IBC

That was awesome.

That it was. The guy deserves it. Hopefully he can contribute the rest of the way

Great to see him back in the big leagues......and great way to make an entrance.

Great story at Baseball America last month regarding Ankiel and his path back to the majors.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/m ... 64663.html


Gotta root for the kid.

After jacking 32 bombs in the PCL this season he's doing everything he can to get the Cards back in the playoffs with another 6 bombs in the majors. Currently hitting......

.342/.393/.658

since his call-up.

Just call him the Pimp Daddy!

For real. Just the sheer level of skill and athleticism required to do what he's done is amazing. What are the odds of the amazing comebacks of Ankiel and Hamilton happening in the same season? Gotta love baseball.

Ankiel is absolutely on fire. Not a bad line today as rain is holding up the completion of the 9th inning.

3-4
2 HR's
1 2b
1 bb

4 runs scored
7 RBI's


En Fuego!

Ankiel really is looking great.
BTW, Hamilton isn't a comeback. You can't comeback to the MLB if you were never there.

Don't be an asshat Bren. Hamilton would out of baseball for 3 years, got 50 at bats in low A last year and then hit .400+ in spring training. That's a hell of a comeback to baseball, just not the majors.

Well, if you hadn't noticed, Bren hates everything in baseball that can't be computed in a mathmatical equation.

Dodgers wrote:Don't be an asshat Bren. Hamilton would out of baseball for 3 years, got 50 at bats in low A last year and then hit .400+ in spring training. That's a hell of a comeback to baseball, just not the majors.

I should have been clearer since I was coming from another similar discussion, I'm referring to the Comeback Player of the Year. Hamilton was never in the MLB, so he shouldn't be eligible for it.

Ankiel received 12-month supply of HGH, News learns

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseb ... gh_ne.html

"Ah, fuck..." - Bud Selig this morning on hearing about the Ankiel/HGH connection

Y'know, we've got so many damn lawyers in this league, why can't we get a doctor for a change?
I'm personally not entirely sure what to make of this ankiel HGH situation. he had a prescription for it (which, honestly, means squat) and was rehabbing from TJ during that timeframe. Is HGH a legitimate treatment for that medical situation? I honestly don't know, but probably not.

I knew the HGH/non-blood testing issue would rear it's head eventually in MLB, too bad it was with the best comeback story of the year.

He was still a pitcher at that point in time. He had TJ in 03 I believe, yeah, it was 03 cause he was up in September of 04 and gave up pitching in 05, tore his knee up in 06. HGH also wasn't banned at that time. Now am I being a homer here? Sure am, but to me this screams of the media trying to ruin a good story. I'm sure the Daily News wasn't investigating this when Ankiel was playing in Memphis in April

Looks like Ankiel is added to a long list of HGH suspects. Hopefully he isn't still on performance enhancers.....but it sure puts a damper on MLB's best comeback story of the year.

I also doubt HGH is a valid part of rehabbing from TJ surgery, but who knows. Just as long as he's not taking anything now.

Either way, Ankiel is freakin on fire!

Finally, something bad happens to the Cards that I'm allowed to make fun of them about. Can't say anything about Hancock cause thats tragic, and can't say anything about Encarnacion because that was just horrible, and the LaRussa DUI jokes were running thin. But now I got this.

Sadly though, I don't care that much. Does it put a damper on the story? Absolutely. Do you have to rethink voting him comeback player of the year? Maybe. But, all in all, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Then again, this is coming from a Sammy Sosa fan, so my views on performance enhancing drugs might not match others. (NOTE: This is not an admission nor an endorsement of the belief that Sammy took any kind of performance enhancing drug. You can't prove it.)

As far as I'm concerned he can keep mashing the ball as long as they miss the playoffs.

Couple things:

HGH can accelerate the time frame of healing, Not sure about if it works for TJ or knee problems or whatever but I'm sure it can help accelerate the process.

It wasn't even banned at the time.

He stopped receiving them BEFORE MLB banned it anyway.

What's the problem exactly?

