Duncan once again is taking healthy swings

~ Two injury-plagued seasons have hampered the power-hitting outfielder.

ST. LOUIS -- Chris Duncan has become an everyday threat in the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup. Lefties don't scare him one bit, not after what he's been through.

"I think if he's healthy, there isn't any situation that bothers him," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "He's got great guts."

The 28-year-old Duncan appears all the way back from surgery for a herniated disk in his neck last August that sapped his power. He's third on the team with 23 RBIs and a knack for the clutch hit, a .370 average with runners in scoring position that more than makes up for the occasional adventure in left field.

Duncan has been a platoon player most of his career, and batted .199 (5 for 34) against left-handed pitchers last season. This season he's at .281 (10 for 33) with a homer and eight RBIs against lefties, while batting .288 overall.

Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan hits a two-run triple against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week. (JEFF ROBERSON ~ Associated Press)

It's a far cry from last year, when he had so much pain in his neck, right shoulder and arm he remembered begging the team physician for an operation. Back then, Duncan couldn't expect success at the plate, not when the least objectionable sleeping position was sitting ramrod straight on the couch.

"It got bad at the end," Duncan said. "I was on a lot of pain medication, and without it, it was intolerable. Really irritating nerve pain, burning all the way down my arm, is the only way I can explain it."

The day after the surgery, which team officials said posed a career risk, Duncan felt like a new man. All he had to do was rebuild strength.

"The pain was gone immediately, and then it was just a matter of getting back in the weight room," Duncan said. "Fortunately, a lot of it has come back."

The frequent post-surgery maintenance that's required is a reminder that everything is not as easy as it used to be. Some days, there's a tingling sensation in the shoulder.

"I can't be just like, 'All right, I'm healed now and I don't have to do anything,'" Duncan said. "I've just got to do all the exercises the pitchers do, and I used to never do that."

Although he's been driving the ball, Duncan is a bit concerned about his home run count. He hit his 10th double in a three-RBI game Sunday at Cincinnati, but has only three homers thus far.

Duncan broke into the majors with 22 homers in a half-season in 2006, then had 21 in 2007 before being stalled by a sports hernia.

"I wish I was hitting the ball out of the park more, but that's not something I can force," Duncan said. "When I get guys on base, I'm just trying to really bear down and take good at-bats.

"It's early in the season and I hope I can keep doing it."

The strong start has helped silence persistent critics who've long accused the Cardinals of playing favorites by giving regular duty to the son of pitching coach Dave Duncan. A different last name, and his occasional pratfalls in the outfield would have long ago ceased to be a topic of fan forums.

"It's great that he's hitting," Albert Pujols told reporters. "If he was struggling, you guys would be all over him."

Duncan is just as aggressive as before the surgery, with a few conditions. When third base coach Jose Oquendo sent him home on a pop fly to shallow center field during the team's last homestand, Duncan knew he couldn't afford a collision at the plate.

"I've just got to go in hard feet-first," Duncan said. "I think my days of leading with my head into the catcher might be over, but there's ways where you can take aggressive slides without running a guy over."

The same thing goes with trying for a catch at the wall. Duncan was the first player on the scene after center fielder Rick Ankiel's frightening headfirst crash into the wall earlier this month, and he's determined to keep his upper body out of the equation.

"Other than that," he said, "I don't really think about it."