Connect the Dots

I've taken a little time off from the heartburn currently known as Chicago sports, and instead have found a national issue that needed a little more attention.

Boston slugger David Ortiz has admitted that he was recently hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat. He has since been sent home by the former playoff contenders for further tests. While Papi's absence and the subsequent repercussions have been reported thoroughly by the Eastern Seaboard Programming Network, no one has really looked into what might be causing the problem.

I was mulling this over when I accidentally pulled up a Web page on human growth hormone (HGH). It was quite an interesting read, and I thought I could share some of the highlights with you:

The side effects of HGH can vary based on a person's dosage and length of use. Long term abuse, the kind we might see in, say, a professional athlete looking to gain and maintain an edge, can lead to possibly deadly side effects, including heart palpitations aka an irregular heartbeat.

This is merely a coincidence though, as we cannot possibly suggest that a slugger who went from hitting 20 home runs in 2002 to 47 in 2005. A 27 home run difference in 3 years has been done before, and in fact it pales in comparison to some other sluggers of the modern era. Mark McGwire's production jumped by 31 HRs between the '95 and '98 seasons. Slammin' Sammy Sosa increased his home run production by 30 from '97 to '98. And who can forget the great Brady Anderson, who was able to crush 50 HRs in '96 after hitting just 16 in 1995.

Among those still playing, Jason Giambi jumped from 20 HRs in '97 to 43 in the 2000 season. Gary Sheffield found his swing again in 2000, jumping 23 HRs from the '97 season. And then there is the greatest home run hitter of our time, Barry Bonds, who went from 39 dingers in 1999 to a record 73 in 2001.

Besides, Ortiz has already stated that dehydration and sleeplessness caused by stress are the reasons for his current health issues. It is interesting to read the other side effects of an abundance of growth hormone though…

Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is also a possible side effect of growth hormone abuse. Hypoglycemia can produce a variety of symptoms including heart palpitations, anxiety and excessive sweating.

Additionally, excessive growth hormone can lead to a shut down of the pituitary gland. This often overlooked and ever important gland controls the body's water regulation among other things.

RCS would like to wish Big Papi the speediest of recoveries, because a person's health is nothing to joke about, regardless of what the problems are or how they came about.