Every spring finds new construction projects taking shape in and around Jupiter, Florida, the spring training headquarters for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Spring 2001 is no exception: a parking garage, condominiums, restaurants and a movie theater are up and running, or nearly so...all within a stone's throw of Jupiter's Roger Dean Stadium.

And in late February (a week or so after spring training commenced), new construction, in the form of a never-before-seen sign, was observed inside the confines of the Cardinals' practice facility, which is located beyond Roger Dean's right field wall.

The sign's location--between the team's clubhouse and batting cages--and message--only players and family beyond this point--aim to make the following point: media are not welcome at 2001 Cardinals' practice sessions.

Well, not exactly. But more on that in Part Two.

The sign's installation occurred after a St. Louis-based photographer attempted to capture a few telephoto images from one of Rick Ankiel's private workouts, a workout that took place after video evidence of Ankiel's initial late-February wwildness had been transmitted to the entire wired world.

Now, no one connected with the Cardinals is likely to admit any direct connection between the sign's existence and Ankiel's spring training trials and tribulation, but manager Tony La Russa had plenty to say about TV stations' constant replaying of any and all of Ankiel's past wild pitches.

"Do [the highlight shows] have to keep showing the same shots over and over again?" asked the St. Louis manager.

"That's not right," La russa continued. "And I will tell you this. I look forward to the day when Rick, after he's back having success, when some of these media show up, the media who have made light of his problem...well, I look forward to the day when the young man can tell them...'no thanks'."

Subsequently, a couple of weeks later, after a mid-March Grapefruit League appearance in which Ankiel walked eight batters in one-plus innings pitched, Cardinals' pitching coach Dave Duncan did his part to shield young Ankiel from the prying eyes of cameras.

Duncan, an extremely accommodating interview, attempted to step between a practicing Ankiel and a WB11 cameraman who hoped to send tape of that day's Ankiel workout back home to St. Louis.

Young Rick Ankiel doesn't have two better friends in baseball than La Russa and Duncan...but the bet here is that the Cardinals' manager and pitching coach, behind closed doors...will say they're just doing their job: Protecting the Franchise that is Rick Ankiel.

And both men state that Ankiel is a work in progress.

Coming soon to these pages: A Work in Progress (Part Two): A Private Workout.