St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel takes a curtain call after hitting a three-run home run against the San Diego Padres last month. Ankiel reportedly took delivery of steroids in 2004 and has been summoned to a meeting with Major League Baseball to discuss the matter. (Tom Gannam/AP)
Pull up a chair, because here's a lesson just in time for the return to school that's right up there with don't talk to strangers: Do not trust professional athletes.
And above all, be careful where you find your 'feel good' stories — particularly with the hyperbole you'll hear on those NFL pregame shows this weekend. Particularly now, that published reports have linked Troy Glaus with the use of steroids and Rick Ankiel with the use of human growth hormone (HGH). The reports surfaced only hours after Ankiel, a $2-million (U.S.) bonus baby, made his debut as a major-league outfielder this season seven years after a playoff meltdown effectively ended his pitching career. He hit a pair of home runs and had seven RBIs in the St. Louis Cardinals' 16-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Feels good, eh? According to the New York Daily News, Ankiel in 2004 received a 12-month supply of HGH from an Orlando pharmacy that is at the centre of a federal investigation into an illegal national prescription drug ring.
HGH was not banned by Major League Baseball until after the 2004 season — indeed, there was no steroid testing in 2004, either — but the current ban is a moot point because there are no reliable blood or urine tests to detect HGH. In other words, we'll just have to trust that none of the players are using the stuff, which athletes and bodybuilders use for its regenerative powers.
Right. You can believe them if you want. I stopped a long time ago.
Know this: just as the allegations against Glaus remain just that — allegations — Ankiel has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The eight doses he received were provided through a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., clinic called The Health and Rejuvenation Center and were prescribed by a Florida doctor, William Grogan. (The centre's motto? "Unlock the youth within your genetic code.") Records also indicate that Ankiel stopped receiving shipments just before baseball officially banned HGH in 2005. Yet, there will be a stench to this regardless because Ankiel's return to the major leagues was the stuff of Hollywood.
The calm that followed Barry Bonds' breaking of the career home-run record has only partly removed steroids from whatever baseball consciousness exists out there.
In the meantime, commissioner Bud Selig's investigatory committee headed by former Senator George Mitchell is said to have a list of 45 players it wishes to speak to and every team — including the Blue Jays — has lawyers monitoring the situation and preparing briefs. A report is likely to be released after the World Series.
And now Ankiel becomes the face of HGH in baseball. Drafted out of Port St. Lucie high school at the age of 18 and given $2.5-million (all currency U.S.) in 1997, Ankiel's career seemed to be over in 2000 when manager Tony La Russa started him in the first game of the National League Division Series and in the third inning he unravelled, throwing five wild pitches and walking four batters. Ankiel ended up in Single A the next season and still couldn't find his control. He underwent Tommy John tendon transplant surgery and in 2005 decided he wanted to return to the minors as an outfielder.
In 2006, he tore up his knee, making his long odds of returning even longer.
Ankiel's family history was also turbulent. His father, Richard, Sr., was sentenced to almost six years in prison in March, 2000, after pleading out for his part in a marijuana and cocaine smuggling ring that saw him face 80 years in prison and $4-million in fines.
Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty called the story "very tragic." But Jocketty has it wrong.
The comeback is what it is, and since the evidence suggests the use occurred at a time when there was no testing, it will be difficult for Selig to mete out any punishment.
So, in the meantime, let's just say it's cautionary — another reason to admire what these people do on the field while remembering that they get nice tax breaks for all those off-field charitable endeavours and that at the end of the day they're just doing whatever they can to make more money as fast as they can, blurring the rules and in some cases breaking them because individual or team success equates to greater wealth. They're no better than anyone else. You want inspiration? Best look elsewhere.
PIRATES FIRE GM — Blue Jays LaCava may be on list
Tony LaCava has turned down the opportunity to interview for general manager vacancies on at least two occasions because he wanted to be closer to his home in Pittsburgh.
So is the Toronto Blue Jays' director of player personnel a candidate for the Pirates vacancy created Friday when Dave Littlefield was fired after seven years? He should be — although Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi had not received the obligatory call asking for permission to speak to LaCava.
