After seven starts, Ankiel was 1-2 with a 7.13 earned run average and 25 walks in 24 innings. He was sent to Memphis to regain his form and confidence in an embracing atmosphere of reduced pressure, but he began his first minor league start with a pitch to the backstop. In three-plus innings, Ankiel walked six batters and, as they say in baseball parlance, airmailed eight pitches to the backstop. Considering the sudden setback to a can't-miss pitcher who was being billed as the next Sandy Koufax, Ankiel has been admirably willing to hear the same questions about a problem for which he has no immediate answer. He has been positive about the demotion and doesn't expect someone else's advice to end his torment.
Nobody has the answer.
Ankiel also has no answer for what happened in the playoffs. You know, all of a sudden I just didn't throw the ball like I wanted, and I'm here trying to fix it. Clearly, the most gnawing issue is any suggestion that the gist of the problem resides above his shoulders. Sympathy pains The Memphis teammate who best understands Ankiel's ordeal is Chad Hutchinson, the former Stanford quarterback. Last season Hutchinson had the worst control of his four professional seasons, giving up 27 walks in just eight innings with Memphis.