I think the Cardinals kept working on Ankiel out of embarrassment in the league. I can’t think of another that they were willing to spend so much money on. I ask one of the old Cardinal players that I talk to quite often why they mess with Ankiel. His response was that they had to try to let him do something good to keep the rest of MLB from laughing themselves to death over the fact that they were spending so much money on him.

I personally think Ankiel had a lot of head problems that he will not totally overcome in his career. It’s time for him to move on.

I’m with Bernie. I will always remember two things about Ankiel - his horrible agent and his complete pitching meltdowns.

“the wunderkind pitcher who lost it”

EXCUSE ME! He didn’t lose anything. Dave Duncan (with LaRussa’s endorsement) TOOK IT AWAY FROM HIM! Rick Ankiel was a fabulous natural talent, but Coach-Fix-It-My-Way-Whether-It’s-Broke-Or-Not just had to meddle!

Even if Duncan’s prognosis of an abbreviated career based on Ankiel’s idiosyncratic mechanics had proved to be true, Rick would by all odds have been a superstar pitcher for the Cardinals for some very exceptional YEARS!

Dizzy Dean stubbed his toe, which altered his mechanics, which ruined him. Thanks a lot for stubbing Rick’s toe for him, Dave!

As for Rick’s VERY EXCEPTIONAL, even UNIQUE, comeback as an outfielder, including his spectacular leave-it-on-the-field defensive plays, and a great many timely hits — as for that, IT DOESN’T REQUIRE HYPE!

Who are the professional hypsters anyway? YOU GUYS, THAT’S WHO! When are your contracts up? Soon, I hope.

As a Cardinal fan and someone who hopes the best for people, I’m disappointed and saddened that this story appears to have ended with Rick walking out the back door. Perhaps the story was bigger than the reality of life and Rick just could not get a grip on it. His injuries certainly did not help. I know he tried to play his heart and soul out for us fans. Perhaps he just forgot how to have fun by letting the game come to him. Whey you begin to put pressure on the game, the game will put you in a vise grip. Sometimes the demons are created from within and then they give access to all kinds of tormentors. I hope the best for Rick Ankiel.

Just let Dan Wheeler answer these questions. His responses are always the most profound and thought out.

Ankiel was a great story. Those of us in Cardinal Nation willing to look the other way will remember him for his positives more than his negatives.

I can remember following his return path through the minors culminating in his first game back in the majors as an outfielder. I remember the fact that he hit a HR in that first game. I remember him being the reason why the Cards won their last home game that season.

Yes, it’s disappointing he didn’t become all he could have been, but in the world of St. Louis Cardinals baseball, where we are accustomed to Albert exceeding every expectation, those that fall short in his presence are quickly hung out to dry.

Rick Ankiel, among others, is a perfect example of why the media needs to just let athletes develop before they are labeled. Talk is cheap. Performance is reality.

Looks like they may be giving up on Rick one year too early. Wouldn’t that be a shame if Ankiel comes back next year as a Cincinnati Red (it was Jocketty who encouraged him to become a position player) and pummels Cardinal pitching . . . along with Scott Rolen. It sure would be nice to see what Rick could do under McGwire’s tuteledge. Hopefully you writers don’t run them both out of town.

Maybe he suffers anxiety like Khalil Greene but isn’t willing to admit it or has been advised by his agent not to … Performance drops like his suggest either that other teams found his weaknesses and he could not adjust or that his confidence gradually eroded over time (or, perhaps, both). Given the investment clubs make in players like Ankiel, I’m surprised that more of them don’t use sports psychologists to help in situations like this.

I think Larry Stout pretty much got it right. I think the coaching staff did as much to ruin Ankiel as anyone .

Who didn’t love Rick’s comeback but swinging from the heels in a hit it the other way situation is not a matter of injury or some form of Steve Blass syndrome. Call it undisciplined, whatever you want to call it but it was insanely frustrating to watch.

I’m appalled at what I’m reading here about Ankiel. I still think he’s the best defensive centerfielder that the cardinals have (or can sign). His offense never came around after he instantly introduced his face to the outfield wall. I don’t believe he was fully recovered when he came back and that translated into Colby getting more time and ank getting sporadic playing time that will mess with any hitter’s rhythm. Take a one year flyer on this guy and I bet he works his way into another starting job.

I think he will be remembered for not living up to his potential and the countless number of Cards fans that cheered on his every move. He will probably wind up a Yankee and hopefully his career moves on with some success.

Rick Ankiel was alot of what was said, but I think they put too much emphasis on the negatives. You cannot be critical of someone who physically cannot hit a pitch, make a catch or gun someone out- if they are doing their best. Just as players like Eckstien or Pagnozzi(?) or Miles or Schumacher(sp/as a 2B) or lots of other players took their lesser talent/physical limitations to the highest levels thru sheer determination, grit and hard work to become successful major league players, Rick Ankiel fought thru his mental or emotional demons/limitations and has been a major league player. I hope he is not thru-as a major league player AND as a Cardinal. His story is not over. Good luck Rick

I will remember Ank for three things:

1. the pitcher he was supposed to be and the pitcher he became
2. the great comeback story
3. the strikeouts of this season

I like Ank, but it’s time for him to move on. He’s had some good times, some bad times, and some ugly times. Realistically speaking, the Cards most likely won’t need him (and had no need for him much of this year), and he should try to resurrect his career somewhere else.

