Ankiel's resurgence creates postseason decisions

ST. LOUIS -- At the very least, Rick Ankiel is laying the groundwork for a run at the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation next season.

The team was enthused about Ankiel's throwback performance on Sunday: four strikeouts in two nearly perfect innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That excitement is tempered by the fact he had reconstructive elbow surgery last July, has pitched only four scoreless innings in his first major league appearances since 2001, and he still has to erase memories of his wild, wild past.

Manager Tony La Russa has said Ankiel is unlikely to make a start in the last two weeks of the season because he probably doesn't have sufficient arm strength, with a pair of one-inning stints and one two-inning stint. That's why fellow prospect Dan Haren, and not Ankiel, is likely to take a turn for the injured Chris Carpenter on Thursday.

Ankiel also is an outside shot to make the postseason roster as a left-handed reliever, given that Steve Kline is expected to return from a torn left groin injury perhaps by the end of the week and would be the bullpen's second left-hander. And the Cardinals likely will be hesitant to throw him right back into the October tumult, given that his downward spiral began when he threw nine wild pitches in the 2000 playoffs.

"We haven't discussed it yet," pitching coach Dave Duncan said.

That's not to diminish anything Ankiel, 25, has done during his September comeback tour.

"He's thrown the ball good every time he's pitched," Duncan said. "He hasn't pitched a lot yet, but when he's had the opportunity to pitch he's thrown well."

Ankiel's electrifying outing on Sunday, a day after the Cardinals clinched the NL Central and their fourth playoff spot in five years, was the highlight of a 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. He received two standing ovations, the first when he walked to the mound and the second when he struck out the side in the fifth while showing off a mid-90s fastball and a curveball that froze hitters.

"Unbelievable," Ankiel said. "You walk out there during batting practice every day and it just feels normal. Then you walk out there with the electricity of the crowd and it feels like you're floating.

"Even now it still feels good. What a way to come home."

Starting on Aug. 2, Ankiel pitched a total of 23 2-3 innings in six rehab starts at three different minor league levels while going 2-1 with an 0.78 ERA. That's all he had pitched since the elbow surgery, so it was natural for the Cardinals to take it easy with him after activating him from the 15-day disabled list on Sept. 1.

He wowed the Diamondbacks in a 30-pitch outing, 19 of them for strikes. La Russa said he'd have given Ankiel a third inning in the seventh if the Cardinals weren't trailing by a run.

"He was tricky, he was pretty deceptive," Arizona catcher Chris Snyder said after taking a called third strike in the sixth. "He had a good fastball and a good snap to his curveball."

But the Cardinals are reluctant to give him a start because he'd be limited to no more than perhaps 60 pitches, probably not enough to pitch five innings and qualify for a victory. He never threw more than 57 pitches during his rehab.

"It's not really suited for him to start," Duncan said. "We're not going to rule him out but how fair is that to send him out with a 50-pitch count and all he can do is lose the game?

"I'm not saying he can't, but it's not likely to happen."