It's official: To the surprise of no one, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was drunk at the time of his accident.  In addition, a glass pipe and marijuana was found in the back of his vehicle.  Toxicology tests have not determined if marijuana was in his system yet, but my guess is it's a good bet they will.

I wrote this the other day, but it bears repeating that Josh Hancock's death, while a tragedy, should serve as a reminder to everyone that driving while impaired is wrong.

I am not trying to soil his memory.  The Cardinals have lost a valuable asset to their team and most importantly, a good friend.  I suspect that he may have been with some teammates last Saturday night and it may explain why Scott Spezio couldn't go Monday night against the Brewers.  More guilt than grief.

It's obvious, based on the bits and pieces that have been available that he was having some issues with alcohol and possibly marijuana.  And of course, you hear all the talk radio geniuses pontificating "why didn't his teammates get him help?"

Walt Jocketty, the Cards GM was right on point Wednesday when he said that the Cardinals couldn't really police players off the field.  And we all know, that the first step to getting help is you acknowledging that you might have a problem.

I had an employee once who was so drunk one night he slept in his car rather than go home and came to work in the same clothes he had on the day before.  When I confronted him and suggested that he might seek some form of counseling, he emphatically denied there was a problem.  At that point, there is nothing you can do, so long as his issues did not effect his work.  I did fire an employee once because he was an alcoholic, but only after he missed several shifts and left me with no choice.

If Josh Hancock's off the field issues didn't effect his work, there was nothing the Cardinals could do.  And for anyone to suggest that they had some culpability in this is just plain asinine.  An employer can only do so much, it's up to the individual to acknowledge that there is a problem.  And, even after being offered a cab ride home, Josh Hancock failed to acknowledge that he was too drunk to drive.

So, Josh Hancock officially becomes less of a fallen hero and more of a tragic figure.  But if Cardinal fans, baseball fans and people in general remember how and why he died, then his death will not be in vain.