Larry Stout-
Complete BS!!! How in the world can you pin this on the coaching staff? The man obviously does not have the mental balls to consistently be successfull on the major league leve. That being said, he gave everything he had to try to help this franchise win. His results on the field were obviously not what he wanted, but it cannot take away the fact that he gave everything he had everyday for this team. Best wishes, Rick.

I usually think Wheeler is the most off-base of this panel, but I believe he’s right about AnKiel being unable to handle adversity. First, there was the meltdown on the mound. Then, I’ll always remember how he had a great game in 2007 and was just creaming everything thrown to him–then the next day the HGH stuff came out–and he went into a tremendous slump. Then this year, his failure to improve as a hitter and the amazing cluelessness at the plate. I’d like to know who tried to help him and whether he ignored their advice or if he did not have the plate discipline in him to stop swinging at everything. The last at-bat of the season was a perfect climax to his Cardinal career.

Who says Colby Rasmus was a success this year? I personally had higher expectations for him. If you are comparing Coby’s 09 season to Rick’s 09 season then yes that is a success, but several players in this league had better 09’s than Rick. I think we have a ways to go before we call Colby a success story in STL. Not a knock on Colby, I just think its premature to roll out the Red Carpet for him just yet. When we see jacoby Ellsbury numbers, then I’ll call him a success.

I think Larry Stout’s shorts are in a bind.

Bring him back cheap. Maybe Mac can relate to him and bring back that simple swing he had. If not then let him go.

i’ll never forget the rope from the warning track that nailed tavarez at 3B. WOW, what a throw! too bad the offense wasn’t half as good as that throw. in any case, i wish him well.

As Marlon Brando’s Terry Malloy once said “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.”

Ankiel was not a bum, but he definitely “coulda” been lots of things.

Please recall that he broke Dizzy Dean’s rookie record with 194 Ks in 2000, before the flameout.

I can’t help but wonder, with the passage of time, with more mental durability, and with the premise of him having peaked as a hitter, possibly given that pitchers have figured out how to exploit his weaknesses, along with his inability to overcome those weaknesses, if he might be ready to try a comeback as a pitcher again. I know that he said “never again” but that was then. Has any pitcher made the switch to hitter and back again? That would be intriguing.

Why do I keep reading these reader posts?!

DPG–Don’t read these posts. I think they are good fun.

“Don’t go away mad–just go away.”

I will always be grateful for Ankiel. You take the disappointments and the thrills all in one with any player. Rick was the epitome of “Play like a Cardinal” by submitting the the grueling task of remaking himself in the minors. I was at Coors Field last year the night he made two of the most INCREDIBLE throws from the outfield anyone has ever seen. His debilitating crash into the wall this year just cements his status in my mind as one of the gutsiest self-sacrificing players I’ve had the joy to call a Cardinal. Yeah, this year was disappointing, but the dropoff came from a hard, gutsy play…why should we not like that or respect him? I wish him well wherever he lands.

The last at bat said it all. Watch 2 fastball strikes and then wiff at one in his eyes. I will always be pulling for Rick, even if goes to the north side of Chicago. I, like the organization, think he is going to turn it around. Too much talent to give up.

Real Cardinals fans will always remember Ankiel with kindness… as we do with all our players. Posters on internet message boards are far from normal fans.

I’ll remember the good and the bad and will probably even have a fe of those “what if?”thoughts.But if it has to be one certain thing/game it would be the Rick Ankiel/Troy Glaus double-play combo from last season when Rick gunned down runners at 3rd from center field twice in one game.

You never know with Ankiel. Maybe a change to another team that may give him a chance will work out for him. I still think he is better than Rasmus or Duncan. Plus getting out from under TLR has to be a plus. But the Cardinals will never be as solid as the Phillies are right now. I love how they are taking it them d**n Yankess.

I will remember the pitching meltdown and the unrealized hitting talent, but I am still amazed at those two throws to Glaus at third base- unbelievable. Reminds me of a comment I’ve heard before “best ball player from the shoulders down”.

Rick Ankiel = Gabe Kapler. Over-hyped, over-rated = limited production. Ugh. Doubt we will ever hear anything from him from now on.

He had a great arm. That’s about it. He will probably be a Hall of Famer now that he’s away from TLR.

