Enough Already

There's been a Mitchell Report, multiple hearings on Capitol Hill and several press conference apologies from numerous players involved in the steroid era in baseball. And to be honest I've had enough.

I've had enough of the fans, congressmen, media members and countless others standing on their soap boxes, bemoaning the former national pastime and acting as if this is the first (or last) time something has gone awry in baseball.

At this point I think we all need to reconcile ourselves with the fact that a very large percentage of players since the 90's have used some sort of performance enhancing substance in an attempt to keep up with the competition or get ahead of it.

Some of the names involved of course are bigger than others, but as a select few seem to garner all the headlines in the ongoing "war on roids" we need to keep in mind that the problem and the solution to the problem lay directly at the feet of the game itself.

It shouldn't be the job of congress to get involved, especially in a world with so many issues that need to be addressed. Just think of what our government could do if they got as riled up about the unnecessary war we're currently fighting instead of wasting their time brow-beating Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee.

Watching those senators go after Clemens and McNamee with fire in their eyes and all the seriousness of a murder trial should have been a wake up call to those watching of just how backward and screwy our priorities are in the United States.



Honestly, I can't be the only one who thinks it's time to move on here. The court of public opinion has been adjourned and we know that we can't really trust anybody any more no matter how much we want to. That's a sad statement to be sure, but in the end I'm not losing sleep over it and in fact I find myself anxiously awaiting the start of a new season.

So while the uppity will inevitably remain that way when it comes to performance enhancing drugs, I will be too consumed with the rebuilding project that is the San Francisco Giants as well as all the other on-field happenings to have time for what has become the most tiresome issue in sports.

Let Me Get This Straight...

Baseball is a game I love dearly.

I start looking forward to next season around mid-November and begin work on my fantasy draft cheat sheets in January. So suffice it to say that all the steroid issues surrounding it have left me with negative feelings toward the game as a whole. A feeling I'm not used to and can't say I'm very fond of.

As pervasive as performance enhancing drugs have been in baseball for roughly the last 15 years I refuse to place the blame at the feet of any one player, but rather at the feet of those in charge of the game, namely the commissioner, the player's association and ownership.

So to hear today that Bud Selig was given an extension through 2012 thanks to a unanimous vote by the owners was surprising and upsetting to say the least.

Apparently I missed something along the way and amidst all the "outrage" and "disgust" over the state of the game and the tarnishing of records long held as the most sacred in all of sports. How exactly is it that a man who in no small way helped facilitate the "steroid era" not only doesn't get fired, but is given a new contract?

Forget the fact that the curmudgeonly Selig isn't exactly the most likable persona in sports, the man presided over a period in the game's history that outside of the days of racial segregation has to rank as one of the worst.

Meanwhile the players involved in the controversy, many of whom by the way weren't doing anything that was against the rules of the game when they did it, are finding themselves persecuted and punished by the game as well as the government.

I understand that economically speaking the game has never been as fruitful as it is right now. Sparkling new stadiums are popping up all over and attendance, as Selig relishes in pointing out at every turn, is at an all-time high.



That does not however excuse the fact that the game's commissioner conveniently looked the other way while the popularity of baseball was saved in no small way by the glorification of the long ball.

Just the other day Selig sat in front of a congressional committee, wasting taxpayer money in the process, and told them that as much as anyone he was to blame for what was going on during the "steroid era" in baseball.

"All of us have to take responsibility, starting with me," said Selig.

Now I was brought up understanding that along with responsibility came consequences for actions that betrayed those responsibilities. Apparently the same rules do not apply at the commissioner's office.

Instead the owners have decided to give Selig an opportunity to repair a legacy that in my opinion deserves to go down with the likes of Pete Rose and the 1919 White Sox as the most tarnished in the history of baseball.

How Does it Feel?

I must admit, at first I was quite happy to see Roger Clemens named in the Mitchell Report. Not so much because I dislike Clemens, but his inclusion in that report meant that at least for a while the media would have another ultra-high profile whipping boy.

As the coverage of Clemens' alleged use has filled the headlines over the past week or so, I've found myself feeling a bit less joyous about the whole thing and quite a bit more understanding.

Understanding not of what Clemens must be going through as he trudges through public relations hell, but understanding of what his throngs of fans spread across the country must be feeling as they see their hero and favorite ballplayer called a cheater.

You see to this point the coverage and scrutiny of the other big names linked to steroids (i.e. McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro) has paled in comparison to that of the so-called "big fish", one Barry Lamar Bonds.

With the outing of Clemens by his former trainer, a star on the same level as Bonds has finally been dragged through the mud and had his dirty little secret aired for all to see. Refreshing to be sure, but not at all surprising.

What has been surprising, and pleasantly so, has been how hard the media has gone after Clemens. When the news first broke of Clemens' alleged steroid use I thought for sure the media would spin the story in Clemens' favor and give the 7-time Cy Young Award winner the benefit of the doubt.

And while the coverage hasn't had quite the witch hunt feel to it with Clemens as it has with Bonds, it's been very fair and at times very negative toward The Rocket.

Maybe at this point people will open their eyes to the bigger picture here, which is that steroid use in baseball has been more than widespread over the last 15 to 20 years and that the punching bag for the media and the court of public opinion should be major league baseball itself, not one or two individual players.