Has Ankiel got anyone else thinking?

[thedude]

I thought you were going to suggest that Prior take this route. Pitching obviously isnt working for him and he could clearly always handle a bat as good as any pitcher sans CC.

Lets see how Loewen does with it before we suggest anyone else try.

The swing of a bat is such an unnaturally violent motion that I think most teams would be hesitant to let their pitchers take regular batting practice.

Many pitchers played a position in HS/College and some where pretty decent hitters, but the value of a quality pitcher seems to outweigh an occasional at bat.

It has always surprised me though that some AAA hitter never tried to develop a knuckleball and become a reliever. Think about a guy like Wakefield who could PH.

Well Tim Wakefield was a triple A hitter who developed a knuckle ball. Dave McCarty in 2004 tried to be a 1stbaseman/ middle reliever; there have been a few other guys who been utility players/ mop up guys.

[Bobbleheadrusty]

I thought you were going to suggest that Prior take this route. Pitching obviously isnt working for him and he could clearly always handle a bat as good as any pitcher sans CC.

Lets see how Loewen does with it before we suggest anyone else try.

The swing of a bat is such an unnaturally violent motion that I think most teams would be hesitant to let their pitchers take regular batting practice.

Many pitchers played a position in HS/College and some where pretty decent hitters, but the value of a quality pitcher seems to outweigh an occasional at bat.

It has always surprised me though that some AAA hitter never tried to develop a knuckleball and become a reliever. Think about a guy like Wakefield who could PH.

Well Tim Wakefield was a triple A hitter who developed a knuckle ball. Dave McCarty in 2004 tried to be a 1stbaseman/ middle reliever; there have been a few other guys who been utility players/ mop up guys.

I remember McCarty now, good call. I don't recall, but I dont think Wakefield was much of a hitter. I was thinking more of an Eric Patterson type. A guy whos not quite good enough for the bigs, but if he could bring something extra to the table might stick.

[hybrid]

Well Tim Wakefield was a triple A hitter who developed a knuckle ball. Dave McCarty in 2004 tried to be a 1stbaseman/ middle reliever; there have been a few other guys who been utility players/ mop up guys.

Unless Im totally missing something, no he wasn't. He only played some rookie ball as a 1B/3B, and barely got a taste of Low A (he couldn't hit at either level).

[kab21]

Brooks Kieshnick is the last player that saw extended playing time (and relative success) on both sides of the ball with the Brewers.

Kieshnick stats