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Ankiel could begin rehab assignment

By Rick Hummel

Of the Post-Dispatch

07/23/2004

 

 

The Cardinals are looking for Rick Ankiel to begin a rehab stint shortly.

(James A. Finley/AP)

 

Lefthander Rick Ankiel, who hasn't pitched since last July after having Tommy John elbow surgery, has been throwing to hitters at Class A Palm Beach. He is expected to be optioned on a medical rehabilitation program as early as Aug. 1, a day on which he might actually pitch for Palm Beach in a Florida State League game.

 

Ankiel is on the Cards' disabled list and is allowed to spend 30 days on a medical rehabilitation option. On Sept. 1 he is eligible to be added to the big-league roster, which can be expanded from 25 players to as many as 40. If Ankiel had been ready to pitch competitively before now, the Cardinals probably wouldn't have been able to send him to the minors. Ankiel, who turned 25 last week, is out of regular options and would have to clear waivers to be outrighted to the minors.

 

The Cardinals' feeling is that somebody would take a chance and claim him. Thus, the wait till Aug. 1.

 

"Everything is right on time," La Russa said.

 

Ankiel, who won 11 games for the Cardinals' division title team in 2000 before his career turned south because of injury and control issues, pitched for Class AA Tennessee last year and was 2-6 with a 6.29 earned-run average. But he gave up only four runs and nine hits over his last 20 innings before undergoing elbow surgery.

 

(Woooooooooo I'm glad.. Watch your heads though everyone :thumbup )

 

Edit - Cant fix the link I think it's too long, oh well!

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I was flamed like crazy a few years back when I was dumb enough to actually go on an espn board when I said that Ankiel was most likely done. I hope it's not true but I still feel that way, his case somewhat reminds me of Rocker through his comebacks.

 

He can still be a solid starter in this league but I still have to think he's been the biggest prospect bust since Van Poppel

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It's hard to remember that this guy was probably a bigger prospect than Beckett, Prior, or anyone else you might think of in recent years. I can't help but be embarassed for this guy. Such a promising career lost because of mental issues. And not the drug and alcohol kind either. I don't even know what the hell you'd call it.

 

I wish I could be more optimistic about this latest return.

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It's hard to remember that this guy was probably a bigger prospect than Beckett, Prior, or anyone else you might think of in recent years. I can't help but be embarassed for this guy. Such a promising career lost because of mental issues. And not the drug and alcohol kind either. I don't even know what the hell you'd call it.

 

I wish I could be more optimistic about this latest return.

473127[/snapback]

Cant-throw-strikes-anymore-oh-lets-hit-that-guy-in-row-six issue.

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It's hard to remember that this guy was probably a bigger prospect than Beckett, Prior, or anyone else you might think of in recent years.? I can't help but be embarassed for this guy.? Such a promising career lost because of mental issues.? And not the drug and alcohol kind either.? I don't even know what the hell you'd call it.

 

I wish I could be more optimistic about this latest return.

473127[/snapback]

Cant-throw-strikes-anymore-oh-lets-hit-that-guy-in-row-six issue.

473205[/snapback]

 

Exactly, those issues :lol

 

Call me crazy but I'm a big Rick Ankiel Supporter and still believe he has something left, what it is I dont know, but he's only 25. Who knows, maybe he could become a closer? :mischief2

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Ankiel is slated to start rehab duty in Class A

By Joe Strauss

 

CINCINNATI - The Cardinals have decided to make Class A Palm Beach the starting point for lefthander Rick Ankiel's rehab assignment. Ankiel, who had ligament transplant surgery on his left elbow last July, has been working at the team's spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla. Barring complications in the next few days, he is ready to begin a 30-day assignment.

 

General manager Walt Jocketty said, "He's going to work his way up. Physically he's 100 percent and his arm is very strong. Everything else has been good as well. His command is there."

 

More in URL

 

I'll just make this the Rick Ankiel watch thread :mischief2

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It's hard to remember that this guy was probably a bigger prospect than Beckett, Prior, or anyone else you might think of in recent years. I can't help but be embarassed for this guy. Such a promising career lost because of mental issues. And not the drug and alcohol kind either. I don't even know what the hell you'd call it.

 

I wish I could be more optimistic about this latest return.

473127[/snapback]

Cant-throw-strikes-anymore-oh-lets-hit-that-guy-in-row-six issue.

473205[/snapback]

 

Exactly, those issues :lol

 

Call me crazy but I'm a big Rick Ankiel Supporter and still believe he has something left, what it is I dont know, but he's only 25. Who knows, maybe he could become a closer? :mischief2

474223[/snapback]

 

Closer with the mental problems he has? Doubt it.

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if ankiel can find the form of his rookie season look out.

 

 

 

i would think the mindset is that with the TJ surgery, Ankiel can almost start over and hopefully be rid of all the problems that plauged him before.

 

 

 

I hope Rick can make it back to the bigs and produce, he was simply amazing in that rookie season.

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Notes: Ankiel to make start Monday

 

SAN FRANCISCO -- What has been suspected for quite some time is now known. Rick Ankiel will make his 2004 game debut Monday for Class A Palm Beach. A Palm Beach official confirmed Friday that the left-hander is scheduled to start against St. Lucie on Monday night at 7:05 p.m. ET at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.

 

Ankiel underwent Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery last July. He has been working out at the Cardinals' complex in Jupiter, most recently throwing simulated games. He last pitched in a game on July 2, 2003, tossing seven strong innings for Double-A Tennessee.

