PostCards Monday: Over and Out, Outfield and Ankiel
DOWNTOWN — As it turns out, the letters rolling into the mailbag late last week and this weekend saw this coming.
With few exceptions, questions from readers were all focused on the future — how to mold the roster the Cardinals have now into a roster they should have and will need in 2008. Most of the emails came in before the season sank into the Potomac, and now they seem so prophetic. So the future is where this week starts.
There’s a question about moving Albert Pujols to third base, an inquiry about how to make room for Rick Ankiel in the outfield and proposition that states — I believe — manager Tony La Russa should only have to talk to the media about topics he wants to talk about.
Check your Kool-Aid, as Bernie Miklasz wrote, at the door. On with PostCards Daily:
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1. Assuming Chris Duncan is still in the team and not traded for a starting pitcher. Move Albert Pujols back to third, his true position. Duncan to first, his true position. (This gets him out of the outfield where he is a distinct liability.)2. Ryan Ludwick gets a chance at center field, his true position, platooning with Jim Edmonds should he return for his last year. Or he gets it outright.3. Scott Rolen is traded as a package for a starting pitcher freeing up third base for Pujols.4. Left field is filled with a good defensive/high average player obtained in a trade.5. Juan Encarnacion stays in right field.6. Adam Kennedy is traded (maybe with Rolen) as a package for a starter. Brendan Ryan starts at second!
– John Bearden
DG: Don’t confuse youth with speed, because there haven’t been a whole lot of stolen bases in the Cardinals minor-league system this season either. And I shouldn’t confuse speed with stolen bases. Let’s just say both have been lacking throughout the system. And both are needed. That said, I’ll go point-by-point through your proposal, which it should be noted was sent in before the debacle in D.C.:
- Third base is not Pujols’ ”true position” any more so than center field is Ludwick’s “true position”. This elbow soreness that Pujols is experiencing is just one reason why he’s a first baseman and a first baseman to stay. That his position, that’s his best position and that is the position that keeps him from doing further damage to an arm injury that dates back a few years. No reason to put him at third base. Everyone is just going to have to come to grips with Duncan in the outfield, because — yes — that’s his best position, too.
- Interesting. Ludwick has show an ability to play center field and he has the third-most home runs of anyone on the team. I like the idea of seeing more of Ludwick somewhere in the outfield, though platooning Edmonds seems misdirected. If someone else is going to play center field for the Cardinals in the near future, that someone should be Rick Ankiel.
- Easier said than done. Did you see what teams want for starting pitching?
- Keeping Duncan there is the best way to go. One of those Dodgers’ outfielders would be a mighty nice fit, but there’s a question if the Cardinals have anything to offer to pry one loose.
- It’s refreshing to read that sentence in the mailbag. A letter that doesn’t include wild, unfounded RF bashing gets the attention. So will Encarnacion as the Cardinals look to deal him in the coming future.
- Not all that unreasonable. Except, Ryan may have to play shortstop for this team next year, unless they dip into the free agent market or work out an extension with David Eckstein.
Thanks for putting the time into the six bullet points. Wouldn’t be surprised if a few of your suggestions happen, with a little editing to rethink the “true position” assertions. Speaking of Encarnacion …
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– Larry Harnly, Springfield, Ill.
DG: Perhaps not. Encarnacion does have a favorable contract for next season, especially for the kind of production he routinely brings to a lineup. But if the Cardinals believe that a platoon of Skip Schumaker (who is out of options) and Ryan Ludwick (who is having a foothold season) can replace Encarnacion’s numbers then this move makes even more sense. You mention the two X-factors: Is Edmonds around? (He may retire or, as Joe Strauss reported today, he may consider being traded.) Where does Ankiel fit in? The Cardinals are still not sure what they have in Ankiel and it’s nearing time for them to find out. He is capable of playing all three positions, though many believe he’d best be suited for right field. His upside is as an everyday player, but some scouts see him only as a fourth outfielder or part of a left-right platoon (i.e., with Ludwick?). I fall into the Chris Mahoney school of thought: Don’t doubt Rick. And if the Cardinals feel the same way, expect them to make every effort to clear a way for him to play — even if it’s under the guise of a spring-training competition for outfield time.
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– Debra Ernst, Florissant, Mo.
DG: Good to see such a passionate defense of No. 10. The Cardinals can control (or attempt to control) many things. La Russa does not talk until he is ready to — sometimes showering first, sometimes waiting longer than the Major League Baseball-mandated time to address the media, sometimes calling us in earlier than the 10 minutes allowed. But one thing they cannot control is the questions asked. Sure, he can decline to answer them, can offer up a no comment — and he does — because our right to ask wouldn’t be fair if he didn’t also have the right not to answer. But such bunker mentality will only make things worse. Respect is nurtured and strengthened by accountability. That’s part of the job, part of all our jobs.
