He's back!

Thursday St. Louis fans saw the return of Rick Ankiel, and he did not disappoint. I can vaguely recall his meltdowns back in the 1999-2000 seasons, and everyone thought he was done for good. I think he surprised everyone when he decided to transition to the outfield and after tearing up the minor leagues this season he finally got called up! He's got a surprisingly hot bat and from what he's shown he can play the field and isn't afraid to lay out to make a catch. He's already hit 3 homeruns in his first 4 games up, and made some spectacular catches.

If he continues to play well and shows he can be an everyday player, the Cardinals should send Juan Encarnacion's sorry ass packing and deal for some pitching. I mean how many outfielders do we need? Jimmy Edmonds, General So Taguchi, Rick Ankiel (didn't they used to call him Wild Thing?), Chris "I likes me some chaw" Duncan, Ryan Ludwick and Juan "I'm a useless sack of crap" Encarnacion.

Despite the Redbirds troubles, and the many losses of the pitching staff to the D/L, the Cardinals have managed to somehow stay only 5 or so games back behind the Brewers and Cubs. And since Ankiel has come back they've won 3 of 4 games. Maybe he's a good luck charm or maybe this cities love of Ankiel is helping light a fire under the Cardinals collective asses because the past few games since the Padres series and Dodgers series, they are playing like a different team. Go Cards!

Back from vacation

Well I just spent the last week up in Yellowstone National Park and I'm really sad to be home. That's the way it is when you take a trip I suppose, everything seems better there. Everything was ideal for the trip, perfect weather, perfect scenery, perfect company. It was mostly in the 70s-80s up there, and there was always a cool breeze, being that we were up in the mountains.

We flew into Salt Lake City and drove up into Wyoming (for The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone) and then drove through Montana and Idaho on our way back home. I must say, Salt Lake City is a strange city and the great salt lake smells kinda funny. Some parts are up to 25% salt and makes the human body buoyant. And there are lots of Mormons there.

I got to do a lot of hiking, see Old Faithful and a handful of other geysers, see some natural springs and mud pots, see numerous wild animals like Elk, Bison, Wolf and even some Bears! We got to see at least 8 different waterfalls, a few we hiked to and one we took a boat across a lake to get to. Driving through the park there were fields that were steaming from so much superheated water just below the surface; it was definitely a sight to remember. We even got to take a ski lift up the side of a mountain in the Grand Tetons to get a great view of our surroundings. The trip was so much fun, and passed by far to fast.