I agree 100% with the following post from Future Redbirds:

Here?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s my official take?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú

1. It was three years ago, people!
2. This was when he was a rehabbing pitcher coming back from Tommy John at the time of him using them. And this was like the umpteenth rehab in his last ditch effort to be a MLB pitcher, so can you blame him for trying something that is supposed to help him heal faster?
3. Dubious as this clinic or pharmacy thing is, he had a prescription from a doctor.
4. There was not a MLB ban on HGH in 2004. There was in 2005 and there?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s no record of Rick receiving orders after 2004.
5. HGH has nothing to due with the 41 bombs he has hit in 470 at bats this season between AAA-MLB.
6. Because we understand that HGH does little to nothing in lieu of helping a player?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s performance.

So la dee freakin?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ da! I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t see what the big deal is. All this is a big fat distraction and a pain in the arse for Ank and the Cards. I encourage you all to continue to enjoy Ankiel. This takes nothing away from his comeback story, in my own opinion.

I'd believe that argument if I hadn't seen the footage of Ankiel's interview. If he'd come out and said that in response I'd have been happy to accept it. Instead he hid behind "client-patient privilege" [sic] so quickly that even Barry Bonds had to stand and applaud.

Jake - here is what he said:

Before last night's game in Phoenix, Ankiel said any drugs he received in 2004 were prescribed by a licensed physician to help him recover from reconstructive elbow surgery.

Ankiel initially acknowledged human growth hormone was among those medications, then refused to list his various prescriptions.

"I'm not going to go into the list of what my doctors have prescribed for me," he said. "I've been through a lot emotionally and physically. There are doctor and patient privileges, and I hope you guys respect those privileges."

Ankiel said he would cooperate with any investigation.

"I'll be happy to help and conduct anything that Major League Baseball wants to talk about it," he said.

How in world is that considering "hidding"?

Unless and until a credible and viable person comes forward and says, "I witnessed Rick Ankiel taking HGH after it was banned," he has done nothing wrong - legally or in the world of major league baseball. Ankiel seems to be about the most well respected & well liked person in the Cardinal organization based on the reaction he gets from his teammates so I don't believe he did take it after HGH was banned and I don't think there will be any credible witnesses to say he did.

The reason he "hid", based on what I've read, is that any confirmation of having ever taken HGH could result in a suspension, I don't believe that is time limited (ie just because it was illegal in 04, if he took it then he could still be suspended now).

Dodgers wrote:The reason he "hid", based on what I've read, is that any confirmation of having ever taken HGH could result in a suspension, I don't believe that is time limited (ie just because it was illegal in 04, if he took it then he could still be suspended now).

He can not be suspended for using HGH under a doctor's order prior to the time the use of HGH was banned by MLB. He could be suspended if he admits he used it after it was banned or if a credible witness states he used after it was banned.

I still do not believe he has "hid" anything. When President Clinton signed HIPPA into law the whole area of medical information and privacy was changed radically. His response, after initially acknowledging the receipt and use of HGH in a totally legal manner, is the same sort of response that we will hear from athletes, entertainers and just plain people for the foreseeable future. His willingness to cooperate with MLB in whatever investigation they conduct will probably be limited to providing the appropriate documentation to prove that he received and used the product in a legal manner consistent with prescribed medical treatment and answering questions about his own personal use of HGH. I doubt seriously that he is going to front any other players off.

The only facet to this story that I find to be interesting is to see if he can bear up to the pressure better then he did 6 years ago when he so totally lost it and became a head case almost beyond hope ... I hope he can because watching what he has accomplished this season has been a blast!

I've read his words, which sound innocuous enough, I'm talking about the body language and tone of voice that I saw in the interview. Also remember when Shawne Merriman said that he was going to file a lawsuit against the company that sold him the tainted supplement? Whatever happened to that?

Athletics wrote:Also remember when Shawne Merriman said that he was going to file a lawsuit against the company that sold him the tainted supplement? Whatever happened to that?

Merriman is an ass ... a talented ass but an ass nonetheless.

Ankiel, on the other hand, has demonstrated nothing but true grit and class in his comeback.

It is moronic to indicate any similarity between these two individuals or their respective situations. Merriman cheated within the rules that existed at the time and then cowardly tried to shove the blame away from himself. Ankiel quickly and clearly took the route of self responsiblity by indicating he used HGH - legally!

Perhaps you should look into the background of the doctor who prescribed those drugs to Ankiel before you get so comfortable on that high horse. Elvis Presley had a legal doctor's prescription for all the pills he was taking at the end of his life too.