St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Rich Hill and Rick Ankiel

So we signed Rich Hill last week...

I'm torn on this one. A pro is that he was a pretty low-risk option for the Cardinals. He was signed to a minor league contract so even if it blows up on us, it really isn't that big of a deal.

Dave Duncan is the best in baseball at reviving pitchers, there isn't any doubt about that - he's showed that with Joel Pineiro, Ryan Franklin, John Smoltz, etc. However, Pineiro and Franklin are a little different than Rich Hill. Hill developed serious control problems in '08, not entirely different from Rick Ankiel's a few years ago. We couldn't solve Ankiel's problem, so I'm not sure how we're going to solve Rich Hill's, maybe we could make him into an outfielder...yeah right. Dave Duncan is excellent at diagnosing mechanical issues with a pitcher, and if that's all Hill's problem is, then great, it might work out. I fear, however, that Hill's issues are more on the mental side of things. If he does succeed, and is able to return to his '07 form (11-8, 3.92 ERA), then he would be an ideal 5th starter as well as our only left handed starter.

It's a little late, but I am sad to see Rick Ankiel leave, though not surprised. Ankiel deserves one last shot at being a starting outfielder and, unfortunately, we couldn't offer him that. I think his down season last year was mostly due to his injury; I attribute his hot finish to the fact that he was finally healthy. I sincerely hope he can revive his career yet again in Kansas City. I have no doubt I am speaking for Cardinal Nation when I say this: I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Rick Ankiel - Farewell 24.

They were showing the '06 NLCS Game 7 on the MLB Network today - everyday something new gets me siked for the 2010 season. Give "Margaritaville" a listen today - it will put you in a "summery" mood for four minutes and nine seconds. Have a great weekend guys.

5 comments:

  1. Ya im mixed on that subject 2 but i think in the long run it will pay off. I honestly think theres something wrong with ricks back or neck even if they couldn't find anything. I also think that the worlds greatest pitching coach Super Dave Duncan will turn guys like penny and hill around and we might have 4 or even 5 cy young candidates! lol wouldn't that be amazing plus 2 or 3 mvp or silver sluggers lol but i also think the cards should pick up an average 3rd baseman. Freese in my mind doesn't deserve a chance after his drunk driving arrest. Email me back on what u think. im on facebook or even hotmail. brandon_davis9195@hotmail.com.

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  2. Ankiel was a very good defender ... His Arm kept at least 20 runs off the board .. However he left over 50 runners on base with his K's .. I think he will be a good defensive replacement for the Cards .. But in KC he will play everyday .. We didnt need anyone in the way of Colby Rasmus and his devolpment to an All Star ..I was hoping Cards would resign Edmonds to help devolp Rasmus .. But I am sure that is not what Edmonds had in mind .. Or else he would have been brought in for that .. Smoltz will take minimum to come back as a Cards pitcher .. and Felipe Lopez will fall in our Lap for a small number to give us depth ..

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  3. Rich Hill is nothing more then " hey lets see what you still got " because we need a Lefty Starter to mix up our rotation dominated by RHP

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  4. Thanks for the input guys! I really appreciate it. I'd love to see Smoltz and Lopez back in red and blue too!

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