Viva El Birdos: Skip to the Lou

What’s this...vids of Rafer Alston busting ankiels?  Uhh, no...it’s a look at the Cards outfield.

Set aside the fact that Colby Rasmus has been the team’s best OF this spring, assuming everyone finishes the spring healthy, we have a pretty good idea who the 5 OFs will be on the opening-day roster – Ankiel, Barton, Duncan, Ludwick, and Schumaker. Of the 5, only Ankiel appears to be an every day OF as he appears set to start the year in CF. As we know, Chris Duncan is relegated to LF (and Pujols’ backup) but the other 5 OFs have the ability to play more than 1 of the OF positions – an essential skill considering the fact that none have established themselves as everyday players. That said, both Goold’s and Strauss’ opening-day lineups have Ankiel in CF and Skip in RF. Strauss likes Ludwick to start in LF but Goold likes Barton to start in LF.

...We can see that LaRussa seems to be trending toward Ankiel being the everyday CF. This is a big step for someone w/ as little experience playing the OF as he has though he certainly has the arm for it and, I believe, has the athleticism for it as well. Suffice to say, however, there will be some adventures out there as well. Tony clearly has more faith in Ankiel in CF than any of the other OFs on the roster. Tony seems to like Ludwick in RF – perhaps that’s partly b/c Duncan is limited to LF but it’s not too tough to imagine an OF vs. righties w/ Duncan in LF, Ankiel in CF, and Ludwick in RF. It’s the idea of Schumaker being the regular platoon vs. left-handed pitchers that I’m struggling with.