I kinda agree that I am not too impressed with Rasmus’ 2009, but it was his rookie year, and I’m not gonna say anything bad about him. I think he had an RBI or two in the playoffs, right?… anyway, much as I like Ankiel, it makes the most sense to go with Rasmus for the future, especially if we’re gonna try to keep Holliday here. Business is business.
(Side note, does the team wanna keep Ludwick or not? I would love to see him stay as well, but they keep offering him one year contracts…)
and while I think Duncan and LaRussa critics can’t see the very successful forest for the trees, I kinda think they bungled Ankiel’s pitching career.
If I remember correctly, in his rookie pitching year, they never, or very rarely, started him in road games. To me, that seems kinda like coddling- let him get some downs in as well as ups, was my thought process. But that leads me to believe that the Cards knew he had mental gremlins. Then the playoffs roll around, and I believe he starts Game 1? Why do that with the rookie if you know he might struggle? It’s inconsistent at the very least.
Keeping those things in mind, I’d say the Cards owed him the opportunity to prove himself. And I think he did a good job. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him.
Again, it’s easy to critique from here. But I think way too many of the so-called “greatest fans in baseball” were overly hard on him.
Best of luck to you Rick- hopefully in the American League, cuz I get the feeling you’ll murder Cardinal pitching for the rest of your career.

I’ll add that I’m gonna hate seeing him in another baseball uniform.

Now, call me crazy, as I haven’t lived in my hometown of StL for 20 years now, and am not as scholarly as the hometown, rabid fans. But I do watch on the ‘net or listen on satellite faithfully, and here’s my take.

Holliday re-signing is a dream at this point, given management’s desire to stay around or below 110M a year. And, Ank’s a lefty, which would fit him well in Left. I think the wall took alot out of him this year, and I think he’s always been somewhat undisciplined at the plate, even in 2008.

So, I think he needs to high-tail it to Orange County quick and see what Back to the Bash can offer to straighten out his swing and make him more disciplined, given that Holliday is not a lock. If Mac can bring Ank over the hump, imagine a healthy, Mac-infused outfield of Ank, the Wookie, and Lug, all batting near or above .300, and all with ball-splitting capability.

Oh, and by the way, while I don’t condone performance enhancers in any way, I think Mac has taken enough heat over the years, and I’m glad to have him back. The only one who has ever really taken more heat than Mac is Bonds.

As with all athletes that don’t reach the full potential of their playing ability, the critics who seem to be far superior to anybody who has pulled on a uniform seem to be the best critics. What a lot a bull. The man made it back from pitching troubles to do more than you armchair critics will ever dream. Congratulate the man for having the guts to keep trying to realise his dream. All the best for the future Rick wherever it may be.

I have been a Cardinal Fan since 1956. That alone does not make me an expert. I feel the same way about the news media folks. Most of them have never even taken batting practice on the major league level but they want to tell us how we should interpret baseball. Two prime examples are Big Mac and Rick Ankiel.
Big Mac has never been suspended from baseball for any form of substance abuse. Not once. He has never been accused by Major League Baseball or the Commissioner’s office for using an illegal substance. Is there a possibility that he did use PEDs during his playing days? Yes, but, I remind you that he did not do so after any of those substances were banned. Major league baseball has to swallow as much blame for steroids as the players. MLB sat back and did nothing to make steroids illegal until outside forces mandated it. I truly believe, although I cannot prove it, that it was tolerated because of declining attendance. MLB needed the McGuires, Sosas, and others to do something special to bring people back to the stands after the collective bargaining meltdowns and shutdowns. After the fan base returned, then came action. This is just a bit self-serving and hypocritical if you ask me.

Now McGuire is going to return to baseball, a game that he loves almost as much as his son. So the circus begins. The sports writers claim that he needs to come clean with them. No he doesn’t. He needs to address some of the issues with Cardinal fans but the news media? When he first was confronted with the PED in the locker room, not once did he deny the use. As I recall that story, and at my age who knows what I can remember, he did address using over the counter muscle building substances. As a Cardinal fan for so many years I welcome Big Mac back to the Cardinals. I truly believe he has something to say and prove but not about steroids. Instead it is his knowledge and experience in baseball that will make the Cardinals better, more patient and more productive hitters. If he addresses the other issues, God bless him. If not, God bless him.

Now we have Rick Ankiel. I have personally met Rick while he was playing in Sevierville, Tennessee where the Cardinals had the AA team for a period of time. I might add that this was after the “pitching meltdown”. He was a standout in the club house. He was a tremendous fan favorite. He was what Cardinal players have always been to me, a baseball player and true representative of the Cardinal Organization. What he endured in those years after the “meltdown” are hard to describe. He has proven to be a very, very capable center fielder. He needs help with batting. He has the touch but not the technique. Let’s play what if. What if Big Mac can help him reduce the strike out problem; what if he can grow and become more disciplined at the plate; what if he overcomes his demons as one person put it. Then all of this has been worth the pain. I would hope he is offered arbitration with the intent to keep him. What is one more chance worth if good results are achieved from staying the course? Generally speaking, if there is no risk there are few rewards. We need another outfielder on the team. He likely will not cost a great deal. Plus there is the intangible side of things. Rick played the entire year thinking this was his last in St. Louis. The media make sure that he had to think of that every day. That is likely his biggest demon. Help rid the demons and let’s see what can happen. Rick owes us nothing more than to do his best. I have never heard anyone say he gives less than that. So, what are we willing to give back? As Cardinal fans, when a player is so willing to take all the media heat, I say that we owe that Cardinal player our support and loyalty.

