Rick Ankiel

[illiniguy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3009424

 

Hey another Cardinal player's name makes an appearance in that article.

You're a gigantic troll. That has nothing to do with this thread.

It deals with the double standard we have in sports. It does have to do with this thread. I still want to know why this guy wasn't punished, yet others in baseball are?

[rocket]

Right, there are no benefits at all from using HGH. Ok.

Not for non-deficient baseball players. link

So then Ankiel just took it after he got hurt to look ripped. Ok. Whatever lets you think he didn't cheat and is a natural I guess.

He took it because he thought it would help him. I said as much in my first post.

 

If someone wants to call that cheating then that's fine (I don't even remember if it was banned or not), it's just not performance enhancing. It's not about what I think anyway. It's the prevailing medical opinion. My fandom has nothing to do with the argument.

 

so do you think sosa using the corked bat was cheating?

[CyHawk_Cub]

Both throws were laser beams...guess he upped his dosage from a 1/2 cup to a full cup

Of HGH? Yeah, that will help a lot.

 

HGH doesn't really help healthy young adult males. If you're injured or want a billion dollar contract you might try anything, but it's basically snake oil. Screaming about PEDs every time Ankiel's name comes up just looks silly.

 

Yeah, that was the intended implication. It was mostly a poorly-executed take on a Will Ferrell line in Blades of Glory......

[Ram23]

Ankiel wasn't suspended because it happened while he was in the minor leagues.

[wolf stansson]

Ankiel wasn't suspended because it happened while he was in the minor leagues.

Really? Plenty of minor leaguers were suspended, but maybe that was for steroids. I don't know. This whole process is a mystery to me.

[Ram23]

Ankiel wasn't suspended because it happened while he was in the minor leagues.

Really? Plenty of minor leaguers were suspended, but maybe that was for steroids. I don't know. This whole process is a mystery to me.

 

I believe he received the shipments in 2004, a year before HGH was outlawed by MLB. I thought at one point the minors had a different set of rules, but I could be wrong.

[Ram23]

I just learned how to work the google machine and dug a little deeper. He wasn't suspended because it wasn't outlawed at the time he received the shipments. And since he also had a prescription for it from a licensed doctor, he was in no legal trouble as well. Although I'm sure the doctor was shady. So it turns out that he technically didn't cheat, but consciously he probably knew he was cheating.

[haltz]

so do you think sosa using the corked bat was cheating?

I seriously don't have a problem with saying that Ankiel cheated, pre-ban or not. He received shipments from a prescription mill that was shut down. It's not something that's on the up and up.

[illiniguy]

I just learned how to work the google machine and dug a little deeper. He wasn't suspended because it wasn't outlawed at the time he received the shipments. And since he also had a prescription for it from a licensed doctor, he was in no legal trouble as well. Although I'm sure the doctor was shady. So it turns out that he technically didn't cheat, but consciously he probably knew he was cheating.

But, didn't he basically tell baseball to take a hike when they asked to talk to him about it? Or am I remembering wrong?

[brinoch]

Video of the throws

 

Wow. Just wow.

[brinoch]

I hate the Cardinals with a passion, and think Ankiel is a cheating bum, and I just feel hatred running through my body when I see him, but holy shhhhhhh does he have a freakin cannon. If you haven't seen his highlights from tonight, they are unreal, his outfield arm is on its own level.

 

I actually think Ankiel's ascent back to the majors is a great story. He's an incredible athlete, and I'm not all that surprised that he made the conversion. He also showed great loyalty to the Cardinals organization -- which fully reciprocated that loyalty. I don't really care that he did HGH. It was wrong, and I think it was very unwise, but it doesn't make him the devil.

 

I don't have a lot of room in my life to hate other players or organizations just because they are rivals, personally. Rivalries are good for both teams, and they are better, all in all, when both teams are good.

[cubweiser03]

The guy is an amazing athlete. He was a very good pitcher before his disaster in the playoffs (i loved his stuff). Now he is a pretty damn good outfielder and he is playing CF to boot. Who else in modern day baseball has done anything close to what Ankiel is doing. When he went to the minors to be a hitter i laughed and was like well give it a shot kid nothing to lose. Owings is pretty good but could he do this too? Dunno.

[Ram23]

I just learned how to work the google machine and dug a little deeper. He wasn't suspended because it wasn't outlawed at the time he received the shipments. And since he also had a prescription for it from a licensed doctor, he was in no legal trouble as well. Although I'm sure the doctor was shady. So it turns out that he technically didn't cheat, but consciously he probably knew he was cheating.

