Thoughts on Rick Ankiel
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by Editoratlegendofcecilioguante
This was originally posted on my blog, The Legend of Cecilio Guante, here.
Can't we have a feel good story last for just a little while? Is that too much to ask? Apparently, it is these days. Typically, we at The Legend try not to pile on to stories that have already been exposed, exploited and exaggerated by the online and traditional media to the n-th degree. However, in this case, we feel compelled to comment.
Like many, I've followed Rick Ankiel's baseball career (journey) over the course of many years. For obvious reasons, this was one of Major League Baseball's feel-good stories of the year. And, personally, I've found this guy immensely real and likable throughout all his trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, the story has now changed and only one adjective comes to mind to describe my feelings: sad. Not tragic, not unbelievable, not unconscionable, just extremely sad. There may be a better word, but those three letters best encapsulate it for me.
It's sad on a lot of levels. First off, it's a bit sad that we leave in a culture where sensationalist journalism rules. I'd be hypocritical to say that I ignore the tabloids like the Post and Daily News here in New York. I'm also keenly aware that they need to sell papers and controversy is the recipe for success today. All that said, the manner in which "news" is delivered is disheartening.
A quick look at the image above from the back cover of today's Daily News is an illustration of some of the ills of "journalism" today. If you're the aveage reader picking up today's paper, the immediate and most natural takeaway is obvious: Ankiel has been busted for performance enhancing drugs and his "Cardinal Sin" has singularly accounted for his impressive power surge since being called up to the bigs earlier this year.
Of course, it's completely feasible that is not the case. Not saying it isn't, but let's break down this story at least a bit. Here are the key "facts":
1. In 2004, Ankiel received eight shipments of HGH 2. HGH was added to MLB's banned substance list in 2005 3. MLB can impose penalties on those found to have "known to have used it or even possessed it from the time it was banned can face a 50-game suspension."
That's really all the meat on the bone, here. So, basically MLB can do nothing about this except potentially strong-arm Ankiel the way they did Giambi into giving them some more dirt. There's also no evidence of any kind (at this point) to say Ankiel has used HGH in the past three years (we'd say at any time, frankly, but we're not naive enough to play the "just b/c he ordered it doesn't mean he took it" card...if we're selling others down the river on the same premise, Ankiel shouldn't be immune). So, in fact, there is not much of a story here in terms of providing any facts that link Ankiel's performance on the field in 2007 for the St. Louis Cardinals to HGH.
But, sadly, I can't rush to Ankiel's defense and claim that this is all unwarranted and completely irrelevant. Unfortunately, the state of the game (and sports more broadly) demands that things like this have to come to light. There's a chance we may find out Ankiel's meteoric rise has been far from "natural." Similarly, there may be no additional layers to the story beyond what appeared in today's paper.
At the end of the day, it's just sad. There's no happy ending in the cards - literally or figuratively. At best, Ankiel made a mistake three years ago and his success in the bigs is truly a result of mental toughness, natural ability and a perserverance that should be lauded. At worst, he's the " full-time cheater " many are already tagging him to be.
The crew at Doberman on the Diamond capture my sentiments almost exactly. Particularly in this excerpt from today's post:
Suddenly, all his accomplishments are in ' question . And they should be.Even though he wasn't a position player when he received HGH, and will probably say he was only using it because he was trying to recover from two arm surgeries and it was prescribed by a "doctor," I've still gotta say goodbye, Rick. ' There have been too many times that I've had to be disappointed that an athlete I admired has been linked to using something pharmaceutical to enhance themselves. I'm tired of that. This is the last time it happens. ' I'm not saying he's a bad person or he's fundamentally flawed or anything like that. I'm not saying I wouldn't have done the same thing if I was in his shoes. There's no anger or resentment or any of those feelings I had when McGwire testified. Because I just care less now about athletes.I'm not going to boo Ankiel. I'm not going to scream "Cheater!" or any other put-down. Nor will I applaud. ' I won't do anything. ' And with that, I have to say goodbye, Rick.
And, so it is, I too say goodbye to Rick Ankiel and vanquish another player from that special place in a fan's psyche. The place where you keep all those feel-good stories and always reserve unquestioning support for athletes who may not even play on your favorite teams but have managed to captivate your imagination. Frankly, I'm getting to the point where the occupants of that place are all being evicted. I'm at a point where sports are dangerously close to becoming what so many "normal fans" view them as: pure entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm getting to the point, where I'm shying away from getting vested in individual players, talking about heart or following their stories. And to be honest, it's sad.
