Rick Ankiel

John Lackey. Matt Holliday. Jose Valverde. In a weak free-agent class for 2009-2010, those men stand out as the leaders of the mediocre pack, and well deserve the publicity they have already received and will receive throughout the next month.

As all students of the game know, however, there are always unknowns, always surprises. Each season, there are players who unexpectedly make an impact in a comeback capacity or after having been dispatched into baseball abyss due to injury or ineffectiveness.

When the baseball starts back up tomorrow, there are going to be all kinds of storylines to follow.

Can Albert Pujols win the first Triple Crown since 1967?

Will the trading of Roy Halladay change the landscape of the National League pennant race?

It seems like a simple concept, bordering on cliche: as Albert Pujols goes, so go the St. Louis Cardinals.

The past week has made this as clear as it has ever been. 

Entering the week, Pujols was riding a slump, at one point going 15 straight at-bats without a base hit. After breaking the hitless streak with an opposite way single in Florida against the Marlins, Cardinals' color commentator Al Hrabosky made a prediction that Pujols would get into a hot streak.

The story of the past week for St. Louis Cardinals fans was twofold: the continued success of the starting pitching and the return of Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick.

The week began with a Sunday finale against the in-state rival Kansas City Royals. Joel Pineiro was solid in his seven innings, giving up just three runs. The Cardinal offense could not produce, however, as the Royals' three runs proved to be enough for the victory.

Rick Ankiel has done a lot of things over the course of his MLB career.

But never this. He's never been boring.

As a young pitcher fresh out of his teen years, Ankiel electrified and then horrified. Before he melted down in the playoffs against Atlanta, Ankiel had one of the top strikeout per nine innings ratios in all of baseball. His fastball was Randy Johnson-esque, his curveball was Zito-esque.

When I first heard about this series, I loved the idea—almost all sports fans are, more or less, homers for the underdog.  Rarely do we sit down for an important match/game and root for the favorite unless the favorite happens to be OUR team.

Otherwise, we're usually rooting for the little guy to pull an upset—the more memorable the better.

Every now and then, the meek delivers.

If you're a Cardinals fan, then April was awesome.

And if you're a Cardinals fan and thought April was awesome, then May is the exact opposite of April.

The phrase "Cardinals Fever...Catch It" should be something closer to "Cardinals Fever...Penicillin's Your Best Bet."

I am a woman who has been accused of being more passionate about baseball than I am about my past boyfriends.  That may be true (where are you, Mr. Right?) but it does not mean I am unable to spot a smokin' hot baseball player when I see one.  

The NL Central was supposed to belong to the Chicago Cubs. They were the ones with the loaded lineup and enough pitching to carry them to another division crown.

A month into the season, there is a team with a loaded lineup and pitching to back it up, but instead of Cubbie Blue, this team wears Cardinal Red.

Currently at 17-8, the Cardinals have ridden the torrid start of reigning MVP Albert Pujols. With nine home runs, many believe Pujols is more focused than ever before.

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