The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t thrilled about media reports, some speculative, following the death of pitcher Josh Hancock. I can understand that, because he was their friend, and it’s natural to be protective. And I’m sure some Cardinals and fans think we’re vultures, trying to exploit a teammate’s death to sell newspapers and punch up the TV-radio ratings.

Well, the search for truth in such terribly cruel circumstances is never easy. Some can’t handle it. But others can; there is a silent faction of players who believe that exploring unpleasant truths is necessary. Some are second-guessing themselves, wondering if they could have prevented Hancock’s fatal accident.

If alcohol indeed played a role in Hancock’s demise, it should be discussed, and openly. At least one Cardinals official, general manager Walt Jocketty, has displayed the courage to face up to evolving information and do just that.

This is no time to look away. By connecting alcohol to Hancock’s death, and raising awareness, then maybe, just maybe, one person will take note and call a taxi at closing time. And if one intoxicated person does that, then something good can come of this. And it won’t matter if Tony La Russa is mad, or the players are upset, or readers are canceling subscriptions.

On Thursday, the Cardinals boarded a 50-passenger jet and flew to Tupelo, Miss., to attend a memorial service for Hancock. It was another wrenching experience in a tough week for a team that just got swept in three games, outscored 23-3, by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cardinals are broken up right now. It’s a rotten situation to be in, having to say goodbye to a 29-year-old teammate.

And that’s another reason why it’s way past time to stop being overly polite about alcohol-related, or drug-related, tragedies involving current or former athletes in St. Louis.

How many more dead or injured bodies must pile up before we agree it’s time to suspend perfect manners, and stop looking the other way?

¢ After being cut by the St. Louis football Cardinals in 1980, kicker Steve Little drank all night, tried to drive home, crashed on Interstate 270 and was paralyzed from the neck down. He died in 1999.

¢ During a team party over the Memorial Day weekend in 1977, Blues defenseman Bob Gassoff hopped on a motorcycle and died after colliding with an auto. He was 24. “We were all driving and drinking and having a good time,” teammate Garry Unger said years later.

¢ As part of a team hazing ritual in 1985 that began with a gathering at a pub, Blues forward Doug Wickenheiser fell off the back of a truck and seriously injured a knee. He couldn’t play for more than a year.

¢ In 1999, Rams defensive end Leonard Little killed Susan Gutweiler in a two-car accident in downtown St. Louis. Little had been drinking heavily with teammates in celebrating his 21st birthday. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

¢ Former Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter, the MVP of the 1982 World Series, died in 2002 after relapsing into cocaine abuse.

And now Josh Hancock is gone.

Do you really want to stand by and say nothing out of some misplaced sense of courtesy as more names get added to this heart-rending list? This is enough.

You want the media to be more sensitive in response to Hancock’s death? Well, I’m more sensitive about people dying needlessly.