Ankiel still not fully recovered from injury
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
AP Sports Writer
Sep 06, 2008 - 08:09:16 CDT
ST. LOUIS (AP) - More than a month since the St. Louis Cardinals took Rick Ankiel out of the lineup with what was deemed a minor abdominal strain, the outfielder is still far from 100 percent.
Starting on July 26, Ankiel was restricted to pinch-hit duty for 14 games and then returned to the lineup under restrictions on Aug. 11. He’s played left field instead of center field since then to ease the burden on his legs and isn’t running full out under any circumstances, and his average is drooping, too.
“I’ve had a lot of time off, and there’s still something there,” Ankiel said Friday. “But it’s not getting worse. I feel like it’s staying the same. It’s good enough to play and when I finally do rest it all the way that should be enough to get it done.”
The Cardinals had considered the abdominal strain too minor to place Ankiel on the 15-day disabled list.
Ankiel sat out two of the last three games of a 1-5 trip that reduced the Cardinals to longshot status in the NL wild card race, but was in the lineup batting cleanup for Friday’s game against the Marlins. He was batting .146 (7-for-48) since returning to regular duty with three home runs, 11 RBIs and 14 strikeouts.
“I’ve never had this type of injury and would have hoped that it would be gone, but it is what it is,” Ankiel said. “I just have to be controlled with it. It’s fine.”
Manager Tony La Russa, who met with Ankiel in his office prior to Friday’s game, believes Ankiel can play the rest of the season under control without the injury lingering into the offseason.
“I would shut him down right now if there was going to be an effect for his offseason preparations,” La Russa said. “I’ve said that, and I meant that when I said it.”
Despite the numbers, La Russa doesn’t believe the injury has affected Ankiel’s swing. In his first full year as an outfielder, the former pitcher was hitting .266 with 25 homers and 71 RBIs. He and Babe Ruth are the players in major league history with seasons of 25 or more starts as a pitcher and 25 or more homers.
The Cardinals are keeping a close eye on his at-bats, though, especially after outfielder Chris Duncan admitted to altering his swing while suffering from a sports hernia last year, an injury that eventually required surgery in September.
“You use that experience to learn something, and that question has been asked often,” La Russa said. “We’re trying to stay on top of it and make sure it doesn’t get to that point. He doesn’t feel like any of his swings have been altered and I know Dunc was having swings altered.”
Ankiel, who snapped a 50 at-bat homerless drought in mid-August, said the injury doesn’t bother him too much in daily life, although he feels it “a little bit” when he gets out of bed and perhaps when he sneezes.
La Russa also said Joel Pineiro will be available in the bullpen this weekend and will get his next start next Friday in Pittsburgh. Pineiro was bumped from one start when Adam Wainwright was activated from the 15-day disabled list, but La Russa said he’d get four starts the remainder of the season.
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Starting on July 26, Ankiel was restricted to pinch-hit duty for 14 games and then returned to the lineup under restrictions on Aug. 11. He’s played left field instead of center field since then to ease the burden on his legs and isn’t running full out under any circumstances, and his average is drooping, too.
“I’ve had a lot of time off, and there’s still something there,” Ankiel said Friday. “But it’s not getting worse. I feel like it’s staying the same. It’s good enough to play and when I finally do rest it all the way that should be enough to get it done.”
The Cardinals had considered the abdominal strain too minor to place Ankiel on the 15-day disabled list.
Ankiel sat out two of the last three games of a 1-5 trip that reduced the Cardinals to longshot status in the NL wild card race, but was in the lineup batting cleanup for Friday’s game against the Marlins. He was batting .146 (7-for-48) since returning to regular duty with three home runs, 11 RBIs and 14 strikeouts.
“I’ve never had this type of injury and would have hoped that it would be gone, but it is what it is,” Ankiel said. “I just have to be controlled with it. It’s fine.”
Manager Tony La Russa, who met with Ankiel in his office prior to Friday’s game, believes Ankiel can play the rest of the season under control without the injury lingering into the offseason.
“I would shut him down right now if there was going to be an effect for his offseason preparations,” La Russa said. “I’ve said that, and I meant that when I said it.”
Despite the numbers, La Russa doesn’t believe the injury has affected Ankiel’s swing. In his first full year as an outfielder, the former pitcher was hitting .266 with 25 homers and 71 RBIs. He and Babe Ruth are the players in major league history with seasons of 25 or more starts as a pitcher and 25 or more homers.
The Cardinals are keeping a close eye on his at-bats, though, especially after outfielder Chris Duncan admitted to altering his swing while suffering from a sports hernia last year, an injury that eventually required surgery in September.
“You use that experience to learn something, and that question has been asked often,” La Russa said. “We’re trying to stay on top of it and make sure it doesn’t get to that point. He doesn’t feel like any of his swings have been altered and I know Dunc was having swings altered.”
Ankiel, who snapped a 50 at-bat homerless drought in mid-August, said the injury doesn’t bother him too much in daily life, although he feels it “a little bit” when he gets out of bed and perhaps when he sneezes.
La Russa also said Joel Pineiro will be available in the bullpen this weekend and will get his next start next Friday in Pittsburgh. Pineiro was bumped from one start when Adam Wainwright was activated from the 15-day disabled list, but La Russa said he’d get four starts the remainder of the season.