How Low Can You Go Before You Can't Turn Around?

The sadness of Josh Hancock's death can't get any easier, and it looks like it may be even more problematic, if the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's latest article is any indication.

According to the article, he had been in another traffic accident just a few days before. He was uninjured, but was late for the game that day. The Cardinals said he had overslept, but the newspaper claims a contradictory report:

But sources say he was late because he was hung over.

Two nights later, after pitching in a Saturday afternoon game, Hancock spent the evening at Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood drinking to a point of impairment, according to a couple at the restaurant.

The couple said they overheard Hancock telling ESPN broadcaster Dave Campbell that manager Tony La Russa had been infuriated with Hancock Thursday because he was "too hung over to play." A club source also said Hancock was hung over when he arrived at the ballpark.

I hope these sources are wrong; it's bad enough for the Cardinals to lose a teammate and a friend under any normal circumstances. Let's see what actually comes up when the toxicology reports are done.

(Let me also address La Russa's little tiff of a boycott here. He's well within his right to request that of his players, but to accuse of the media of trying to turn this into "anything that isn't sweet," is nasty. No one's death is ever sweet. It's likely the newspaper writers are just doing their job.)