I'm choking on the discussion about steroid-abusing baseball players. Here's a novel approach that won't happen: Expel these players from Major League Baseball. I know the Player's Association won't allow it and reportedly the Collective Bargaining Agreement hadn't included steroids as banned substances back in 2002. To hell with that: they cheated, throw them out.
Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, some of the best players of our generation abused their privileges. I don't believe them for a second that they didn't knowingly use steroid-related substances. And I would not be surprised if estimates of 50 percent of players were using them up through the 2003 season prove to be low-balling the truth.
Such discipline should fall within the Best Interests of Baseball clause, or whatever it's called, that is within the commissioner's rights. Of course, that's one major reason it won't happen: the commissioner is closely aligned with ownership, having formerly owned the Milwaukee Brewers.
Barry will continue his assault on the most precious record in baseball. Giambi will field questions about steroids with the same dexterity he shows around first base (that is, not much) for the rest of his career. And Sheff will waggle his sanctimonious words around the league once more in the Yankee uniform, which used to stand for unquestioned success. There are questions now. Chief among them in my opinion is why do we continue to allow this?
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