The Bizarre Career of Rick Ankiel

[Blimpie]

Some of you might enjoy reading the unique perspective that Joe Posnanski had on this subject:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/516402...orts-baseball/

Ankiel tried to pitch again the next season, but something had been irrevocably lost. Confidence? Stability? A sense of self? No one knew then and, I suspect, no one really knows now. Ankiel walked 25 in 24 Major League innings and was sent back to the same Memphis minor league team where he had dominated just two years earlier. There — and pay close attention to these numbers because they will seem like a misprint — he walked 17 batters and threw 12 wild pitches in 4 1/3 innings.

He even managed to drop in a quote from The Old Lefthander at the end.