Many will criticize this posting. Take your best shot but it changes nothing.

The Cardinals had the best young left-handed starting pitcher in baseball at one point. Then he would refuse to throw his fastball and continuously flip over his big curveball. Then he got the strange mental block that forever took him off the mound. The entire time, our fan base always joked that he should hit higher in the lineup when he pitched and one fun prediction on the PD had him hitting the game winning HR in the 12th inning of Game 7 of a World Series win.

The Cardinals held on to Ankiel because it wasn’t unheard of for a good hitting pitcher to make the conversion to a position player and Ankiel certainly had the bat at the time to do it. Then, he went on a season tear at AAA Memphis with 30+ HRs and finished it in St. Louis with about another 10 RHs. He was “The Natural” and everyone loved it. Then, the HGH story reared its ugly head and we were reminded of how we, as a fan base felt, when a similar taint hit Mark McGwire. Sadly, some of the fans didn’t care about the allegations until Ankiel showed up to Spring Training looking like Jason Giambi did when he denied allegations of HGH, then lost of ton of weight and sported a mustache the following spring.

We all cringed when Ankiel crashed into a centerfield wall this season, but even coming back from that injury, Rick Ankiel’s offensive performance began to be placed in the same file as Chris Duncan’s, which sealed his fate. He will not be a Cardinal next season. He may be a 4th OF for a large-market club who can take a chance on playing him $5M a season to see what he has left.

I don’t see what the big deal is. At worst, he is a late-inning, left-handed defensive replacement who can pinch hit with some power. Most teams should be glad to have him as a 4th or 5th OFer. Ankiel is one who has to play with confidence to be effective. If I was losing at-bats to Chris Duncan like he was last season, I would’ve probably lost a lot of confidence too.

If he is reunited with Big Mac next season, I think he will rebound and be more of the Ankiel of ‘07 than ‘09. Ankiel epitomized the poor preparation and approach of many of the less experienced Cardinals who had shown more promise than they were delivering, Rasmus, Ryan, & Ludwick included. Only Shumaker, Molina, and of course, Pujols seemed to show any plate discipline last year. Oh, well, and Holiday, too.

The biggest problem is that someone will probably pay Ankiel more than the Cardinals should pay a 4th outfielder, so these derogatory articles are academic and premature.

I think that Rick would be a better center fielder than Colby. Yes Colby is young and a great prospect, his arm is awful. Rick covers more ground and has a great arm. Just think what Colby would return in a trade.

Rick AnKKKKKKKKKiel was an overhyped headcase. He should have been traded a long time ago. We’ve already had our problems with players, such as, Chris Duncan, JD Drew, K Greene, ect, ect.
I get tired of these kinds of players on the big league squad when there is plenty of talent in the minors (Allen Craig, David Freese) to do the job.

Last I checked, he was still a Cardinal. I would love to see him come back and work with Big Mac. I don’t want to see him go to Cincy!

I am still trying to understand why all of you people are so hyped up on Colby?? Wake up and smell the coffee, did you guy NOT see how lazy he is in CF????? I can remember two games clearly where he just watched some fly balls drop in front of him, not to mention a couple of times where Colby stood there while Rick and Holliday both made the play on both occasions. I am sick to death of Rick getting “burned at the stake” by Cardinal fans. Are we not supposed to cheer for our players??? And as far as I’m concerned Colby Cheese needs more experience in CF, there is NO way that he can be an every day player. I think that Rick deserves to redeem himself, we have no idea what kind of season he would have had or will have if he can remain injury free and be given the time to play every day.

Ankiel demonstrates in one person what’s so compelling about sports, both the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. I’m sure he wishes it weren’t so.

I don’t get the TLR and DD bashers who insist they ruined Ankiel. Ank is criticized for being too fragile b/t the ears to stand up to major league pressure, then TLR and DD are raked for handling him too gently, trying to ease him in, give him some protection, deflect the spotlight, which clearly bothered him. Put those two things together. Might it suggest that he was handled accordingly but that he just couldn’t put it together?

Its hard to judge and grade the success OR failure of RA, it seems that the majority of his problems are mental: the debacle when pitching, the off field issues with his father and performance enhancing drugs, and the latest his scary incident when crashing into the wall. I want to like RA, I rallied for him when he came back and showed great signs of reformation, but his abrupt and almost Terminator type personality with the fans of Cardinal Nation. RA for the most part had or has the support of the fans, but the lack of emotions, or signs of gratitude for those of us who cheered and rallied for him leaves us feeling like the girl who was not ask to the Senior Prom. I hope the Cardinals turn the page on Rick, and he can land a new opportunity on another ball club, I will root for him no matter what, I feel he has some internal issues that need to be addressed, but regardless, this young man has a wealth of talent, why it never came to fruition only RA can answer that……….Rick I wish you well, stay strong and just have fun, and smile……..!!!!!!!

