujols is obvious. Lohse has the win totals, the backstory and the recent performance to merit mention. In the press box there are the usual questions that people ask each other on barstools. Best this. Best that. Better this. Better that. One posed earlier this season, about the time Ankiel threw one of peas to third base, was which was more likely:

A Gold Glove for Ankiel. Or, an All-Star invite for Ludwick.

Among outfielders, Ludwick’s .571 is the third-best slugging percentage in the majors, second in the NL to Pat Burrell’s .585. The only other NL outfielder in the top six is Colorado’s Matt Holliday, a good All-Star bet with his manager guiding the team. Ludwick’s .936 OPS ranks third in the NL behind Burrell and Holliday. When it comes to RBIs, only Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun and Houston’s Carlos Lee have more than Ludwick’s 57, which lead the Cardinals. The NL outfield isn’t stocked with candidates, and the current vote leader, Alfonso Soriano, isn’t likely to make his first game back from the disabled list the All-Star Game, regardless of it being at his old home.

Ken Griffey Jr. is probably going, and deservingly so, for a 600-homer bow. And Kosuke Fukudome has a slim lead on Braun for the third spot.

For the most part Ankiel’s numbers are better than both of those high-vote outfielders. And, when stacked against other center fielders, Ankiel shines. His 18 home runs are the most by an NL center fielder. His 45 RBIs rank in the top five. His slugging percentage (.527) leads the position, and his batting average (.265) is a high, by comparison. Plus, he’s got the highlight catches. It’s not enough to crack the team, but it’s plenty to get what La Russa suggested: consideration.

So, in from the same “Blog Zone” that brought you “I’ve Got Two Words for the Cubs”, here is the chance for you to give your TWO thoughts on the All-Stars.  

• Name the TWO CARDINALS who should be All-Stars.
• Make a case for there being PUJOLS PLUS TWO in the All-Star Game. 

There are plenty in the Cardinals’ clubhouse who hope Ludwick will get the invite, not only for stats produced this season, but for time served in his career. Because if though it is supremely silly that it “counts” for home-field advantage, the All-Star Game and an All-Star selection will always count.

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More about this at the start of next week, but Bird Land is branching out: It has its own page on Facebook. Some of the tech there offers an intriguing way to keep updated on entries in here and track other readers from around the digital network and the infinite corners of Cards Nation. Follow this link for more information:

http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blogpage.php?blogid=10350. 

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