Somewhere, Will Leitch Is Smiling

Saturday, August 04, 2007

(posted by OMDQ)


Deadspin editor Will Leitch makes no attempt to hide his borderline obsessive man-crush on former St. Louis Cardinals phenom Rick Ankiel, so he must have been more than a little pleased with the report late Friday that manager Tony LaRussa guaranteed that Ankiel will see time in St. Louis before the season is over:
"There's no doubt he'll be here in September," La Russa said before his club's game against the Washington Nationals. "Whether he gets here before September, that remains to be discussed."
Much was made recently of the fact that Ankiel is out of minor league options (if St. Louis calls him up, he's there to stay or else they risk losing him, I think - these "options" frighten and confuse me), but when a guy is tearing up the Pacific Coast League to the tune of 31 homers and 85 RBI, your team has been languishing below .500 all season, and your lineup is largely devoid of power, you might as well take the chance.

And if all else fails, throw him out there for a start or two. Can he really be worse than Anthony Reyes or Kip Wells at this point?

Posted by One More Dying Quail at 4:51 AM

3 Comments:

First, I have to say that I am also a Cardinals fan, and have been for almost 50 years. Secondly, I am also a realist, so I have no illusions of Slick Rick becoming the next great star. In fact, I don't see him being anything more than a serviceable platoon player, who will eventually bounce from team to team before dropping off the radar. The problem here is that when he is brought up, most Cards fans are going to expect him to hit like Albert, but they will be sorely disappointed, IMO. Do I wish him the best? Of course, but I'm not going to set my expectations very high.

Anonymous said...
Aug 4, 2007, 1:14:00 PM  

Good call Bruce....I remember it being that way for Pete Rose Jr's whole career.

Aug 4, 2007, 1:25:00 PM  

Rick Ankiel could realistically be in MJD's who's erstwhile competition. I wish him all the best though. Used to love watching him pitch.

Anonymous said...
Aug 4, 2007, 10:46:00 PM  

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