HGH…HGH…HGH…HGH

Some of you people amaze me. Rick gives everything he has when he plays. The guy almost broke his friggin neck trying to make a play, and you show no respect. And the thing is that play changes his whole season.Hell of a catch. He also made some pretty amazing throws and has great hustle and range. Just needs help with plate discipline. Big Mac works on him and who knows? You talk about mental toughness and his head probs like you got a clue what it’s like to be him. None of US worked as hard as this man did TWICE and make it to the majors. Anyway, I hope we re-sign him and if not I hope he does well. I dunno about his legace, but I will never forget watchin him play. Good and bad.

Becoming a major leaguer as a pitcher and then again as a reborn OFer, to me, is nothing short of incredible, .230 hitter or not. Heck of a biopic Ankiel’s story will make someday. Wish he’d try pitching again; only this time from the bullpen. It would not surprise me one bit that he could eventually become a decent LH closer or setup man. At the very least he could possibly become an effective LOOGY. I have a hard time believing he can’t ever again regain control of the strike zone as a pitcher. Always wanted TLR to try with Ank what Herzog used to do with Ken Daley and Todd Worrell every once in a while: after facing a batter or two, he’d do a double switch and put the relief pitcher in the OF for a batter or two and then bring the pitcher back to the mound from the OF. Brilliant!

I think Larry Stout is a tard! You know NOTHING about being a MLB player or pitcher, NOTHING! Your opinions are worthless and weak. A player is responsible for himself. If he cowers at his own shadow it is not the managers fault. If he starts throwing the ball to the backstop is not the managers fault.

Bernie, your over hyped self is forgeting Donavan Osbourne. You must be too busy

Also, I would love to see him throw a football

I thought I would never post again. Reading the posts that are already there makes me know why people don’t participate more. Some seem to believe they are capable of interpreting mental state. Some think they know player talent. Some even think they can manage. Some think they have been feature on ESPN as a great play or a world class commentator. For those I would be looking for the call from Altanta to join the broadcast team or even a call from the front office hiring them as a coach, instructor, or some great and important position.

Wonder just how many minor league players that were loaded with talent I have seen since 1956. I would guess hundreds. There are great minor league players that never succeed in the bigs. Ankiel is probably the best pure athlete on the team. Most of the players spend their entire lives in single positions. When comments are made that other teams laugh at our handling of Ankiel it proves to me that there is a great divide between fiction and reality. If we are laughed at it is our handling of Adam Kennedy, not Rich Ankiel. When a team makes a strong commitment to a player and abides by it, they don’t laugh. Look at what some teams end up paying in salary for players they have traded or let go when huge contracts were signed.

Rich Ankiel is a Cardinal first and a player second. That can and will change if he is not resigned. We treat people as if they are nothing. I would like for anyone that criticizes so to answer a couple questions. How many at bats have you had in the majors? How many homers have you hit? How many runners have you thrown out at first much less third or home? Which wall did you run into while giving your all to make a play? We all know the answers. So, how is it that you have any right to judge Ankiel or anyone else. You seek results that show on the scoreboard. Do you think Ankiel goes to the plate hoping to strike out or fielding hoping to hit a wall? I fully believe that he needs help with his batting technique. Do the essentials are there.

These minor league players that are mentioned–can anyone say without a chance of being wrong that they will perform on top of their games in the majors for an entire season? T. Green had trouble doing it but did well again when he went back to the minors to play everyday. Chris Duncan was a great hitter until he was hurt. He did not play defense nearly as well as he hit, but for a while he was our guy. K. Greene was to be our ss for a long time. He failed. Minor league players offer no guarantees. At least with Ankiel they know what to address and heaven knows he can play the outfield. If he is not signed, we will sign someone that is primarily a defensive player. We even tried going to Japan for a defensive player. So, why not work with someone known whose limitations and weaknesses are know and who could easily become what he has the talent to be if exposed to the right instruction. J.D. Drew was mentioned. He has turned out respectable in the majors. But, according to some, Ankiel has no chance. I watched Bob Gibson early on, he sure matured and changed. I watched Ken Boyer, Bill White, Curt Flood, Stan the Man, Curt Simmons, Steve Carlton (we gave up on him too), Ted Simmons, Lou Brock, Mike Shannon, Joe Cunningham, Joe Torre, Orlando Cepeda, Ozzie Smith, and so many others that had to grow and mature even though they did not have to battle with drastic position changes. Time will tell where Ankiel fits into Cardinal history. Maybe he won’t at all, but he sure deserves to get a real chance and not a year where all you hear is “you are here now but will not be next year”. There are so few instant successes that one can only wonder why we are judging Ankiel after 1 and 1/2 years in the bigs. There are few Alberts in baseball. Precious few. Even then Ankiel has more time in the bigs than any of us that are such great talents in all phases have even seen or will ever see in terms of being there. Can’t remember when I had to hit a 95 mph fast ball or vicious curve. How about you?

