Rick Ankiel: Still “The Natural?”

Links (14)

Rick Ankiel and HGH: Damn, So “The Natural” Isn’t So Natural, After All
Published 9/7/2007 by dwil at The Starting Five
... NOW HEAR THIS! The “authority” in the form of Bernie Miklasz from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has spoken! Nothing to see here, just move along: ...

Rick Ankiel: What We Lost, And What We Never Had
Published 9/7/2007 by Leitch at Deadspin
... Our fellow Cardinals fans will go through similar dissembling over the next few weeks -- because this isn't going away; Ankiel is going to be remembered for this much longer than Rodney Harrison ever will -- and, as Bernie Miklasz pointed out this morning, certain people will defend Ankiel no matter what, and others will think of him as a juicer until the end of time, and the truth will remain somewhere in the middle. (We certainly aren't going to stop wearing his jersey or anything.) And that, friends, is what this story is really about: It's not about HGH, it's not about the Cardinals, it's not even about Rick Ankiel. Fourteen hours ago, Rick Ankiel was what we loved about sports: His story existed in the black-white world we demand of our sports. His story was pure; it was impossible not to be happy for him. ...

Bloggers' Reaction: Rick Ankiel Tied To HGH
Published 9/7/2007 at FanIQ Blog
... Our fellow Cardinals fans will go through similar dissembling over the next few weeks -- because this isn't going away; Ankiel is going to be remembered for this much longer than Rodney Harrison ever will -- and, as Bernie Miklasz pointed out this morning, certain people will defend Ankiel no matter what, and others will think of him as a juicer until the end of time, and the truth will remain somewhere in the middle. (We certainly aren't going to stop wearing his jersey or anything.) And that, friends, is what this story is really about: It's not about HGH, it's not about the Cardinals, it's not even about Rick Ankiel. Fourteen hours ago, Rick Ankiel was what we loved about sports: His story existed in the black-white world we demand of our sports. His story was pure; it was impossible not to be happy for him. ...

Nope, Not Again
Published 9/7/2007 by Kyle Smith at Doberman On The Diamond
... question. And they should be. ...

Another Day, Another Steroids Accusation
Published 9/7/2007 at STLSportsMag
... y could have been avoided to an extent if the league would have been proactive on the issue instead of the polar opposite, so Bud Selig and the gang have no one to blame for the scrutiny but themselves. In 2007, it has become a reality that PED’s have had a major effect – physically or psychologically – on the game and everyone who follows it.  That’s the state of baseball these days and with feats such as Barry Bonds’ growing career homerun total and McGwire’s historic 70 already tainted by the accusations of drug use, there’s no going back for a clean fix. Personally, I’m over the whole thing.  I don’t know if its that I’ve come to terms with the fact that, to continue being a baseball fan, I have to accept what the game has become or if I’m just all together sick of hearing about it.  Either way, I think today I’ll focus on reading about Ankiel’s current exploits as opposed to the ones from three years ago. Bernie Miklasz's Blog on Ankiel [ ...

Thoughts on Rick Ankiel
Published 9/7/2007 by Cecilio's Scribe at The Legend of Cecilio Guante
... 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. ...

NYDN: Ankiel Bought HGH in 2004
Published 9/7/2007 by redsock at The Joy of Sox
... is the Daily News article. P-D blogger Bernie Miklasz has posted:So legally, because of the doctor's prescription, Ankiel appears to be in the clear. And he did not violate any baseball regulations at the time. ...

Rick Ankiel Was Always a Great Hitter
Published 9/7/2007 by Matt Watson at FanHouse
... bought HGH three years ago and suddenly wonder if that's at all connected with his surprising success this year. But before you do, you should probably be aware that he's always been considered an elite hitting prospect. Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reminded us of that in his blog today, recounting several anecdotes about Ankiel's high school success: ...

Still the Natural or just a busted Ankiel?
Published 9/7/2007 by Hugging Harold Reynolds at Hugging Harold Reynolds
... Bernie Miklasz with the St. Louis Post Dispatch has an excellent (and early) take on what this means for Ankiel, the Cardinals, and Major League Baseball.

Rick Ankiel and HGH
Published 9/7/2007 by NDub at Construda
... ) Rick Ankiel: Still "The Natural?" ( STL Today ) The Not So Natural? ( ...

With Glaus revelation, will 2002 World Series be replayed?
Published 9/7/2007 by John Ryan at Morning Buzz
... s bashing 40+ home runs in an all-natural way at the height of the steroid era. Do you believe? I believe. Oh yes I believe. With Barry Bonds, you always wonder what-if. OK, what if Glaus was on the junk in 2002? What if he was on the junk when he hit that three-run double off Robb Nen to give the Angels the lead in Game 6 and essentially win them the Series? What if, without the chemical enhancement, that would have been just a lazy flyball from an all-natural version of Troy Glaus? I don t know that Glaus was using then. But you don t know he wasn t. And that s the crux of the argument as the Mitchell investigation supposedly winds down and Bud Selig ponders what to do. Throw out or asterisk Bonds home run record? Sure, as long as you vacate that World Series MVP award too. And by the way, you might as well tell us the Rick Ankiel story which is, when you get right down to it, basically the reason people even watch sports is a WWE-level fraud and we should ignore it because ...

Talk Time, and Big Deal . . .
Published 9/8/2007 by Jeff Kallman at The MLB Source
... And lest you delude yourself that Rick Ankiel—still a struggling pitcher in 2004—juiced himself into a big bopper, disabuse yourself courtesy of Bernie Miklasz, the invaluable St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist. ...

Local media goes o-fer in Ankiel affair
Published 9/12/2007 by Pip at Fungoes
... Bernie Miklasz equivocates and offers platitudes: "The reality is, there’s a lot of gray area here … Generally speaking, our culture is titillated by scandal, and quick to assume the worst. … Until a dependable HGH test is developed and put into practice, we’ll never know who’s really natural." ...

Breaking: Indians Pitcher Paul Byrd Bought HGH
Published 10/21/2007 by dwil at Sports On My Mind
... concerning athletes who are recovering from injuries and used or use HGH. Bernie Miklasz from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch went so far as to say Ankiel did nothing illegal because the substance hadn t been banned by MLB until 2005. Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post ...