 

After not making the Cardinals out of Spring Training last season, Ankiel struggled in relief for Tennessee. He had a few rough outings as a starter but came on strong in his final starts before going on the DL. In his last three starts for the Smokies, Ankiel allowed four runs in 20 innings (1.80 ERA) with 23 strikeouts and seven walks. He missed all of the 2002 season with elbow troubles.

 

Ankiel had a dazzling rookie season for the Cardinals in 2000, going 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts. He began to suffer severe control problems in the 2000 postseason, however, and was unable to right himself in St. Louis or at Triple-A Memphis in 2001.

 

The Cardinals hope that if all goes well, Ankiel might earn a promotion to the Majors when rosters are expanded Sept. 1. He would be expected to pitch in relief for St. Louis, rather than starting, if that happened.

 

(If somebody goes, which i doubt it, from here would someone let me know how he does? Thanks :lol )

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Ankiel begins road back

Pitches for first time since elbow surgery 13 months ago

By Charlie Nobles / Special to MLB.com

 

 

"I was extremely pleased" with Rick Ankiel's effort, roving instructor Mark Riggins said. (Cardinals/Scott Rovak)

 

JUPITER, Fla. -- Rick Ankiel, the hard-throwing left-hander known as much for his control problems as his strikeout ability, made an auspicious return to the game Monday night.

 

After an absence of 13 months because of elbow ligament transplant (Tommy John) surgery, Ankiel retired six of the seven St. Lucie Mets he faced for the Class A Palm Beach Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. And he got better as he went along, striking out the last two batters, both on big curveballs.

 

Perhaps most strikingly, he did not walk a batter, and reached three balls to just one hitter. He struck out three, as his fastball reached 92 mph in the second inning.

 

Ankiel didn't stick around afterward to discuss his return, but Mark Riggins, the Cardinals' roving pitching coach, said Ankiel was quite pleased with his performance.

 

"He doesn't get into talking too much, but he was gratified that he pitched that well," said Riggins, who spent 35 days with Ankiel after the 2000 playoffs, when his lack of control was the subject of national scrutiny.

 

"Me, I was extremely pleased with the way he threw," Riggins added. "He had good velocity, good control and he was composed. For getting out there the first time, this was an outstanding night for him."

 

Riggins acknowledged that Ankiel "was a little nervous" at the outset, because he hadn't pitched against another team in so long. But Riggins thought the second inning was more indicative of what Ankiel can offer.

 

"It went from 12 to six," Jiannetti said, meaning, by the arm of a clock, how sharply Ankiel's curveball broke. "He had such a sharp break on it, you could hear the snap coming out of his fingers."

 

The Cardinals originally sought to make him a reliever, but that didn't work so he became a starter again. Perhaps most people don't remember, but the Cardinals certainly do, that Ankiel began showing last summer that he could throw strikes with some consistency.

 

Ankiel apparently can't wait. "I think it has been forever," he told the Associated Press in May about the three years it has been since he played in the Majors. "The funny thing is, I'm still young, but I don't feel like it sometimes."

 

He acknowledged at that time that he has to keep himself from being impatient about a return to St. Louis. "I'm out there and I want to throw it 100 mph," he told the AP. "But I need to let time take care of itself. I almost feel like I don't have time. But I do."

 

(Feel free to shorten this if need be.. Just gotta take this step by step and day by day)

 

:notworthy

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ankiel is promoted, stays on track to join Cards

By Joe Strauss

Of the Post-Dispatch

08/16/2004

 

ATLANTA - Rick Ankiel's progression from more than a year's pitching absence to a spot on the Cardinals' September roster continues as the club has promoted him from Class A Palm Beach to Class AA Tennessee.

 

Ankiel worked 3 2/3 innings Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader against Vero Beach. The lefthander threw three shutout frames before allowing two runs. Ankiel allowed two hits without a walk and threw 10 first-pitch strikes to 14 batters faced.

 

Ankiel is slated to pitch when Tennessee plays at Greenville on Thursday. His next scheduled start would be Aug. 23 at home, against Greenville. That schedule would allow him time to make one more start at Memphis before his assignment expires.

 

(More in URL.. )

 

Results for Palm Beach Cardinals

 

Game 1: 2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Game 2: 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Game 3: 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K

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Rick Update:

 

5 stellar innings further Ankiel's comeback

 

CINCINNATI - Rehabilitating lefthander Rick Ankiel took another step toward a return to the National League on Tuesday when he pitched five efficient, shutout innings for the Class AA Tennessee Smokies against the Greenville Braves.

 

Using 57 pitches to get 15 outs, Ankiel made the fourth start of his 30-day rehabilitation his cleanest one. He walked the first hitter he faced and then held the G-Braves hitless until he allowed a fifth-inning single. Ankiel mixed 39 strikes while striking out two. Tuesday's walk was his first since he began his rehab from ligament replacement surgery in July 2003.

 

The Cardinals intend to promote him to Class AAA Memphis in time to make a start Sunday against Oklahoma. Barring complications, Ankiel would then return to the Cardinals for the first time since May 2001, when he was optioned after experiencing continued control problems. The Cardinals intend to use him in relief next month.

 

Palm Beach Cardinals

Game 1: 2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Game 2: 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Game 3: 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K

 

Tennessee Smokies

Game 4: 4 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K

Game 5: 5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

 

Memphis Redbirds

Game 6: Sunday vs Oaklahoma

 

He's well on his way back.. Yay :hat

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