ML Harmon your comment brought tears to my eyes. Make Rick a low offer and see if a year from the Wall and some of Mark’s discipline at the plate wears off on Rick. This is no charity case; Ankiel’s huge potential merits a low risk offer in our depleted outfield reserves. If he struggles again, release him to the Reds.

If Rick’s exit out the back door was his last, I trust he knows that he was not controversial to all but beloved by many.

Mr. Goold, that was poetic, not to mention an amazing one-paragraph summary of a very complex and unusual tenure with the team. (I’m being serious.) On the other hand, I think Bernie’s summary is a little harsh.

Rick,

I for one haven’t given up on you. I would like to see if Big Mac can fine tune you at the plate. I have a feeling he can. I do not see any reason to let a good (possibly our best) defensive outfielder slip away. I believe your physical talent will bear fruit if given enough time. Don’t let all the negative people keep wearing on you. You are playing baseball the game you love, just keep that in perspective and play it for the enjoyment of it. Don’t complicate your mind with too many distractions. See the ball and hit it.

Before we all shed a tear for Ankiel, keep in mind his agent is Scott Bora$$, who compares him to DiMaggio and Williams, and will ask for the moon this off-season. What this means is he has played his last game in St Louis.

What I will remember about Ankiel is his meltdown in 2000. Honestly, LaRussa never should have trotted him out against the Mets in the NLCS, after his disaster against the Braves in the NLDS. All the potential in the world was gone the following season. Sad.

As for his comeback as a hitter, this past year was a disappointment. He won’t come back to the Cardinals next year so it’s time to move on. Good luck, Rick.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If you want to hang out in the dugout and clubhouse, you have to kiss the right parts of the right people.” — Anonymous Journalist/Toady

NEXT TOPIC: Dave Duncan, easily the most overhyped pitching coach of all time. (Trade him to Boston.)

Aaron you’re an idiot and Larry Stout is right on. I think he could still be an amazing pitcher if put with the right coach. That natural ability doesn’t just evaporate. It gets abused by poor coaching.

I have nothing at all against Rick Ankiel. It’s been quite a ride, he’s been through a lot. He seems like a decent guy. I wish him all the best in baseball and in life. If he comes back to Busch in another uniform, I’ll give him a cheer.

The organization should be applauded for sticking with this guy for so long..TOO LONG! See ya, Windmill.

Where does Bernie get off classifying Ankiel as the most overhyped Cardinal in history? There was a tone of hype surrounding him as a pitcher, and he delivered prior to throwing fastballs to the backstop in the 2001 NLDS. But as a hitter, it was completely different scenario because that wasn’t “hype”. Rather, his transformation attracted a lot of attention, and rightly so, because it was so rare and a tremendous accomplishment. No one expected him to hit .300 in the show while hitting 30 plus HR and 100 plus HR. Sure, the potential was there, but not the expectation. Way to cloud the situation Bernie!!! At least Rick had a good rookie season in 2000 and a solid 2008 despite an injury at the end.

Here’s a short list of 6 players that graduated our farm system with good reviews, but failed to live up to them even more so than Rick…. Todd Ziele (.260 BA and never hit 20 HR in a season), Geromino Pena (never earned 300 PA in a season), Ken Hill (23-32 record for the redbirds), Tripp Cromer (.226 BA and a .960 fielding % in only real season filling in for an injured Ozzie in 1995), Jim Lindeman (at least he hit a ball out of Busch II), and Luis Ordaz (.218 career BA).

I like Bernie, I really do. But the insensitivity and simplicity he revealed about himself with the Ankiel comments is so disappointing. This guy was loved by his teammates, the Cardinals management, and many many fans. We are all as disappointed as he undoubtedly is that his career has hit a rough spot or worse. But he had great raw talent and his persistence in coming back as a hitter is testament to his character. And considering his background, a drug dealer father who was jealous of his success, its understandable that he may have stood in the way of his own success. I wish him the best, he couldda ben the champ!

I will remember most his nailing baseruners from deep in the OF in May 2008 against the Rockies. From the wall to 3B on the fly! Wow! Glaus said something along the lines of “How do you describe something you’ve never seen before?” I am still hoping Ankiel will accomplish something worthwhile with his bat, because he plays one heck of a CF.

All of you bleeding hearts out there are acting as if the Cardinals are putting him to death. The Cardinals have sunk about as much money in Ankiel as they can. He has not been consistent ever with his hitting, pitching, or otherwise. He has a wonderful arm no doubt. How much can you pay for that.

The players are professionals and are expected to preform as professionals everyday they go onto the field. Bernie realizes that obviously and is using common sense in his assessment of Ankiel. The rest of you seem to have some kind of emotional attachment to him. He doesn’t know you and doesn’t care about you so why are you so caring about someone that preforms part time and make full time money. Could you do it at your job. Hell no!

Ankiel has been treated with kid gloves most of his time here as a Cardinal. He was playing in the minors on a major league contract for some time. You just can’t keep sinking money into a player that only preforms part time.

