Wild pitching earns Ankiel a quick hook
By Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch
02/28/2005
Ankiel threw 23 pitches. Several thudded into the dirt ahead of the plate, one sailed wildly to the back of the cage and only three were strikes. In simulated at-bats, he walked five of the six batters he faced. Three were four-pitch walks.
"It's just disappointing," Ankiel said. "You go out there and don't execute the way you want to execute. ... I feel like I just didn't have a rhythm. My mechanics were out of whack there. You try to stay mechanically sound, and hopefully you catch it pitch to pitch. Unfortunately I wasn't able to."
The outing was, at most, disconcerting, not alarming.
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Team hopes veteran Williams will be father figure
By Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch
02/28/2005
Williams acknowledged that management wanted him to be a leader, and though he's not exactly sure how that will play out, Williams said he welcomes the opportunity.
"Of course," he said. "That's part of my personality. And it doesn't take anything away from what I do.
"Sometimes guys don't ask (for help) and you have to tell them. If there's one guy in here that I can make a better player or a better pitcher, then that's what I'll set out to do."
Bochy, who managed Williams in his previous stint with the Padres, called Williams a "father figure."
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Larry Walker was sidelined with back...
CBS Sportsline
RF Larry Walker was sidelined with back spasms although he didn't consider them significant. Walker worked out on a limited basis after missing the first two full-squad drills. "Much better today, much better," Walker said. "If there's a game today, I'm playing." A year ago, Walker arrived three weeks early to Colorado's camp. He played in three spring training games before feeling a pop while tracking a flyball -- and he missed 68 games because of a strained groin. (02/28/2005)
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Sportsline VIP: NOTES
--The left pinkie finger RHP Julian Tavarez broke when punching a dugout telephone in Houston during last year's National League Championship Series still hasn't healed.
"He probably thinks it's a conversation piece," La Russa said. "When he retires he might get it fixed. Right now, it's something he enjoys looking at. It reminds him to keep his temper."
--3B Scott Rolen didn't have offseason surgery on his occasionally troublesome left knee, but Dr. George Paletta, head of the club's medical staff, concedes that Rolen's knee condition isn't going away. Should the cartilage continue to erode, surgery may one day become inevitable.
Said Paletta, "The knee is potentially the bigger issue. Without some intervention, it's highly unlikely this is going to heal itself. Once it's worn away, it's gone. We can keep our eye on whether it progresses. Right now, the symptoms are pretty minimal."
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