Come To Think Of It, Was Roy Hobbs Ever Tested?

It always sucks when this kind of thing happens and this has got to cut like a knife through those who have been out of their mind with giggle-ridden, giddy lust for the handsome man with the powerful stroke. (Damn, that's a gay sentence.)

There are reports out there now that Cards phenom Rick Ankiel ordered and received a twelve-month supply of the banned substance, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) back in 2004. To be fair, HGH was not outlawed by Major League Baseball at that point and that should not be ignored. If it turns out that Rick used HGH back when it wasn't against MLB rules (and, for that matter, when he wasn't even in the majors) and we all still crucify him, that'd be like coming down on someone who drove a motor vehicle at the age of 16 in a state when that was the law but that state now requires you to be 17. The rules were different and you weren't breaking them at the time. Simple as that. Or is it?

It bothers me a little bit that Cards GM Walt Jocketty was quoted as saying: "This is the first I've heard of this. If it's true, obviously it would be very tragic, along with everything else we've had happen to us this year."

Really, Walt? He hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing. And you'd equate it with one of your young pitchers having a fatal car crash while drunk? Be careful there.

Anyway, the problem with all this is that we are slipping even further down the slope where no matter how pure and good and full of fortitude an athlete seems, we're just one news cycle away from hearing it might have been chemically-enhanced fortitude.

Oh well.

What's not to like?

While I have no idea what happens to a professional athlete to take him from dominance to unable to perform, I do understand what it takes to completely re-define an athlete after most of the sports world has written him off. Fortitude.

Rick Ankiel quickly went from being a solid prospect to a very good MLB pitcher...but even more quickly he lost control of his pitches and lost his job as a Major League baseball player. While attempting to come back to the bigs, his ERA, in AAA no less, was over 20! Ankiel was doing everything he could, physically to pitch...eventually needing Tommy John surgery. His career was over...so it seemed.

But, Ankiel came back to the minors and pitched well. He got his control to the point where his ERA hovered around 4-5...but one bad outing set him off again and his control went away. At that point he decided to try one last thing- the outfield.

That worked out pretty well...two years after changing positions and fighting through a knee injury, Ankiel was called up at his new position about 200 ft. further from the plate than he was positioned during his previous go-around. While I have a hard time watching an entire regular season baseball game, his story makes it almost worth while. Ankiel has four homers and is batting over .300...and he's looked pretty good in the field too.

Ankiel's charging Cardinals are now only 3 games back in a division that is led by a team that doesn't want to be in the lead and another that doesn't know how to handle success. I will be rooting for the Cards almost as hard as I'll be rooting against the Yankees down the stretch.