Looks like another Baroid type posser. What was a great story may have just turned sour. Discuss. The entire story is here but part of it is below: http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10337448 NEW YORK -- Comeback kid Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals received a year's supply of human growth hormone in 2004, the New York Daily News reported Friday. Advertisement The pitcher-turned-outfielder is the latest athlete to be linked to the Florida pharmacy at the center of an investigation by the Albany County (N.Y.) district attorney's office into the illegal Internet distribution of performance-enhancing drugs. The feel-good story of the baseball season, Ankiel drove in seven runs Thursday and has been a hitting star for the Cardinals since he was called up from the minors last month. He was once a young phenom on the mound with St. Louis before an embarrassing bout of wildness and injuries derailed his pitching career. Citing records the newspaper obtained, the Daily News said Ankiel got eight shipments of human growth hormone from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004, including Saizen and Genotropin, two injectable drugs. Florida physician William Gogan signed Ankiel's prescriptions, providing them through a Palm Beach Gardens clinic called The Health and Rejuvenation Center, or THARC, the newspaper reported. The drugs were shipped to Ankiel at the clinic's address, the paper said. The 28-year-old Ankiel lives close by in Jupiter. When contacted by the Associated Press, Ankiel's agent, Scott Boras, said he couldn't comment because of medical privacy laws. "This is the first I've heard of this," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty told the Daily News. "If it's true, obviously it would be very tragic, along with everything else we've had happen to us this year." Major League Baseball doesn't test for HGH, and the sport didn't ban human growth hormone until 2005. But a player who possessed it or used it after it was banned can be suspended for 50 games.
It was legal. No big deal. Plus every player is/was doing it. HGH didnt help him become a decent outfielder after being a pitcher.
In 2004, when he was rumored to have taken HGH, it was not a banned substance. Total non-story if you ask me.
^^^^^^^^^^^ I slightly change my position above after reading more. He obtained a year's supply of the stuff from a shady doctor he had never even met. This doesn't look good.
I guess this isn't a really big deal simply because of how frequent it happens. Just another athlete juiced up...ho-hum. Why should we be surprised? Answer...we shouldn't. I say let em all juice. Lets see just how much we can freak out the human body. Can you imagine a defensive line with nothing but 6'6" 375 pounders? Running backs the size of JR with blazing 4.3 times? Routine 100 homer seasons? Lets go for it. o_0
YOUR TALKING BASEBALL ON THE EVE OF THE HOME OPENER!?!? BAD JUJU!! BAD JUJU!! BAD JUJU!! *Turns three times and spits*
I don't expect there to be nearly the outcry as with Bonds. After all, he's a feel-good story, and a midwestern cracker. Barry is a contemptuous guy that nobody likes, so the standards will be vastly different. :rofl: Neither were steroids, but most people get so worked up about Bonds/Giambi/Clemens/Sheffield/Grimsley/Pettitte that they can hardly speak without foaming up their brown nose.
Actually, steroids have been banned from baseball since the early '90's at the latest. LINK Baseball didn't begin testing for them until a few years ago, but they were illegal.
Right, which everyone knows the lack of testing was a wink-wink with the player's union, letting them know that it was perfectly fine to take 'em. That's like having speed limits but prohibiting police officers from giving tickets or even checking to see how fast people are driving.
