Yeah, Laugh It Up, Rick. Jerk. (Just Kidding, We Love You!)

This happened a while ago, but this is the first we've seen of it.

As anyone who reads this site knows, we have an unnatural obsession with Rick Ankiel. We just want him to be happy. He's probably going to be in St. Louis as an outfielder by the end of the year — considering how the Cardinals' bats are right now, he'd be up today if MLB rules didn't require he stay on the big club the whole season if he's brought up — and he's been knocking the cover off the ball in Triple A. We still, however, fantasize about that curveball and that leg kick and that two-seamer and ... oh, just come back, Rick!

We are pleased to see Rick in an optimum mental state, but still, Rick, we could have done without this little prank.

If the reputedly difficult Ankiel has been perturbed by all the attention, he hasn't let it show. In fact, the 27-year-old centerfielder has been in an upbeat mood since returning to Memphis, where he first played in 1999 during his days as a hard-throwing lefthander. He played an April Fools' Day joke on pitching coach Dyar Miller, declaring himself ready to return to the mound. "I got him," Ankiel said later with a mischievous smile.

Not funny, Rick: NOT FUNNY.

The Worst Thing Ever [Get Up, Baby]