"I'm not aware of anything," said LaCava, who is high on most lists of potential GMs and who turned down a chance to interview for the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Devil Rays GM jobs in 2005 because he wanted to remain close to his father, who was critically ill. LaCava, a father of three, and his five siblings live within eight kilometres of each other.
LaCava was reluctant to comment any further on the opening.
The Pirates appointed director of player development Brian Graham as interim general manager. Bob Nutting, the chairman of the board, has said he will restructure the Pirates' front office and also install a president and chief executive officer.
Former Red Sox and Montreal Expos GM Dan Duquette, who has become involved in a myriad of businesses since he was fired, including the nascent Israeli league, is rumoured to be a candidate for one of the spots.
Littlefield's firing is no surprise, since the team is on pace to post its 15th consecutive losing season.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 — Number of HRs Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tigers needed, as of Thursday, to become the fifth player in major-league history to hit 30 doubles, 20 triples and 20 HRs in the same season. George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was the last one to do it in 1979.
5 — Number of losses for Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana against the Cleveland Indians in 2007, marking the first time a Twins pitcher has lost five games to the same team in one season since Joe Decker went 0-5 against the Oakland Athletics in 1974.
8 — Total number of runs the Twins have scored in support of Santana in his six starts against the Indians. Santana's record in the six games is 0-5.ƒo
11 — The number of consecutive games, through last Thursday, in which Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Garret Anderson has recorded at least one RBI, breaking a club record held by Wally Joyner (1986) and Fred Lynn (1984).
517 — The number of times this season that a team with a lead of six or more runs in the eighth inning had won, against zero losses, until the Philadelphia Phillies lost in that situation on Wednesday.
WORDS OF THE WEEK
Hunter becomes the hunted
"They have kicked our tails, so it's been mentally draining. They are maturing and they are hitting the ball hard. I wish them the best of luck if they go on to the playoffs ... and bring it [the World Series title] back to the AL Central."
Minnesota Twins centre fielder Torii Hunter hands the AL Central title to the Cleveland Indians after this week's three-game sweep.
Not-so-Friendly Confines?
"I don't accept the fans booing at me. I thought these fans were the greatest in baseball, but they showed they just care about themselves. That's not right. When you're struggling, you want to feel support. I'll remember that. I know there will be great moments in my career."
Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano removed his cap and pointed to his head, mocking the crowd's intelligence, as he was booed at Wrigley Field last Monday when he walked off in the fifth inning after giving up five runs and extending his winless stretch to six starts. Zambrano later apologized.
Impressive debut
"I never saw him in person when he was like he used to be when I watched him on TV. He was totally different and still good. You know what I mean? That's just being a student of the game and an athlete."
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton comments on New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez's 2007 debut.
Fundamentally flawed
"We're supposed to be one of the best teams on fundamentals; we're not making those [plays]. If you don't do that, you're not going to win. And everything's going to go to one pitcher, or one player? I don't think so. It's a team effort, and right now, we're not doing it."
Twins pitcher Johan Santana after his fifth loss in six starts against the Indians.
Don't stop believing
"I consider us in a race and my opinion is the only thing I value right now as far as that question goes. Our team believes they are. Do we have to win a large volume in a short period? Sure we do."
Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle felt bullish after his team won its seventh of 10 games last Monday.
Chicks dig the longball
"Pitchers are leaving pitches up. They are getting tired. It's late in the season. Guys who were throwing 95 [miles an hour], 97 are throwing 92. A good-hitting team takes advantage of it."
San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez explains why the light-hitting team hit 46 home runs in 32 games between Aug. 1 and Labour Day.
Small ball critic
"Sometimes I think we need to be more aggressive and go for the throat. Sometimes you can settle for getting a guy over, which is good fundamental baseball. But sometimes it's all right to be aggressive, try to score all the runs, really put some pressure on the other team."
Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee rightly doesn't think so-called small ball is all it's cracked up to be.
Chipper unplugged
"It's a joke. I'm tired of it. And baseball can fine me whatever they want. I do not care. Somebody's got to say something. I've got more walks than strikeouts in my career. I know what a strike looks like."
Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves also had issues with the work of home-plate umpire Rick Reed in his team's game last Tuesday.
