I'm guessing that Julio Lugo wishes yesterday would become a distant memory fast. Not only was he the only Red Sox player to go hitless in yesterday's Red Sox/Blue Jays game, he also committed three errors while in the field:
AB R H RBI BB K LOB
J. Lugo ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 2
E - J Lugo 3 (4, ground ball, throw 2).
His only saving grace was being one of only two Red Sox players (with Dustin Pedroia) to not have a strikeout.
If You Can't Hit the Plate, Hit From the Plate
Roughly 5 years ago, Rick Ankiel's baseball career was on the ropes. He became a full-time starter for the Cardinals in 2000 and had a respectable 11-7 record with a 3.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He struck out 194 batters in 175.0 innings, a ratio only put up by the most elite of strikeout pitchers, but he also had 90 walks and 12 wild pitches.
When 2001 rolled around, Ankiel put up a 1-2 record with a 7.13 ERA and 2.08 WHIP in 24.0 innings. Though he had struck out 27 batters to that point, his 25 walks and 5 wild pitches were enough to alarm even the most unobservant of coaches. His ratios would have translated to 197 strikeouts in the same 175.0 innings from 2000, but they also would have translated to 182 walks and 36 wild pitches.
Ankiel was sent to the minor leagues to straighten things out, namely, his pitches. He recovered at Rookie-Level Johnson City (5-3, 1.33 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 87.2 IP, 18 BB, 158 K, 8 WP), but surely the coaches were wondering if this was more a result of the competition or actual improvements.
2002 was lost to left elbow tendinitis and 2003 started Ankiel's nightmare all over again. At AA-Level Tennessee, Ankiel went 2-6 with a 6.29 ERA and 1.73 WHIP. In 54.1 innings, he struck out 64 batters (again, an astonishing rate), but he also walked 49 and threw 10 wild pitches. Again adjusting to 175.0 innings, that's a rate of 206 strikeouts, 158 walks, and 32 wild pitches. His season was cut short by Tommy John surgery and he only recovered in time to pitch 33.2 innings across four levels of baseball in 2004.
Spring Training opened in 2005 and Ankiel shocked most everyone when he announced that he was giving up pitching and becoming an outfielder. Most people thought he was nuts and others thought he would would have a harder time finding the ball as a hitter than he would have finding the plate as a pitcher. I'm sure a few thought he'd have just as hard of a time finding the plate.
Nevertheless, Ankiel went on to post a respectable .810 OPS at AA-Level Springfield. He missed all of 2006 to patellar tendonitis in his left knee, but came back in 2007 to post an .882 OPS at AAA-Level Memphis with 32 home runs in 389 at bats. Finally, towards the end of the 2007 season, he got his call to the big leagues again, but this time he'd be facing pitches instead of throwing them. In 172 at bats with the Cardinals, Ankiel managed an .863 OPS, with 11 home runs.
All this leads up to 2008, where Ankiel now finds himself with a 1.226 OPS just 6 games into the season. In 23 at bats, he's hit 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He hit one of each in yesterday's game against the Nationals and accounted for 2 of the Cardinals 3 runs:
AB R H RBI BB K LOB
R. Ankiel cf 4 1 2 2 0 0 1
2B - R Ankiel (2, J Lannan).
HR - R Ankiel (3, 3rd inning off J Lannan 0 on, 2 Out).
This is the kind of story that movies are made of.
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