Just some general notes and thoughts from a sad day at Busch:
* Very somber as you would think.
* La Russa gathered the players together, and encouraged them to tell stories about Hancock, and share some memories, and yes, laughter.
* As you know, La Russa and Jocketty and DeWitt spoke at the media briefing, but did not field questions. Joe Strauss was able to have about a 10-minute visit with La Russa in private. ESPN was also able to get a separate interview with Tony.
* I was able to talk to Bill DeWitt on the phone. Tony is taking his hard, real hard. He told Strauss that making the call to Hancock's dad was the most difficult thing he's ever had to do. DeWitt is upset, which is natural. He expressed thanks for having a leader like La Russa, who is strong in these situations, and can help the team cope.
* I thought Lou Piniella was wonderful today; compassionate and warm and completely genuine in his comments about this, and about Tony. He reflected back during his days as a Yankee player, and they lost Thurman Munson in 1979. Piniella talked about his good friend Tony and said that he planned to visit with him before he left the stadium. He said he didn't have the words for Tony; he thought the best thing he could do was give him a hug.
* Jason Marquis was down.
* Fans are still dropping off flowers and other items at the little memorial to Hancock near the Musial statue.
* Darryl Kile was in everyone's thoughts... the name kept coming up all day...it's inescapable.
* Cardinals players were kept away from the media -- which I believe is appropriate -- but I was told that some TV stations were staking them out in the parking lot. Don't know if that is true; I haven't seen TV.
* The death, as we all hope, was instantaeous. Joe Walsh, the team's security director, and a good man, had to ID the body. This had to be his worst day, ever, on the job. I feel for Joe.
* After the accident, the police found papers in Hancock's SUV, indicating that it was his. The STL PD contacted Joe Walsh, who after it was official, called Walt Jocketty, who then called La Russa at 4 a.m. and La Russa called Josh's Dad at about 5 a.m.
* I kept thinking back to Thursday, when Hancock was late getting to the stadium, and how worried Isringhausen was.... because it made him think of Kile, and June 22, 2002. Unbelievable, given Izzy's concern over Hancock on Thursday, that this would happen three days later.
* Hancock's dad, Dean, grew up as a Cardinals fan. He was really proud of his son, and thrilled that he became a Cardinal. Josh's younger brother was a pitcher at Ole Miss. His younger sister is a highly-recruited, highly-regarded high school basketball star, being recruited by SEC schools.
* The Cardinals plan to charter a flight to Tupelo, Miss. to be at the funeral Thursday.
* Josh was apparently hanging out downtown after the game for a few hours before getting into his SUV. I know there is a lot of speculation about his condition, and I understand that, but I also think we can deal with that later, and it's appropriate to wait until the test results come back, and if there is anything to discuss, that is the time to do it. Just my personal opinion.
* It's 9:15 as I type this from the pressbox at Busch, and the stadium lights are on, and the field looks great, but there are no people, no game, and it's just very depressing.
--B
STLtoday.com: Sports - Forums - Bernie's Pressbox - Topic - The day and night at Busch
Josh Hancock, 29, killed in an auto accident
Josh Hancock, 29, killed in an auto accident
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