The promised updates

Johnny Damon has a 12 game hitting streak. In 2002, he had a 18 game streak. Dom DiMaggio owns the Boston record with 34 games in 1948.

The evolution of Rick Ankiel. He was a great pitcher and he'll be a great hitter as well.

It took one start in center field and one dart from that
treasured arm for Rick Ankiel to show why he remains one of the most enticing
and enigmatic talents the Cardinals have, no matter his position.

Ankiel made his first professional start in center field Sunday, and just two
innings into a Class AA game he made a play to help determine the outcome. With
runners on second and third, a Corpus Christi hitter lofted a fly ball to
center. As Springfield Cardinals manager Chris Maloney tells it, Ankiel had a
bead on the ball, shifted naturally when the ball zigged, but instinctively
kept his footing so that he'd come at the ball, snare it and be in position to
throw.

Ankiel's bee-line strike arrived at third base a step before runner Charlton
Jimerson, who had 39 stolen bases last season in Class AA. The Cardinals won
2-1 in the 10th inning. If Jimerson had reached third and scored, Maloney said,
the Cardinals would have lost.

"What we say a lot of times about players is this player has a 'high ceiling,'"
said Bruce Manno, the St. Louis Cardinals director of player development. "The
more he plays, the more he's going to do and the more you're going to see in
this player. That is what Rick has. There are a lot of players who have played
outfield for a long time and you can't put them in center field because they
can't handle it. We put him in center and he ends up making the throw to third.

"You see those things. You see the athleticism. It gets you excited."

Almost two months since he retired as a pitcher because of consuming
frustrations, Ankiel got an apartment Tuesday in Springfield. He didn't have
much to move - "jeans, some collared shirts and I'm ready to rock," he joked -
but he's beginning in earnest the most unlikely move. Once the premier
lefthanded pitching prospect in baseball, Ankiel is now another outfielder just
trying to hit Class AA pitching.

Ankiel, 25, will get a lot of playing time with Springfield, most often in
right field. He is considered a priority within the organization, as the
Cardinals wonder just what kind of outfielder this one-time pitching phenom
could become. A back strain delayed his arrival until a week ago, and even
then, he said, the injury hampered his swing.

It's Derby Weekend. I've been to Churchill Downs a lot but never EVER for the Derby. Don't blame me.

My predictions for the Kentucky Oaks: Runaway Model (Just think if the name had been Runaway Bride.

As to racing entries tomorrow, here goes my predictions on who will win each race.
Race 1 (11:00 AM)
Hedge Your Bet (Jose Valdivia, Jr./D. Wayne Lukas)
Owned by Robert and Beverly Lewis

Race 2 (11:30 AM)
Unbridled America (John McKee/Robert E. Holthus)

Race 3 (12:04 PM)
Bluegrass Fever (Jose German Castanon/Jerry Orm)
Bred by former Gov. Brereton C. Jones and owned by a family friend

Race 4 (12:39 PM)
Mighty Military (John McKee/Robert E. Holthus)

Race 5 (1:21 PM)
Grand Reward (Jerry Bailey/D. Wayne Lukas)
Owned by Robert and Beverly Lewis

Three Chimneys Juvenile - Race 6 (2:11 PM)
Dance Daily (Gary Stevens/D. Wayne Lukas)
Owned by Robert and Beverly Lewis

Comp USA Turf Mile - Race 7 (3:03 PM)
Sand Springs (Jerry Bailey/William Mott)

Humana Distaff - Race 8 (3:57 PM)
Heavenly Humor (Robby Albarado/Jerry Hollendorfer)

Woodford Reserve Turf Classic - Race 9 (4:52 PM)
Perfect Drift (Gary Stevens/Murray W. Johnson)

Kentucky Derby - Race 10 (6:04 PM)
Going Wild (Jose Valdivia, Jr./D. Wayne Lukas)
Owned by Robert and Beverly Lewis

Race 11 (6:54 PM)
Kiss the Flame (Gary Stevens/D. Wayne Lukas)
Owned by Robert and Beverly Lewis

Race 12 (7:28 PM)
Silent Bid (Cornelio H. Velasquez/D. Wayne Lukas)