Perched in an ivory tower and permitting only Pollyannas an audience would have the exact effect you and the Cardinals are trying to avoid.
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Every WEEKDAY as long the questions keep coming, The Post-Dispatch’s baseball writer Derrick Goold will answer fans’ emails in a mailbag blog called PostCards, a spin-off of Bird Land. To comment and discuss the mailbag visit the PostCards blog on StlToday.com. To submit questions write postcards@post-dispatch.com or file them as a comment on this blog. With all questions please include your name and hometown.
Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Juan may just have one of the best trade values of anyone on the team right now and while he isn’t hated by me anymore I wouldn’t be sad to see him go either. If that was to happen then I love the suggestion many have for moving Edmonds to right to save his body somewhat. This would give us a decidedly lefthanded outfield, especially if Skip replaces So (Duncan, Ankiel, Edmonds, Skip, Ludwick). I love Eckstein but I see him as more of a utility man and I think a SS 2B combo of Ryan and Kennedy with either Miles or Eckstein as the bench player might be plausible for next season. Also there is no reason to think this season wasn’t just a blip on Kennedy’s career I would take his .276/.329/.392 averages for the next two years as long as this year was just a blip. Rolen may be going down so 3rd may suffer for the next 3 years but I don’t see anyone taking him off our hands so it is best to let him get healthy and play the remainder. Pujols is fine at first, period.
Dear Derrick,
Whether it is this week or September, the Cardinals are bound to audition several players for the 2008 season. Could you please comment on the waiver and arbitration situation for the following players:
Rick Ankiel, Jarrett Hoffpauir, Skip, Chris Perez, Brendan Ryan, Amaury Marti, and any other players that might be called up for some coffee?
I’m sure we all know that Rick is out of options, but I had heard that if he is called up after September 8th (or so) we will essentially gain an additional arbitration year out of him. For guys like Skip and Brendan Ryan, do they use up options each year or are they allowed a certain number of options for their entire Minor League career?
Many thanks,
Olen
Olen,
I know all this options and arbitration stuff gets confusing. Jarrett Hoffpauir, Chris Perez and Amaury Cazana Marti are not yet on the 40-man roster, so they haven’t used any options, they have all three of their option years remaining and Perez and Marti are still a few years away from even needing to be protected.
Ankiel is out of options. Schumaker will be after this season (this is his third option year — and a player can go up and down as often as the team wants during any one option year). Ryan is in his first option year. He’ll have two remaining after this season and if he does not make the team out of spring training next March he’ll start his second option year by being optioned to Memphis.
Players with three years of major-league eligibility — or the rare Super 2 players (that will be covered next class, kids) — have the right to arbitration. Ankiel has 3+ years of service.
Best,
Derrick
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I was at the game on monday vs the Padres and was wondering whether a left-handed Mike Cameron (maybe of a few years ago) is a good comparision for the heralded Colby Rasmus when he arrives in late 2008 or early 2009. Is this accurate or is he a completely different player? Thanks
This is the second time I’ve seen someone ask about moving Pujols to third base. I think the other reference was in the Strauss chat. Has a Gold Glover ever been moved to another position in the prime of his career without a major injury issue? Well, maybe A-Rod in New York, but not on a roster under $200 million. Derrick’s arguments about protecting Albert from arm and other injuries is only a further reason.
Everybody likes Chris Duncan, but let’s be honest. His natural position is at DH. Isn’t Ankiel showing just as much power potential as Duncan, with much better defensive tools? Plus, Colby Rasmus is by all indications bound for St. Louis by 2009, which a shot to play his way onto the club at spring training in 2008. So the outfield could get crowded with left-handed prospects, especially if Edmonds and/or Encarnacion are back next season. Given the aforementioned left-handedness (Duncan, Ankel, Rasmus, Edmonds) there’s certainly somebody to spare, and with Pujols as the RBI engine, I’m inclined to hang onto the five-tool guys with 20-30 HR potential than a guy like Duncan with fewer facets to his game but clear 40 HR potential. (I’m not somebody who’s taken potshots at the Duncan family reunion, but it would seem easier to move Chris if dad Dave departs with LaRussa after the season.) And there’s further insurance to move Chris Duncan when you consider outfielders with some degree of proven major-league production (Schumaker, Ludwick, J-Rod) and other prospects in the pipeline who could have a chance to contribute in the very near future (Mather, Stavinoha, Marti, others; please, please, let us see Marti in September…)
Ankiel is history. He’s had one hit since the HGH story emerged. The Cardinals haven’t won since. He has a history of a fragile ego. I love the guy and was on the bandwagon from his first day back. I’m still on the bandwagon, but he’s going to be a disappointment. Come on Rick, who’s advising you? Own up to taking HGH. It wasn’t illegal.
Stoker says talk and hit.