But, didn't he basically tell baseball to take a hike when they asked to talk to him about it? Or am I remembering wrong?

 

IIRC, a week or two after it came out, the Cardinals had a series against the Mets in New York. At that time he met with MLB officials and gave them the same story that he gave during his press conference. Whether that is telling them to take a hike or not is up to your interpretation.

[Faceman]

Rick is a tremendous athlete. The throws are incredible. I'd venture to say most pitchers couldn't throw that hard from the OF. They aren't athletic enough to make the movements when not coming off the mound.

 

As for the HGH, nobody dislikes PEDs more than me. As a Cards fan, I gotta hear about how TLR is the kingpin of all juicing - he led McGwire and Canseco to the "trainer" in Oakland, passed it to Giambi. Now Ankiel and of course Pujols are on the drugs. What these people fail to realize is that these drugs were prevalent everywhere in baseball, as it was part of the scene.

 

Just because your player or team hasn't been exposed yet doesn't mean you should assume they are innocent. This isn't a court of law, and they aren't all innocent until proven guilty. It's obvious that use was widespread. Let's get over it and hope that baseball (and all sports) gets the problem under control.

 

Some HGH in 2004 was most likely used by a player desperate to hang on to a chance. I'm pretty sure that story is not limited to Ankiel.

 

Anyway - I happen to be a Cards fan that doesn't dislike the Cubs. I root for them in a little brother sort of way. So I'm hoping both teams stay in the race and play some meaningful baseball late in the year. That would be a fantastic scene. Hopefully they will win a series soon so that we don't have to hear the "Cards pixie dust, Cubs cursed" argument much longer. I enjoy coming here and reading thoughts from one of the best fan bases in the game. Thanks guys.

[illiniguy]

I just learned how to work the google machine and dug a little deeper. He wasn't suspended because it wasn't outlawed at the time he received the shipments. And since he also had a prescription for it from a licensed doctor, he was in no legal trouble as well. Although I'm sure the doctor was shady. So it turns out that he technically didn't cheat, but consciously he probably knew he was cheating.

But, didn't he basically tell baseball to take a hike when they asked to talk to him about it? Or am I remembering wrong?

 

IIRC, a week or two after it came out, the Cardinals had a series against the Mets in New York. At that time he met with MLB officials and gave them the same story that he gave during his press conference. Whether that is telling them to take a hike or not is up to your interpretation.

Oh, I thought I remember reading or hearing that he refused to meet with them becaus he thought it would be a further distraction. I could be wrong though.

[Tracer Bullet]

Video of the throws

 

Wow. Just wow.

 

Other than the throws themselves, my favorite part of the first throw is the look back by the runner after he gets tagged out - complete disbelief.

 

Oh, and I hated Rick Ankiel the pitcher but that was only due to the insufferable Cardinal fans I was around at the time. He was completely humiliated in one of the biggest spots ever and fought back to the majors. Good for him.

[nboldt11]

This all cracks me up, because of several reasons. I play professionally. In spring training there is extensive drug tests. There is really no way Rick Ankiel made those two throws because he is on HGH. You cannot start the season and be on HGH. Every player in the league right now is clean, and the players know that, but if a player does really well, they all know "oh boy, we are going to be accused of cheating." Did Ankiel in 04 take HGH. Sure, probably did. Was it medically prescribed to him. Yes. Is he taking it this year? Absolutely not. If he took it four years ago, that does not help him make two throws four years later. It actually would hurt him. Players talk about this all the time. They talk about how stupid it is to take the stuff, because it only hurts you down the road.

 

Secondly, the rules in the minor leagues are stiff stiff stiff. If you get caught cheating down there. Man, it hurts you for a long time.

 

June 1st is the date in which the testing really slows down. However, you could be randomly selected to be tested. All the players find it interesting that Roger Clemens started playing on June 1st the last couple of years. That's all I will say on that.

[BigbadB]

Poor Roger. He gets thrown under the bus, AGAIN!

 

That's okay, though. There's a whole new batch of 15 year old high school girls he can pick from that could be VERY supportive of him during this very trying time in his life. :D

[TruffleShuffle]

June 1st is the date in which the testing really slows down. However, you could be randomly selected to be tested. All the players find it interesting that Roger Clemens started playing on June 1st the last couple of years. That's all I will say on that.

 

randomly tested for what, though? don't they still not test for hgh?