Thank you VERY much Jose Canseco. You've stirred up a frenzy not seen since Salem c.17th Century and have the media leaping at shadows.
For those who HAVEN'T heard, the media has decided to target Cardinals comeback kid Rick Ankiel.
In 2004, ************************FOR LEGITIMATE MEDICAL REASONS WITH A LEGAL PRESCRIPTION BY A LEGITIMATE PHYSICIAN************************[/i] (it seems I must do something drastic to call attention to this DOCUMENTED PAPER-TRAIL FACT, because no one else either cares or notices) Rick Ankiel received HGH over a period of eight months. At the time, HGH was not a banned substance by baseball. However after the new agreements in place banned the substance, Ankiel stopped receiving the supplement.
Flash-forward three years. Ankiel's return has provided a boost to a Cardinals team that had been struggling to stay alive in the playoff hunt, and helped put them back into a position to make a run for the postseason. For the first time in several years Ankiel is healthy, both physically (he missed all of 2006 due to injury) and mentally (his struggles over control as a pitcher was a heavy burden, and he was prepared to quit outright). Yet why, just NOW, is this suddenly a story? Why should this cast a pall over this comeback, which is hardly unprecedented in baseball history (the Babe himself was once a dominant pitcher who transitioned to the outfield).
The key points that the media has conveniently swept under the rug in their "fair and balanced" reporting:
* Ankiel was prescribed HGH in 2004, when he was struggling with injuries (this may have been the year he underwent Tommy John surgery, or was attempting to recover from it, I'll have to check into it to be certain). This was a LEGAL PRESCRIPTION by a licensed physician for a LEGITIMATE MEDICAL PURPOSE. Ankiel is under NO legal investigation over the obtaining of HGH.
* At the time of the prescription, Ankiel was still pitching. There was clearly no performance enhancement provided, because he never recovered his pre-meltdown 2000 form (he last pitched in the Majors in 2005, which though he largely recovered from wildness, he was no longer the dominant power-lefty he once was).
* HGH, at the time, was not a banned substance.
* Even as a pitcher, Ankiel showed signs of being a dangerous hitter. His early attempts at switching to the outfield featured performance marred by injury. 2007 is the first time he has been fully healthy since the switch to the new position.
* Physically, Ankiel shows little change in his body since 2000. Unlike some OTHER players under notable and more valid suspicion *cough*BARRY*cough*
* No shady personal trainers or black market deals were involved. Everything was done above-board.
There IS no story here, except for the fact the media is so hungry for controversy they're trying to find it where they have NO EVIDENCE it exists. Give me solid, physical PROOF that Ankiel continued receiving the supplement after the ban was put into place.
The TRUE let down of the baseball feel-good story of the year is not the allegations against Ankiel, but the MEDIA PARASITES latched onto the attention-starved ravings of a washup who apparently isn't satisfied with just wrecking his OWN career.
