Rick Ankiel and a Fun Little 'What If?'

Published: September 4, 2007, 11:41 am

I keep having this thought. In my imagination, the Cardinals have overtaken the Brewers and Cubs to win the NL Central. They are in the playoffs, but it doesn't matter in what round or who against. St. Louis gets immersed in a long extra-inning game, you know, the kind where pitchers come into the game as pinch hitters. As the game stretches into the early morning hours, Tony La Russa is forced to look down his bench. Now that the bullpen has been exhausted, he wonders who might be available to pitch. He locks eyes with Ankiel. Forget an experimental knuckle ball, this guy used to be a pitching phenom. Ankiel has secretly been waiting for this moment for years. He's found a niche as an outfielder, but Ankiel is a competitive man, and his present successes are brought into context by the painful memories of the past. "I'll do it, Coach," he says, nodding. In my dream scenario, Ankiel regains his old form, pitching a flawless inning or two for the victory. St. Louis then retrains Ankiel

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