Et Tu Roger???

I was lucky enough to be in my car for five and a half hours today. No, I didn't drive Boston to New York, I drove Framingham to Boston in the worst traffic I have ever been in. All in all it wasn't a bad ride (I smartly used the facilities before leaving). During my ride I got to listen to Senator Mitchell give his report on steroid abuse, I got to listen to Bud Selig's response, and finally I got to listen to Donald Fehr's reaction. In between I bounced back and forth between listening to the talking heads on ESPN disparage the Mitchell Report and reading stories on the net on the topic. All I can say is my five and a half hour commute was made bearable by Sirius and my IPhone.

Anyways, after listening to the different perspectives on the report, I am surprised by how little was actually revealed. All the players named essentially came from 4 sources. Given Mitchell's background as a Judge, I would find it hard to believe that he would name a player without having a pretty compelling case.

Donald Fehr played his cards right by not disparaging the report. The public is rightfully disgusted with the players and if the Players Union were to attack the report publically, there would be a big backlash. If the PA was smart (and I have seen no evidence of this, they would protect the best interests of Baseball over any particular individual. I fully expect that they will do the complete opposite.

If you assume the charges are correct, a good portion of the elite players in the league are cheaters (like the Patriots). For the league to get past this issue they need to crack down going forward severely and swiftly any player that violates the policy at any point in the future. As for the past users, I would be inclined to follow Mitchell's advice and only go after the most egregious cases.

I have long been a huge fan of Roger Clemens. I have routed for him on every team he has been on. Given the allegations which I am assuming is true, I hope he never sets foot in the Hall. I had seen Varitek incorrectly on a list before leaving the office. I decided on the way home that my sons JV bobblehead was going in the trash. Anyone that is named as part of this or other probes should be booed as if their names were Isaiah or OJ. Baseball is bigger than anyone player, protecting the competition is more important than protecting the players.