If the Mitchell Report was designed to scare the heck out of everyone who has ever played Major League Baseball, it's doing a pretty good job. And this slow torture of occasional leaks and cloak-and-dagger accusations is making people crazy -- MLB officials, the union, agents, players and boatloads of media members, for that matter.
This latest bombshell, that 11 current free agents are listed in the Report, is not good news for baseball as a whole, never mind the alleged cheaters, who may have some interesting penalty clauses in their new contracts.
I'm still not sure how much the fans really care about this stuff. As someone who is around the sport on a daily basis -- inside the clubhouse, etc. -- I'm often asked about who I think the steroid/HGH offenders are. But it's impossible to know for sure, and I'm left guessing like everyone else. Does it really matter to you as a baseball fan? Would you rather just not know? What if your favorite player got busted? It's a thorny issue, and it's only going to get worse when the Report is released around Jan. 1.
UPDATE: OK, so the 11 free agents were asked to speak with Mitchell, and are not merely listed in the report. But they must be linked in some way with illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He's not calling them in for a chat about their offseason vacation plans.
Comments (6)
I care a lot. And owners should care a lot also. Players once one performance enhancers should have contracts voided for fraud since the contracts were baed on numbers built illegally.
I don't care in the slightest. Over the years, players have taken stuff to get an edge. The chemistry/technology has changed, as have the laws. Players haven't changed; we have the same proportion of risk-takers and risk-averse players we've always had.
I care a lot. Baseball is a game rooted in tradition and lore. It is a game played on "hallowed ground" (to quote the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown). I want to know who the cheaters are. There's no crying in baseball and there should be no cheating either.
This was originally reported by the the Boston Globe, who interpreted what their source told them incorrectly. They issued a clarification today. 11 were asked to speak to Mitchell. They are not necessarily guilty of anything.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2007/11/no_more_than_11.html
Excellent reporting Dave.
Oh, I care a great deal. I want the names named too. I hope testing continues to grow stricter and more frequent. I want an asterisk put besides Bonds' record.
I know there are some fans who don't give a damn. And some who even support the use of PEDs. But many of us think steroids and HGH is cheating in the worst way.
And to compare PEDs such as steroids and HGH with other "stuff" players have used in the past to get an edge is ridiculous. Night and day.
I care alot. Baseball had a history, a nostalgia, a tradition. Since the steroid era,records were not just broken,but shattered. To me, the whole era should have an asterick.