The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 29

n.com THE TENNESSEAN Thursday, May 24, 2001 5C SPORTS: BASEBALL MEMPHIS 8, NASHVILLE 7 AnEdd: Pitcher seeking control Memphis hands Nashville another 1-run loss in 10th NASHVILLE bf 1 3 MEMPHIS Sagmoenrf Garcia sb Ortega Andrews 1b Mashorecf Lucca 3b McDonald 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 1 3 Oapp2b 3 Hitchinsonp 2 Wcowchph 1 Redman cf Wilson as Wood 3b Morris 3bV2b Ber1 O'Connor Sparksp Pavtasp Hmndzphrf BarketUb HermansBnlf Haadc Hyzdu ph Losetep Williams ph Fguara2bss Ryanp Green phrf Cotaphc Totals Medihap 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Rodhquezp Whitmoreph Kamuthp Spraolinp Stefanskiph Zancanarop Totals 36 811 7 710 Memphis Nashville 0900030011 8112 0030100300- 7100 "He can throw on the side and warm up really nicely, then go in the game and lose his concentration," Riggins said. "Nobody wants to think they're losing their mind. But he's a little off, and he's leaning on the mechanical thing. He's a little fast in his motioa and he's pulling his head off the target. You may see more there, but he can't deal with five things.

You try to key on one or two things he can deal with, then go on to something else." In his favor are a few factors. Even without him, the Cardinals aren't exactly pitching-poon there's no real pressure for him to hurry to get back into major-league form. Also, at just 21 years of age, he has time to fix whatever's broken. And he's willing to do the work. "I think in the long run, he's going to be a better pitcher because of it," said Memphis infielder Kevin Polcovich, a former Sounds player.

"He's a tough guy. He'll get it back." trying to fight through it, find a way out of it, and it's not working." Even more frustrating is the fact that, after rocketing through the Cardinals' farm system with a 25-9 record over two seasons and posting an 11-7 mark last year, Ankiel has to deal with being a high-profile performer under the microscope. "I compare it to the Daytona 500," said Mark Riggins, the minor-league pitching coordinator for the Cardinals. "Half the people that go are looking for a car crash. Everybody is looking for the negative." And there's been plenty of that for Ankiel so much so that he has become even less accessible to the media than he had been under normal circumstances.

Efforts to speak with him for this article were unsuccessful His pitching has done plenty of talking, though. And while reports are that he feels the problem is with his mechanics, it doesn't surface until he takes the mound in a game situatioa By BRAD SHEPARD Staff Writer When Sounds Manager Marty I Brown searched his bench for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 10th inning of yesterday's 8-7 loss to Memphis, he couldn't find any warm bodies. By that time, Nashville had used all the lumber in its yard just to pull even with the Redbirds, only to fall behind again in the top of the 10th. So with Chad Hermansen perched on first base after a lead-off single in the extra frame, Brown called for pitcher David Williams to grab a bat. Williams failed to get the bunt down to move over Hermansen, and three batters later, the Sounds dropped their league-leading 13th one-run game in front of 6,530 for a rare weekday game.

"We threw everything we had at them but the kitchen sink," Brown said. 'We were out of players." Since joining the Redbirds, it's been much of the same for the 1997 second-round draft choice. In his two starts, he has worked just 3 23 innings, going 0-1 with an astronomical 17.18 ERA and issuing 11 walks while throwing seven wild pitches. Ankiel isn't the first player to run into a sudden inability to throw the ball where he wants just the latest. Former Pittsburgh pitcher Steve Blass saw his career end due to the inexplicable malady, as did Kevin Saucier of the Detroit Tigers.

More recently, second baseman Chuck Knoblauch became a leftfielder due to the problem. Tm sure there are people that have overcome it but I can't name you anybody," said Memphis Manager Gaylen Pitts, illustrating the struggle that Ankiel faces. "I see a guy that's struggling to find control of his pitches. It's got to be real frustrating for him. He's Garcia (8); Clapp (5).

DP Nashville 2. L06 Memphis 10; Nashville 9. 2B Polcovich (3; Redman (8); Wood (7); Figueroa (8). HR McDonald (4). HBP Andrews; Stefan-ski.

SF Redman. SB Figueroa (4). Ip er bb so The Sounds found themselves in a 3-0 hole early as Keith McDonald found a Jason Ryan pitch to his liking and hammered it over the wall for his fourth home run of the season in the second inning. But Nashville got a two-run double from Tike Redman and another RBI double from Wood to tie it in the third, and added another run in the fourth to lead 4-3. After Memphis stormed back to take a 7-4 lead, the Sounds rallied for three more in the eighth to force the game into extra innings.

But by that time, Adam Hyzdu, Scarborough Green, Humberto Cota and Wood had all been used to pinch hit, and the Sounds were out of bats. "I said in the dugout today, we've lost a lot of these," Brown said. "We give up a run and come back and just come up short." Jerry Spradlin (2-1) picked up the win for the Redbirds, pitching two innings and allowing his three inherited runners to score but no more. Rich Loiselle (0-1) shouldered the loss for the Sounds. 5 1i Vi 2 1 5 1 1 2 Hutchinson Median Rodnquez Kamuth SpradNnW.2-1 Zancanaro Nashvie Ryan O'Connor Sparks Pavlas Loiselle 0-1 WP-Loiselle(l).

HB-Loiselle2. PB-Haad. PCL standings, on 7C. jacK wuson injured his back and left the game before the third inning, forcing Brown to insert Jason Wood early. Also, Derek Bell ft was scheduled to hit only three times in his rehab assignment, so he exited in the fifth.

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