No Movie for Ankiel

Sitting in the man's room, I was watching the great story of Rick Ankiel. The real life version of Roy Hobbs. I saw it all clear of day.... Coming in 2009, Matt Damon as Rick Ankiel in the baseball version of Rudy.

Then the New York Daily News reminded us of what baseball has become.

According to their report, Ankiel received a year's supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug ring.

The Ankiel bombshell dropped on the same day that a Sports Illustrated report alleged Toronto slugger Troy Glaus received steroid shipments for two years. The Ankiel revelation hurts because of what he represented.

He was Mr. Redemption, a failed pitcher turned slugger, who at 28 returned to the big leagues in spectacular fashion. In his first 24 games, Ankiel batted .353 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs. He was the bridge beyond the joyless Barry Bonds story. Deemed the Natural, Ankiel led a St. Louis Cardinals renaissance. And now this.

There's no evidence Ankiel ordered the drug in 2005, when Major League Baseball placed it on the banned substance list.

As a result, there will be those who defend Ankiel. They will claim HGH wasn't banned when he was tied to the drug. These are the same people who insisted baseball didn't have a steroid problem in the 15 years leading up to random testing.

Truth is, it's wrong. It was and remains against the law to possess HGH without a medical condition. His involvement taints his accomplishments - it's that simple. Even if he's not cheating now, it changes the prism through which he's viewed. He's no different than any athlete who has gone to great lengths to improve performance (see Patriots' Rodney Harrison and Chargers' Shawne Merriman, NFL cheaters who receive a hall pass, apparently, because of the violent nature of their game).

Most troubling about Ankiel's situation is that it has become to reek of the frontier days of the late 1990s. Steroids were privately rationalized then because there was no rule against it, as if societal laws didn't apply.

HGH could very well become the new Steroid in baseball. Athletes have showed that they will take anything to improve their game as long as they think they won't be caught. Right Sammy Sosa?

And that's the problem with HGH - there's no reliable urine test available. And the players union has shown no interest in agreeing to blood testing. Even then, scientists are divided on the accuracy of an HGH blood test.

More names are sure to surface, bringing baseball more embarrassment. It makes me wonder if we will see a replay of 2002, when the rank-and-file players agreed to steroids testing, tired of playing under suspicion brought on by the minority of rogue athletes. Will they call for blood testing to clear names?

If not we could very well see all this come tolife in 15 years in front of another Grand Jury. Until then we will doubt everything, even Mr. Ankiel.