Rick Ankiel

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — One day in March 2005, out on the patchwork of baseball diamonds that formed the St. Louis Cardinals ' base for spring training, Jim Riggleman watched Rick Ankiel walk off a pitching mound for the last time. Ankiel had been practicing a drill — pickoff moves, if Riggleman remembers it right — and suddenly, he stopped. He didn't want that for his life anymore. The left arm that betrayed him years earlier, at the precise moment it had lifted him to the cusp of...

ST. LOUIS — Rick Ankiel admitted getting a special kick from hitting his first career home run against his old team. "For me, it was just fun to do it because it was against that team," Ankiel said of his two-run homer in the seventh inning of the New York Mets' 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. The 33-year-old Ankiel has only been with the team three days, so he's still learning his way around. "I wasn't here but in talking to everybody it just seems...

One night after their most lopsided loss this season, the Washington Nationals reverted to what has elevated them to among the more promising clubs in the major leagues during the season's opening weeks. That formula comprises economical pitching and just enough offense to make it stand, and on Friday night in the series opener against the Miami Marlins , it came together again in a 2-0 victory before 24,640 at Nationals Park. Starter Ross Detwiler allowed three hits...

ST. LOUIS — Mets manager Terry Collins apologized in a fashion, a day after criticizing New York fans who thought he hadn't defended one of his players. The Mets began Wednesday on a five-game losing streak and with six losses in seven games, and the manager said his words were caused by frustration. "You know, I'm a human being and I made a bad choice of words," Collins said. Collins said Tuesday that he wasn't accountable to fans who have "absolutely no idea what goes on. " He'd had no...

At the trade deadline last year, Rick Ankiel landed with the Atlanta Braves , the team that he grew up rooting for. He experienced the finest moment of his singular career playing for them, an October home run that won a playoff game. He still thinks of those times in almost whimsical terms. "There are two places to play: one is the big leagues, and the second is the playoffs," Ankiel said. "It's a magical time. It's what you work hard for all the time. " The Washington Nationals ...

ST. LOUIS — The next time Rick Ankiel starts for the New York Mets, he expects to be using his own equipment. It was his glove that he missed the most Monday night. Ankiel couldn't hang onto pinch-hitter Ty Wigginton's bloop double that started the St. Louis Cardinals' three-run seventh inning in a 6-3 victory over New York. The center fielder blamed it on pitcher Jonathon Niese's glove, which Ankiel borrowed because his own mitt hadn't arrived yet after he signed...

ST. LOUIS — Rick Ankiel admitted getting a special kick from hitting his first career home run against his old team. "For me, it was just fun to do it because it was against that team," Ankiel said of his two-run homer in the seventh inning of the New York Mets' 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. The 33-year-old Ankiel has only been with the team three days, so he's still learning his way around. "I wasn't here but in talking to...

VIERA, FLA. — The work is what Micah Owings missed most. Being a pitcher meant a structured, protective routine, a limit to how much baseball he could play. Being a hitter means all the batting practice he wants, extra groundballs after workouts, staying late to catch more flyballs. "That's what I'm looking forward to," Owings said. "Getting after it and working. " The Washington Nationals are short on underdogs and experiments this spring, but Owings counts as both. A...

Bring back a healthy Stephen Strasburg , add all-star southpaw Gio Gonzalez , then call up breakneck Bryce Harper , all of them big talents but with personalities so different they triangulate the possibilities of locker-room temperament. Mix a stoic perfectionist, a grin-on-the-mound extrovert and a teenage demiurge in the Nats ' clubhouse and what do you get? Are they combustible or compatible, contentious or complimentary? This...

ST. LOUIS — Mets manager Terry Collins apologized in a fashion, a day after criticizing New York fans who thought he hadn't defended one of his players. The Mets began Wednesday on a five-game losing streak and with six losses in seven games, and the manager said his words were caused by frustration. "You know, I'm a human being and I made a bad choice of words," Collins said. Collins said Tuesday that he wasn't accountable to fans who have "absolutely no idea what goes on. " ...

ST. LOUIS — After finally dialing in his delivery, Lance Lynn kept the Cardinals in the game just long enough. Lynn overcame early control woes and St. Louis used a three-run seventh inning to snap a tie and beat the New York Mets 6-3 on Monday night. "Early on I was just missing and I got a little bit upset with myself and got a little bit out of my game," Lynn said. "I was able to stay in and give my team a chance to win, that's what it's all about. " Lynn (6-1) allowed three runs on three hits and four walks...

ST. LOUIS — The next time Rick Ankiel starts for the New York Mets, he expects to be using his own equipment. It was his glove that he missed the most Monday night. Ankiel couldn't hang onto pinch-hitter Ty Wigginton's bloop double that started the St. Louis Cardinals' three-run seventh inning in a 6-3 victory over New York. The center fielder blamed it on pitcher Jonathon Niese's glove, which Ankiel borrowed because his own mitt hadn't arrived yet after he signed...

VIERA, FLA. — The work is what Micah Owings missed most. Being a pitcher meant a structured, protective routine, a limit to how much baseball he could play. Being a hitter means all the batting practice he wants, extra groundballs after workouts, staying late to catch more flyballs. "That's what I'm looking forward to," Owings said. "Getting after it and working. " The Washington Nationals are short on underdogs and experiments this spring, but Owings counts as both. A...

Bring back a healthy Stephen Strasburg , add all-star southpaw Gio Gonzalez , then call up breakneck Bryce Harper , all of them big talents but with personalities so different they triangulate the possibilities of locker-room temperament. Mix a stoic perfectionist, a grin-on-the-mound extrovert and a teenage demiurge in the Nats ' clubhouse and what do you get? Are they combustible or compatible, contentious or complimentary? This...

One night after their most lopsided loss this season, the Washington Nationals reverted to what has elevated them to among the more promising clubs in the major leagues during the season's opening weeks. That formula comprises economical pitching and just enough offense to make it stand, and on Friday night in the series opener against the Miami Marlins , it came together again in a 2-0 victory before 24,640 at Nationals Park. Starter Ross Detwiler...

It was no secret that what the Washington Nationals wanted before last Sunday's trade deadline was a center fielder. They wanted a player with a stellar glove who could get on base and set up the offense and stabilize the leadoff spot — a position that had seen seven different Nationals this season. But in the past month, since returning from the disabled list with a strained rib muscle in early July, Rick Ankiel has made his case to be and remain the Nationals' center fielder and...

Sean Burnett had not been told when he might pitch Saturday afternoon, so he waited in the Washington Nationals' bullpen for the phone to ring. He watched his teammates build their first victory of the season using stellar defense, a sustained spurt of offense and even a suicide squeeze bunt. The phone rang for Burnett only when the Nationals needed someone to close it. "For a pitcher who was drafted as a soft-tossing lefty starter," Burnett said, "it's pretty cool to pitch the ninth in a big league game.

At the trade deadline last year, Rick Ankiel landed with the Atlanta Braves , the team that he grew up rooting for. He experienced the finest moment of his singular career playing for them, an October home run that won a playoff game. He still thinks of those times in almost whimsical terms. "There are two places to play: one is the big leagues, and the second is the playoffs," Ankiel said. "It's a magical time. It's what you work hard for all the time. " The Washington Nationals ...