For some of you using his families past as something to feel sorry about, the past is the past. He has moved on to become a very wealthy person on his own. Forget the past, it’s over. He is just like Greene, he has head problems that are not going away on a daily basis. He had good time here and bad times here like most players that pass through. The only difference is that the Cardinal organization sunk a ton of money into this one.

I really believe the Cardinals (see TLR) stuck with Ankiel all this time out of guilt because they messed with him as a pitcher and ruined him.

The main reason we should resign Rick is the same reason I have been excited about his transition to a hitter: that just once, there will be an 18 inning game where the opposition has to put their backup catcher on the mound, and we get to wheel Ank to the bump. With no pressure, he strikes out the side and Cards win. Please let this happen!

i will remember and continue to think of Ankiel as the little engine that could…and still can. And he isnt too tough on the eyes either

I wish Rick the best. I rooted for him to make it! It would be a helluva movie if it has the right ending…..

How I will remember Rick.

1) the playoff meltdown which was just hard to watch
2) his first MLB game with the home run (I was at that game and went nuts)
3) the 2 throws from the outfield to get guys at third against Colorado
4) his ability to have at bats where he does not swing at one strike (also hard to watch)

Wheeler usually has the best answers followed by Hummel when it comes to these water cooler “sessions” and they both provide good ones again today but DG has the best answer today. Tortured soul nails it.

The talent level was so high that the risk had to be taken and it appeared along the way that it was worth taking at times. Rick wasn’t that overpaid - certainly not enough for any other club to be laughing at the Cards nor enough to make the Cards keep wheeling him out there either.

His talent was so obvious that some of those teams presumed to be laughing would have signed him had the Cards not done so. I suspect someone still will just like I suspect that tom doesn’t really talk to old cards (unless they are in a nursing home maybe) who believed Rick was overpaid. Just like I suspect some tossing darts at Rick really have TLR and DD in their sights and could care less about Rick one way or the other. It is sad really whenever talent cannot be realized and the reason has nothing to do with selfishness or ego. That is Rick in a nutshell.

I’ll always remember him gunning down not one, but two Rockies at third base from center field at Coors Stadium. Rick did the improbable and I think he surprised himself along the way. Best of luck in his future endeavors…wherever they may be….

Maybe I don’t know what we should expect from a Major League pitcher. I watched Ankiel be on the verge of winning games yet being taken out because LaRussa either thought he was losing it or LaRussa was trying to out-micromanage the other Manager. Then I saw him leave him in and let him get his brains knocked out before millions of fans. I would bet that a lot of commentators and readers would lose their edge and confidence after that. Reminds me of Whitey and a couple of his potential star pitchers.

If you haven’t read M.L. Harmon’s post, do yourself a favor and do so. It’s on target and I agree with it totally. Mr. Harmon, email me at redbirdpodcast@gmail.com. PLEASE!! In the meantime, call me crazy…we should keep Ankiel if we can negotiate a reasonable salary; maybe loaded with incentives. Frankly, I think he’s a better defensive outfielder than any of the Cardinals we currently have and has the proven he can hit successfully at the major league level. As was pointed out, he wasn’t the same after he hit the wall and hopefully the off season will allow a full recovery.

If I were Rick, I’d go back to being a pitcher, just to show Dave Duncan and the world. Of course, that ain’t happening in St. Louis. Maybe a closer, since he has put on some years and suffered the wear and tear of kamikaze outfield play. Anybody who can throw a fastball strike from the center field track to third can surely still do it at 60 ft. 6 in. And if he works hard to forget the nonsense Duncan imposed on him, his wicked curveball just might dazzle again. I hope he does it. He was never a mouther or spotlight-seeker.

It’s difficult seeing people who don’t reach their full potential, like people who read the newspaper and post comments on blogs during working hours. I can imagine your career hasn’t gone the way your managers hoped.

Just a thought, I love watching Ankiel play when he’s on. I hope he goes to the Royals so I can still watch him from time to time, just not with the birds and the bats.

Mike, I know a few old Cardinals that would not think much of you for saying they are in a nursing home. A very good friend, former pitcher had that to say about Ankiel. I really don’t care what you think about me saying that I’m friends with several old Cardinals. However I will be with several of them mid November deer hunting. Several come back for deer season to join others that are still around plus their former manager. A Cardinal broadcaster joins us for a few beers also.

LaRussa was amply warned going into the playoffs in 2000 not to put it all on the rookie’s shoulders, especially one with the family horrors that Ankiel had experienced. tony didn’t listen, and Ankiel exploded on the mound. But the moron above ["wheeler"? - who's THAT guy?!] who said that he didn’t have it between the ears—yeah, and the Pacific Ocean is a desert. More than any other player in the many decades I’ve watched baseball, Ankiel’s raw determination and discipline soars atmospheres above any other athlete I’ve seen. What he went through physically and mentally to try to come back as a pitcher, and then to change to an everyday playr is nearly miraculous. Nearly, because it was not miraculous. It was the result of hope, determination, focus and mental discipline——something that this wheeler character clearly hasn’t an ounce of.

and ankiel at his best, as a pitcher, hitter and fielder, was more exciting to watch than almost any other player.

