Yardbarker: Rick Ankiel

Will Leitch Cannot Believe No One Asked Him To Participate In A Discussion About Rick Ankiel

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:05:52 -0500

Various St. Louis media types were recently asked to provide their thoughts for a column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the future of Rick Ankiel as a Cardinal, since the emergence of rookie Colby Rasmus likely means that the free agent will not be re-signed by the team. Honestly I could not care less about [...]

THE FUTURE OF THE PIRATES

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:12:00 -0500

His name is Rick Ankiel. He has a glove on his head. He used to be a blue-chip pitching prospect, something went terribly wrong, and now he's an outfielder. It sounds like the script of an intriguing Hollywood drama. But the best part? He could be YOUR newest Pittsburgh Pirate.

The PG's Dejan Kovacevic got Never-Nervous Neal Huntington to lift the curtain on the Pirates' offseason plans, and the article sure made it sound like Ankiel and his .233 average will be a natural fit in Pittsburgh next season. Plus, his agent is Scott Boras, which makes this entire story about 1,000 times more interesting. This is one to keep your eye on.

The other cornerstone of the Pirates' extreme offseason makeover appears to be pitcher John Grabow, who they just traded to the Cubs a few months ago. Rick Ankiel, John Grabow...I don't know about you, but I smell the stench of a third championship parade in the near future. Well, maybe that's not a parade, but there's definitely a stench in the air.

Huntington committed to increasing the payroll in 2010, which is significant because everyone and their uncle has been criticizing the Pirates for their budget-slashing 2009 edition. In fact, the cries of cheapness are so loud that Pirate bloggers have taken to defending the Pirates. Say what you want, but this team can still draw 500 on a Monday night in September. Just imagine what they'll pull when Ankiel and Grabow show up.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

Rick Ankiel Kisses The Wall

Tue, 05 May 2009 09:14:09 -0500

Rick Ankiel kisses the wall at Busch Stadium after making a great catch. It looks bad but Ankiel was OK. The man has through a lot in his career, it was real good to first, see him go after the ball so hard, and second, to hear that he would be fine.

Hey Giambi, Rick Ankiel Sees Your Porn 'Stache and Re-Raises

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:15:28 -0500

For the Redbirds fanatics out there who see this team everyday, this may not be breaking news. But holy cow, when did Rick Ankiel start rocking such an amazingly terrible (or awesome) porn 'stache?

Cards’ Ankiel Googles Self, Finds It “Stimulating”

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:20:48 -0500

Rick Ankiel loves playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether as a pitcher, infielder, outfielder or batboy, through thick & thin, good times & bad, injuries & slumps, the team & fans have stood by him, and vice versa. Still, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t mind being shipped somewhere else. The Cards outfielder’s name had popped [...]

Friday Fish Fry

Sun, 11 May 2008 14:57:16 -0500

Nothin' like fried fish on Friday! I hope all of you caught Rick Ankiel's two chucks from center field. Ankiel doesn't have a gun, he has a weapon of mass destruction. I've read of legendary throws by former Astro Cesar Cedeno and Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, but these were scud missiles. How can you not root for Rick Ankiel? (I'm sure HGH had nothing to do with those heaves.)

Ankiel Throws Strikes From Centre Field

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:25:37 -0500

Most outfielders with extraordinary arms get converted into pitchers. This is what happens when pitchers get converted into outfielders. Funny how a guy can't throw a strike from 60 feet but can throw one from 200 feet.

Rick Ankiel: From the Golden Boy to the Golden Sombrero

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:51:26 -0500

Rick Ankiel's fallen a long way in just four days. From 4-4 with 7 RBI on Thursday to 0-4 with 4 Strikeouts on Monday

Cardinals' Slugger Rick Ankiel Implicated in Drug Probe...

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:22:01 -0500

If this is true, it's a monumental shame. From CNNsi.com "Comeback kid Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals received a year's supply of human growth hormone in 2004, the Daily News reported Friday. The pitcher-turned-outfielder is the latest athlete to be linked to the Florida pharmacy at the center of an investigation by the Albany County (N.Y.) district attorney's office into the illegal Internet distribution of performance-enhancing drugs."

Cocaina Garcia

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:20:51 -0500

With the recent success of Rick Ankiel, I thought now would be a good time to take a look at a successful two way player from the Negro Leagues: Manuel "Cocaina" Garcia. There were some pitchers with great nicknames, Steel Arm Davis, Ankleball Moss ? that's where that mean sonuvagun threw the ball from, his ankles ? and Cocaina Garcia. Cocaina, whom I used to face down in Cuba, got his name from his wicked curveball, which made all us hitters go numb. - Buck O'Neil, fr...

Sexy Pick Alert: Rick Ankiel!!

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:20:02 -0500

So the infamous Rick Ankiel made his return the Bigs recently and has been gobbled up by fantasy baseball GMs around the nation. For those of us old enough to remember Ankiel, he was once one of the best keeper pitching prospects around. Now, as a hitter, he is once again an intriguing pick up but what can we make of his 32 minor league HRs? Read the GNUru to find out his fantasy impact!

Ankiel Homers In Return

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 06:50:06 -0500

A while back we did a Feel Good Story Watch on Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his return to the bigs last night and did it in storybook fashion. More...

Return of the Rick - the Pundits Predictions

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:15:06 -0500

I recently came across a 2005 article from The Hardball Times by Brian Gunn that informed us all in no uncertain terms that Ankiel will NEVER be any type of prospect, and the Cardinals are wasting everybody's time:

Rick Ankiel notches 15th HR and 45th RBI

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:49:52 -0500

He was named High School Player of the Year in 1997. In '99, he graduated to Minor League Player of the Year. The next year, at the age of 20, he went 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in the majors. His was one of the most intriguing starts to a career in recent memory. Where are you now, Rick Ankiel? On the 2007 AAA Pacific Coast League All-Star team, that's where. Starting in the outfield. In case you've missed it, Dwight Gooden-sans-coke-habit went 4-for-5 today for the Memphis Redbirds and has homered in three straight games, totaling 8 RBI in that span. As it turns out, Ankiel's insistence on becoming a hitter may have been one of his least crazy ideas to date. --- Read more on SeamlessBaseball.com