A real player: Rick Ankiel

Rick Ankiel took a nasty spill into the outfield wall at Busch Stadium after making a magnificent catch Monday night against the Phillies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDlckYPRSAQ). Ankiel had to be carted off of the field on a stretcher and it did not look pretty. Ankiel left the stadium giving the fans and his teammates the thumbs up and was in good spirits at last nights game.

"Ankiel didn't shy away from watching the replays on television Monday night and Tuesday. "I watched it about 35 times," he said. "It was just like I imagined. It was scary to go through it."

But though Ankiel knew how the crash came out, he hardly could help but thank those lucky stars Tuesday night.

"Absolutely," Ankiel replied, when asked if he felt fortunate.

"I thought, 'This might be it.' I'm lucky to be walking today. Anything from here is a plus."

Not long after he was hurt, Ankiel was texting teammates, including right fielder Ryan Ludwick, from Missouri Baptist Hospital.

"He was hitting the right letters and making jokes," Ludwick said Tuesday..."

"He's already made a lot of good plays out there. It's pretty impressive for someone who's never played out there how quickly he's picked it up," Ludwick said. "He's Superman."

Well, not quite. But surviving that crash suggests that Ankiel must have some otherworldly power — because if his head had turned out as bent as his cap, he wouldn't have been reliving the moment Tuesday night."

From teammate Jason LaRue:
“The most significant part of what we all I saw, I think, is that it shows Ank doesn’t play with any fear of running into the wall. He’s going to make the play. He plays without fear. He’s a gamer.”

This is why Cardinal Fans love Rick Ankiel-he works hard, comes to the ballpark everyday, and gives it his all for his team. The man is a rare athlete being able to go from Major League Pitcher to a major impact Outfielder who reminds Cardinal Fans of all of those catches that Jim Edmonds made throughout his career. It is also nice to see that an athlete realizes the position he is and how lucky he is in a circumstance like this. Modern Athletes have the biggest egos and think they are above "normal people," but an incident like this reminds them of their "mortality." Nice to see that Ankiel realizes that and will still put forth the same effort the next game and the rest of the games he plays in his career. Get better Rick and help the Cardinals win!

Truly Adventurous

From Catholic Exchange:

Mark 4:19

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What makes life exciting? What really grabs your attention? Do you have a goal in your life that causes you to smile when you wake up in the morning? Is making money the most important thing in your life or knowing that you have changed lives for Christ? One evening in New York, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Computer entered into a discussion with John Sculley from the Pepsi Corporation. Jobs goal was to lure Sculley over to Apple. Sculley resisted and seemed to communicate that no amount of money would lure him over. Finally, Jobs said to Sculley, “Do you want to spend your life making sugared water, or do you want to help us change the world?’ Shortly after this conversation, John Sculley was hired as the new leader of Apple. What is exciting? To hear Jesus say, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Pujols reaches a Milestone

Albert Pujols' seventh-inning grand salami yesterday led the Cardinals to an 8-2 victory over the Small Bears. It put him over the 1,000 RBI mark for his career and just further cementing his place as the best baseball player in the game...I would be very willing to say by the time he is done, he may be the best ever...

"I hit that ball really good, I'm not going to lie to you," Pujols said. "That's all I got. I hit that ball as good as you can hit a ball. I'm just blessed that I put a good swing on it."

Pujols followed Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, Jim Bottomley, Rogers Hornsby and Ken Boyer to become the sixth player to reach 1,000 RBIs with the Cardinals. Saturday's slam moved him past Boyer into fifth place on the franchise's all-time RBI list.

"I think you understand you're in the presence of a once-in-a-lifetime kind of hitter," said shortstop Khalil Greene, who contributed a double to the Cardinals' three-run fourth inning against Cubs starter Sean Marshall. "Technically, I don't know if you could improve on anything in terms of balance, plate discipline, power ... everything. He's not just a dangerous hitter. He's phenomenal. There aren't too many guys who can take one pitch into the upper deck, then take a 0-2 slider the other way for a double down the line."

Reaching 1,000 RBIs in his 1,257th game, Pujols has turned the home stand into his personal turkey shoot. Admittedly out of sorts during the team's road trip to Phoenix and Chicago, Pujols returned home to make an adjustment he would not disclose. The essence is a recovered ability to punish pitches to all fields, as proved by an opposite-field home run Thursday and Saturday's line out to right field.

Pujols stands nine for 19 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in the stand, lifting his average from .298 to .348 after managing two extra-base hits and one RBI on the previous six-game road trip."

Cardinals in First Place

Manager Tony La Russa called him "the perfect player" after the game, and it was the offense he fueled that kept the Cardinals ahead in an imperfect game.

"There is nobody out there better," La Russa said. "He's in the (mold) of that generation like Mays, Musial, Aaron. He could hit in their league. He's one of the greatest."

"It's a big difference when everybody is right," Pujols said. "When Ludwick is swinging the bat great, Chris (Duncan), myself, Yadi (Molina), everybody needs to contribute. It's a whole-team effort. That's why I've got 21 RBIs. They're getting on base, and then I can get my pitch and do damage with it."


