The Natural

After a 16 hour move from my beloved Saint Louis to the heart of AL country and Yanks-Sawks battleground, I just couldn't bring myself to write. But then... If there was one thing that could bring my atrophied pen back to the Indo-American you KNEW it was Rick Ankiel. What a fellah, what a story!

I hope you have heard by now all about the 13-win lefty from 2001 with a lightning fastball and a dominant curve ball. In the 2001 NLDS he threw 9 wild pitches in 4 innings, setting 2 records (WP in an inning, WP in a game). It wasn't choking. It was something much much worse. It was a total collapse. Rick Ankiel was worse than beat. He was defeated.

Time off must have been hard for him, but the Cardinals signed him to a minor league contract as an OF, and he worked and worked relentlessly. For me, now an icon of determination and hard work, Rick worked his way up. He could hit! 32 AAA HR this year. My dad and I kept checking in, praying he would be brought up, waiting for that moment.

Then like that it happened. Where else would I have hear, but the ESPN bottom line? I yelled. I jumped off the couch. I grabbed my phone and called the trifecta of STL sports fans, Wayne, Will, and Denes. No one had heard yet. whoo! could not wait. Denes actually went to the game.

I don't know if some lesser fans would have booed a guy they put so much stake in. Maybe a comeback like that gets a warm reception anywhere. In Saint Louis, it gets a standing ovation. Rick was our guy, and no one was happier to see him back than us. CRACK!!! Ankiel straight Gibsoned a 3-run slider out to right. I have NEVER seen Tony La Russa that happy or excited. That includes the recent championship. No one could have been more proud than Tony La Russa, and no one deserved it more than Rick Ankiel.

Then he hit 2 more bombs. Tony said, "that's it. He's a big leaguer from here on. Forever." He definitely strikes out a lot, but the promises of power are real. He's given a HUGE jolt to that ball club, and it could not have come at a better time. 5.5 back of the brewers and 4 back of the cubs, the next 7 days is a 4-game set in Milwaukee, and a 3-gamer at Wrigley.

Rick Ankiel, lefty strikeout artist of old, taken from the game, climbs his way back to the bigs hitting homers. I have heard that story before, but that was a movie. Roy Hobbes did it for the NY Knights and won the pennant for Pop. That can happen in movies and books you see. Roy Hobbes can actually carry a team all the way to the top. Could that happen in Saint Louis? Could Rick Ankiel single-handedly lift the Cardinals to the division lead?

no.

That doesn't happen in real life. Rick's just one guy, and baseball is a team sport. Lucky for Rick his team happens to include Albert Pujols, and Scott Rolen (who is finally getting hot), so he doesn't have to do it all himself. You can't name the starting rotation, but the team has come alive at a time when the brewers and cubs lost 4 straight a piece. This will be a huge week, and it could be the starting block for a great stretch run in the NL central. It'll be tough for Rick and Birds the do it, but Roy Hobbes said it best before that playoff game, "well, it'll be a team effort."

I'm just glad Rick's on that team.