The Day After

So a day has passed since the "incredible" Mitchell Report. Maybe incredulous is more like it. The 409-page snorer really didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. It just gave us a snippet of the steroid and HGH use in major league baseball. It was all based on two New York area persons who had the FBI pressuring them to talk. And when faced with prison, they sang like the proverbial canary. No Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Raffy Pameiro, etc. in the report.

Since the two were from the area, and were employed at one time by the locals, most teams weren't affected. You can bet there are many players on teams outside of the Bronx and Flushing who are breathing a little easier today. Especially since baseball wants to move forward (wasn't it a little eerie when Mitchell and Selig both paraphrased Mark McGwire?) and put all this behind them.

The bottom line is that fans' reaction will be minimal. There will be some scorn, some booing, but it will be forgotten pretty quickly. Just look at how Yankees fans still embrace Jason Giambi. The type of person you are seems to be the indicator of how fans react to you (see Barry Bonds outside of San Fran).

For me personally, seeing Andy Pettitte's name was a disappointment, though not a total surprise. We've always wondered about Roger Clemens and since Pettitte has practically become his twin brother, we thought it was possible he too could be in some trouble. We wait with anticipation to his reaction to the allegation. For someone who talks about his faith so much, we hope he does the right thing and admits his usage.

As for Clemens, we wonder if it will affect his hall of fame status. We doubt it since, like Bonds, most voters feel he was a hall of famer before taking steroids. But that remains to be seen. It does create a quandary, however, as you look at Pete Rose. Rose was, and is, an idiot. He handled everything poorly from the day Bart Giamatti kicked him to the curb. But as far as we know, all his misdeeds came as a manager, not as a player, as is the case with Bonds and Clemens. Should they all get in? Should they all be kept out? Should it still be on a case by case basis? The voters will decide.

Amazingly, well maybe not, Jose Canseco showed up at the Mitchell press conference yesterday, but was not allowed entry. Mr. Sleaze is apparently working to get another book deal done, and took another shot at A-Rod in the process.

"All I can say is the Mitchell Report is incomplete," Canseco said. "I could not believe that (Rodriguez's) name was not in the report." Source

Now slink away, ya slimy greaseball.

It's time for the player's union to grow a set. You want to show the public something? Then put in mandatory blood testing. Players talk about a level playing field, but unless an accurate (the definition of accuracy remains to be determined) HGH test is put into place, it's a waste to even talk about it.