Add Ankiel

Rick Ankiel is the talk of baseball right now.

Yes, that Rick Ankiel.

The former failed Cardinals starter is back in the majors, this time as an outfielder, and he's tearing it up: .375, three homers, six RBIs in four games. I even hear Disney is looking into a film version starring Dennis Quaid. Or Randy Quaid for a TV version.

OK, maybe all of that isn't true. But as hard as it is to believe, Ankiel is a big-time fantasy option, at least in the short term. We're in the stretch run here, and any cheap power you can acquire is worth going after. Ankiel's outburst is pretty shocking based on his past history, but it isn't totally a surprise: he did jack 32 homers this year in the Pacific Coast League.

Ankiel's also been batting in front of Albert Pujols, which mean's he's going to see plenty of sweet pitches. The only concern right now is how much playing time Ankiel gets, but you figure Tony La Russa's got to keep going with the hot hand for the time being, so you should do the same. Grab Ankiel if he's out there. Just duck when he tries to hit the cutoff man.