RICK ANKIEL: ONE OF THE BEST STORIES IN BASEBALL

2 straight sweeps = 6 losses in a row. Yet for some reason (don't ask me how) the Cardinals are only 1 game out of first place. We've been lucky, and I have a feeling that luck is about to run out. Tony La Russa, it's time to stop the bleeding. Big surprise: I'm bitter. Yadier Molina's game tying home run in the top of the 9'th gave me hope. Danny Espinosa crushed that hope with one swing of the bat.
I don't want to talk about how bad my boys are doing right now. I don't think Cardinal fans need a reminder of how horrible we have been playing. A glance at the box scores of the past 6 games is depressing enough. It was only a week ago that we took 2 of 3 in Houston, but it feels like a lot longer than that.
I'm done ranting. Instead, I'm going to talk about one my all-time favorites. He was a Cardinal forever, but now he dons a Nationals jersey. We saw him play only half an inning in the series opener before he hurt himself. I for one was bummed because I was looking forward to seeing him play...

Who am I talking about? You guessed it: of course it's none other than Rick Ankiel. His story is one of, if not THE best in all of Major League Baseball. I'm surprised no one has made a movie about him yet. In case you're not familiar with Ricky, or you can't quite recall how incredible his journey has been, here's a quick walk down memory lane. Enjoy the ride.
Rick Ankiel was drafted as a pitcher by the Cardinals out of a small high school in South Florida (less than 30 minutes from my house in case you were wondering). Before even stepping on the mound as a professional baseball player, word was spreading that he was the next Sandy Koufax. That's an awful lot for an 18 year-old to live up to.

Ankiel met the challenge head-on. He was named the Minor League Player of the Year for all of baseball in 1999. He was on the fast-track to the Majors, and he didn't disappoint when he made it to the show in '99. He was merely 20 years old in 2000, his first full year with the Big League club. He made a fashion statement with those high pants and old-school long striped socks. He was impressive throughout the season; that is, until the Birds reached the playoffs.
He started Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves and had a memorable meltdown in the 3rd inning. He then started Game 2 of the NLCS and couldn't get out of the 1'st after letting loose another 5 pitches to the backstop.
Rick went back to the minors to try and get his stuff under control. Unfortunately, things got worse instead. He briefly re-appeared in the Majors, and after being sent down again he decided that he was done being a professional pitcher.


Most guys, after experiencing what he had, would have hung it up and walked away from the game. Remember, he received a $2.5 million signing bonus when he was 18. Ankiel had always been a solid hitter though. He went all the way back to Single A and made up his mind to try and make it back as an outfielder.
Did he make it? Oh, did he ever. Rick was back at Busch in August of 2007 as an outfielder for Tony La Russa. He hit a 3-run bomb in his first game back, and to this day it is one of the only times I have ever seen Tony show emotion during a game. The skipper has said that it was one of his proudest moments as a manager, seeing Ankiel's career come full-circle again. Tony, those dark glasses don't hide anything you big softie. Look who got a curtain call in his first game back.

He manned center field for us for the next 2 seasons. I think most can recall those 2 crazy outfield assists against the Rockies. Cardinal fans held their collective breaths when he collided with the wall in '09. He gave us a thumbs up as he was carted off the field though: what a trooper. He signed with the Royals in the offseason and ended 2010 in a postseason run as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He even sent a shot into McCovey Cove last year to win a playoff game against the eventual Champion Giants.
Now Ricky plays for the Washington Nationals. His hitting has declined since he was a Redbird: He was barely batting .200 going into the series against the Cardinals. No matter how and when he finishes his  career though, Rick's is a story of strength and perserverance in the face of adversity.
As an example of his character, when the Nationals came to town earlier this season, Rick took out a 1/2 page ad in the St Louis Post-Dispatch, thanking Cardinal fans for their support over the years. Now how many pro baseball players would do something like that? It's been a pleasure cheering for you Rick, and I will continue to do so!

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL...THE LAMEST SHOW ON EARTH

I watched a Cardinals game live in person last night. The Palm Beach Cardinals vs. the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Who is that you ask? That, my friends, is Minor League Baseball. High Class A ball to be exact. Living in South Florida has its advantages all right: sunshine, warm weather year round, pools and the beach. As long as you don't mind the crabby old people (aka snowbirds) that flock down and take over in the winter months, it's really not that bad. Most of them have no depth perception and shouldn't be driving, but they are usually back up North by late April anyway.

I am 100% spoiled for 2 months out of the year, and I bet you can guess which months those are. That's right: February and March: St Louis Cardinals Spring Training in Jupiter, FL. Roger Dean Stadium and the Spring Training complex is 10 minutes from my house, and I promise you that I did not plan it that way. I decided to go to college in Florida because I figured if I had to finish my degree, Florida was the place to do it. The Cardinals were an unexpected but awesome bonus for me.The thing is, Spring Training only lasts a month and a half. When the trucks leave and the major leaguers fly back to St. Louis to start the regular season, what am I left with? Besides a handful of autographed baseballs and some great memories, the answer is that I am left with the Palm Beach Cardinals.

As of June 12 they are 25-37. There's still a lot of baseball left to be played, which means they could straighten things out, or it could be a really long season. Now to me, baseball is baseball. I enjoy watching almost any game. Minor League games are usually high-scoring affairs, which means that there is usually always some sort of action happening on the field. Even though most of the guys on the roster are people you and I have never heard of, they play their hearts out. Everyone runs out infield grounders and hustles back to the dugout when the inning is over, because everyone is trying to make it to The Show, and you never know who is watching. It's refreshing to see this.The Palm Beach Cardinals play in the Florida State League. Their opponents range from the Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida Marlins) to the Fort Myers Miracle (Minnesota Twins). One of the cool things about this is that we have the opportunity to check out some of the prospects in other organizations. Both of the Cardinals 1'st round draft picks in 2009 and 2010, Shelby Miller and Zach Cox, began the season in Palm Beach. Both tore it up down here and were promoted to AA Springfield in less than 2 months. Good for them, unfortunate for me. We are left with the guys who are probably going to be at this level for quite some time...

Understandably, it is hard to get people to come to Minor League baseball games. The interns at Roger Dean are forced to be creative in order to get butts in the seats. In between almost every inning there is some sort of activity on the field: racing the mascot around the bases, riding big wheels, dizzy bat spins. You name it, they're probably done it at one time or another.

Every weekend there is a promotion of some sort. The place will be full of little leaguers one night and cub scouts the next. With those kids come their parents. The kids want hot dogs and nachos, and the parents want beer. The lines are ridiculously long. This must be how the stadium stays afloat and makes any money: overpriced food sales, just like the Majors!

Last night was "Pooches in the Park". You can bring your dog to the ballgame. Most Major League stadiums do this once a year: Roger Dean does it once a month. Tickets for a Palm Beach Cardinal game are $8 a piece for adults, and $2 if you have your student ID. You can't beat that.

Minor League Baseball games aren't for everyone. The games seem to drag on. It makes the Majors look like a track meet, because the Minor Leaguers don't seem to be in any rush to get the night over with. The Cardinals pitcher hit one of the Stone Crabs last night. When our catcher came up to bat in the bottom half of the inning, the Stone Crabs pitcher threw behind him. The batter obviously took offense to this and charged the mound, chucking his bat at the pitcher. Both benches and bullpens cleared, and a lot of people got ejected. At least they try and make it interesting for us...

Just in case you were wondering, Palm Beach lost to the Stone Crabs with a final score of 8-2.