As teammate Skip Schumaker says, however, "Rick's the most incredible athlete I've ever seen, so nothing he does surprises me." Relative to his estimable predecessor as the Cardinals' center fielder, Ankiel liked the sound of "Edmonds-esque" when his play was compared to those made by Gold Glover Jim Edmonds.

"Ankiel-esque," the current center fielder said, smiling. "Oh ... I need one more?"


I think Ankiel's recent surge of power and play is the "Power of the 'Stache."

"Regardless, the Mustached American community applauds him and the Cardinals organization for its support of our people and we hope this is the beginning of a trend for the team.

Sadly -- and this is a little known but true fact -- Albert Pujols petitioned and was denied by Major League Baseball to shave his goatee into a true flavor saving mustache. MLB argued that as Pujols is already hitting .339 this season, adding a performance enhancing mustache would give him too much of an advantage and possibly endanger opposing National League pitchers."

Easter!

The Easter Season is upon us! It is a time of rejoice and happiness as Jesus has defeated sin and death from his resurrection from the cross.

Here is a insightful video into the portrayal of Jesus Christ in media through film.

Happy Easter!

100th Post!

This is my official "100th Post!!!" Am I an official Blogger now? Probably not because most of the things I put on here are random or just senseless ramblings, but to anyone who may actually read this, I hope you enjoy it and find it joyful to read.

Didn't think the National Championship game would be such a blowout. The Tar Heels only needed the first 10 minutes of the game and then it was over. Everytime Sparty made a mini-run, the Heels answered with Ty Lawson knifing through the lane, or Wayne Ellington hitting a silky smooth jump shot, or Danny Green doing the intangible, or Tyler Hansborough doing his Beaker Roy thing by rebounding and finding some way to get the ball in the basket. The Carolina Blue was a fun team to watch as they pushed the ball upcourt at will and put it to the Spartans for the 2nd time that season. Hats off to Tom Izzo though for getting his team there-they will be a force to be reckoned with next year.

The STL Cardinals welcomed Chris Carpenter back to the rotation yesterday after throwing 7 innings of 1 hit baseball (no earned runs and retiring 14 straight hitters at one point.)

"It was Chris Carpenter of old," pitching coach Dave Duncan said....Normalcy for Carpenter transforms the Cardinals' rotation into a potential monster...Emphasized Carpenter: "I said it two days ago, and it's been like this ever since I came here: I take the ball whatever the situation and I take it as long as I can until they take it from me. I don't make that choice." For a team that has missed him for most of two years, the choice is a welcome one. "

"It was fun to get out there and pitch, compete in a real game and give my team a chance to win," Carpenter said to the media that surrounded his clubhouse stall. "This was the first time in a long time I felt as good as I do now."All of the sudden, the Cardinals are a threat in the National League Central... Before Thursday, it was all on paper, or caught in a delicate cloud of ifs and maybes. Until now, it was pure supposition that Carpenter really would be as good as ever after all these exasperating delays, even if he did look so good in spring training."

Now here is what I don't understand...why weren't the Cardinals contenders before the season started. Sports Ilustrated picked them 3rd behind the small bears and the brewcrew-who have NO pitching. The Cardinals were in contention until the last month WITHOUT Carpenter; adding him and if he can give the Birds on the Bat 30 starts that will only make the small bears want to go into hibernation. I am still hesitant to say he is back to old from, but it sure did look like it yesterday...Here's to hoping that it can continue!

Good Friday is today and a time of reflection on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ...this Holy Week I have been reflecting on how when we sin it makes the Cross that much heavier for Jesus. It is a great motivator to think that to carry my cross and to resist the temptation of sin, I can help lighten the load of the Cross on Jesus. Let us reflect on the Passion and all that Jesus went through on that horrid day of days to see in our lives where we can meet him at the Cross offering thanksgiving for His Sacrifice and where we can offer up our faults and shortcomings and ask to share in the Glory that is to come.

Baseball 2009

"Starter or not, Freese is ready for opening-day jitters."Something's wrong with you if you don't get those," he said.Ask the reigning league MVP."I always say there are three times that I get nervous in my career," first baseman Albert Pujols said. "One, is my first at-bat of spring training. Two, is my first at-bat opening day. And third is my first at-bat of the playoffs. If you don't have any pressure and you don't feel like you have that pressure, you aren't ready for the game." "

It's officially opening day (although the Braves did beat the Phillies last night) for Major League Baseball and here are my "expert" predictions.

AL East: Yankees

AL Central: Indians

AL West: Angels

AL Wild Card: Rays

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore or Josh Hamilton

AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia

NL East: NY Mets

NL Central: Cardinals

NL West: Dodgers

NL Wild Card: Phillies

NL MVP: Albert Pujols (David Wright 2nd)

NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy

World Series: Mets over the Rays

Listening to Mike and Mike this morning, I like Greeny picking the Cardinals to win the NL Central and Golic's pick for AL MVP and CY Young...

I know I drink the Cardinal Kool-Aid, but I still don't think enough people are giving them credit especially picking the Brewers to finish ahead of them-who do they have for pitching? If Carpenter stays healthy (I know that is a big if) and Wainwright gives them 30 starts-watch out small bears from the North Side.

NCAA National Championship Prediction: UNC 74 MSU 68

I would love to see MSU win though, I just think UNC will overmatch the Spartans. Tom Izzo is definitely top 3 coaches in the country.