Restoration Project : Cardinal Third Baseman Zeile Vows to Regain Swing in Triple A

Todd Zeile has been shipped off to Louisville, which would be OK if this was the first week in May and Zeile was a 3-year-old horse headed for the Kentucky Derby.

Zeile is supposed to be one of the top young hitters in the National League, a thoroughbred who seemed more like a triple-crown candidate than one for triple A.

But he’s back on the farm.

Last week, the Cardinals optioned their 26-year-old third baseman to the Louisville Redbirds of the American Assn. Zeile, a former Hart High and UCLA standout, was batting .251 with five home runs and 36 runs batted in for the Cardinals. Not passing grades.

But, he adds, “It’s not like I was batting a buck-80 and hadn’t driven in any runs.”

After batting .280 and driving in a team-high 81 runs last year, his second full season in the majors, Zeile was upset, surprised, even a bit angry. But most of all, he was embarrassed.

“I was seven days from being three years with the Cardinals,” Zeile said. “The last place I wanted to be was in triple A.”

However, the shock is now mostly behind him. On Wednesday, hours before the Redbirds were scheduled to play the Oklahoma City 89ers, Zeile reported by telephone that the sky was clear, the weather mild and he was feeling relaxed.

“Just another beautiful day in Oklahoma City,” he quipped. What’s more, only once this day had he been asked about Don Baylor.

Baylor, the Cardinals’ hitting instructor, had made Zeile’s departure from St. Louis all the more unsettling. A few days before the demotion was announced, Baylor criticized Zeile, suggesting he lacked proper work habits.

“Normally, if a guy struggles, he’s the first guy to say, ‘I need something extra,’ ” Baylor said. “But, for whatever reason, he really hasn’t. He came out twice for extra batting work and that was in April.”

Zeile said Baylor’s comments caught him off guard. “He never personally talked to me, so I was surprised,” Zeile said. “It seemed like our relationship was OK.

“Whatever he had to say, he must have had a reason. Maybe he did it to spark me, to light a fire.”

If so, the Cardinals gave Zeile precious little time to heat up. Within days, he was gone.

Since then, Zeile has attempted to convince himself that it might be for the best.

“We were 12 games out, not really in the thick of anything, so if ever there was a time to regroup it was now,” he said.

“I’m not looking at this like punishment or a demotion. I don’t think they’re out there looking for someone else. It’s almost like a (rehabilitation) assignment. It’s a chance to work on my swing and my mental attitude without the pressure of being in the fishbowl of St. Louis.”

In his first 35 at-bats for the Redbirds, Zeile had a home run, three doubles, two RBIs and he was batting .286.

“I’m working on getting my stroke back,” he said. “I think the whole idea of putting me down here was to let me go for a month strong, then come back up and finish the season on a positive note.”

Indeed, Cardinal Manager Joe Torre and Dal Maxvill, the club’s general manager, already have assured Zeile of a September recall. Zeile made sure he had that commitment before he reported to Louisville.

“Dal told me he didn’t want me to have a bad taste in my mouth the whole off-season,” Zeile said. “I think this way they feel I can salvage something and come back and end it on an upswing.”

Zeile’s spirits already have been buoyed. Shortly after he arrived in Louisville, he was reunited with his wife, Julianne.

The former Julianne McNamara, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, had been in Barcelona for almost a month, working as a broadcaster during the Olympic Games.

“We’ve spent the last eight days together,” Zeile said, “which has helped my frame of mind.

“Now it’s time to tune up, get all of the distractions off my mind and start putting up the numbers I expect and that I’m capable of. I can hit better than .250. I can hit better than .280.

“I just need to show it again.”