I wish Rick the best. Rick has given 100% heart w/ his efforts. Accept and appreciate that it has been an awesome story to have witnessed him going from an MLB pitcher to potentially a starting everyday CF in MLB, and that his story has not yet played out in full. If he can make some adjustments, perhaps get everyday play, he can potentially become a starting everyday MLB OF that is great defensively (with a dynamite arm and some Jimmy Edmonds like catches) and dangerous offensively. Wherever Rick plays, I hope he excels (and I prefer it to be in St Louis). Injuries and not playing regularly make it difficult in an already difficult game. Hopefully he stays in STL and can benefit from McGwire’s presence. Perhaps McGwire can reduce the inconsistency overall in the Cardinals’ bats as sometimes the whole offense would just shut down in 2009. If McGwire can work some magic like Duncan has w/ some of the pitchers, look out!

Hello, this is the first time I have written anything on a blog. I have had the pleasure of watching Rick Ankiel and the Cardinals for a few years now. What I saw this year was desperation on the part of most of the Cardinals players. This team was just a good as the Phillies or the Yankees. The line up card for this team had plenty of muscle and with the additions of players became even better. What started out to be a so-so year showed enough promise that management took the opportunity and acquired addition help. What I did not see in the Cardinal players was the “I was born for this” attitude. These seemed to plenty of “I must do this” will no results. The one thing that I have learned over the years that seems to work is saying to myself “I get to do this” instead of “I have to do this.” There seemed to be plenty of missed opportunities. All of the team was caught up with this mind set. The harder they tried, the less results they saw. It was like the joy was gone from their playing. I think they forgot the they were “PLAYING,” and turned it into a job. I might say a job they did not like. What is the old saying? Some people are born for greatness and others have it thrust upon them. You can see it in the eyes of the Phillies and the Yankees “I was born for this.” Stop me if you can because it only gets better the further down the line-up card. I do not have to be the one, I get to be the one.
Ankiel being a player was just as good as the rest. When we are standing on top of the mountain, things look great. The view from the valley is by no means that great. But the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, then another, then another and so on. It sure looked like they forgot to enjoy the journey and got caught up in the length of the trip. The team did as good as was thought at the start of the season. It was only with the additions were raised our expectations. They got the Division title. Did they win it? A tough question to answer. They were the team in the lead at the end. My advise to all of the players is to remember that each day is a new beginning. We make out of that day what we put in to it. It can be a burden or a joy. But remember you get to “PLAY” the game and we get to watch you play.

Despite giving Cardinal fans more than a few thrills as both a pitcher and then as an outfielder/slugger, Ankiel’s 2009 year was so bad it’s doubtful his moving on (who knows, maybe to greener pastures) will be missed much.

I think we’d be making a mistake to give up on Rick. I’ve seen him play both minor and major league ball, and I’ve met him. His hitting needs some fine tuning. Can’t we help him with that? He’s an exciting player, and fans love him. He’s worth hanging on to.

It is diffently time for Ankiel to move on. Yes he had the promise of greatness and yes he now has the title of greatest mistake. The money wasted is a shame. The biggest shame is to continue to parade him on the field like he isn’t and wasn’t the mistake that he is. I am sure he is a very nice person but a baseball player for the 2010 Cardinals he should not be. We could use that spot for a more deserving player.

I really don’t see why everyone is crapping on Ankiel. Apparently he had more talent than what he showed on the mound. He chose to move to the outfield, fought back a couple of years and did pretty darn well at making the big league roster once again. It’s too bad he didn’t do that well this year, but is it justifiable to crap all over a player that doesnt become an all-star at every position?

The real legacy for me is La Russa rushing the kid to the Big Show when he was not quite ready for the biggest stage in the sport (the post season) which lead to a monumental collapse. La Russa has been overly conservative in bringing up new talent ever since.

I for one had grown weary of watchin’ Ank the Crank STRIKE OUT once a game, rarely making contact, swing for the fences on every pitch.

He had MORE than a fair chance to prove himself. Good riddance a la Chris Duncan. DEAD WEIGHT.

miklaszs’ comment is exactly what one would expect from that shapeless no-nothing slob - rush limburgher, without the talent or money.

I had to play against this guy my entire life leading up to legion ball. Please do not doubt the POTENTIAL of Rick Ankiel. How many injuries has he tried to over-come? How many operations has he had? If you look at this with common sense, Ank is still young as a hitter and outfielder. He made the full, true switch in 2007 after he recovered from knee surgery in 2006. This means that he has been hitting full time as a professional for 3 seasons. One full season in AAA, and two half seasons in the bigs that were injury plaqued. How many highlights has he produced in his short big league hitting career? Can we please remember Colorado? He will only get offered no more than what they paid him last year. Lets sign him for one more year, pay him 3 bills again and take our chances. Its bases loaded, full count and the bottom of the ninth, next year will be his last “pitch” for the Cards. I dont think he will hit the backstop.