The Mitchell Report - Thoughts

Well, the Mitchell Report has come out and when I was at a Holiday luncheon, my Blackberry was ringing with incoming emails and text messages about the news that was leaked before Senator Mitchell gave his press conference.

Let's say, I was not surprised.

I follow baseball closely, as you all know, perhaps much too closely for my own good at times; however, for most hardcore and savvier fans, the names that have been released so far are ones we have heard once before in reports, on the news, or amongst overselves.

Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte were named in the long-awaited Mitchell Report on Thursday, an All-Star roster linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark -- if not an asterisk -- next to some of baseball's biggest moments...

Several stars named in the report could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion.

Besides Clemens and Pettitte, other ex-Yankees named include Mike Stanton, Chuck Knoblauch and Jason Grimsley. Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts also is in the report, as is Yankees and Braves postseason hero David Justice.

Other players include: Mo Vaughn, Paul Lo Duca, Eric Gagne, Glenallen Hill, Gregg Zaun, Rondell White, Hal Morris, Todd Hundley, Larry Bigbie, Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Matt Herges, Kevin Brown, Mike Lansing, Nook Logan and Randy Velarde.

Tejada spent the past four seasons with the Orioles and was acquired in trade by the Astros this week for five players.

Despite my concerns about Mitchell, he did an unbiased job with the report for the most part. However, because of the lack of cooperation by players, it paints a picture; albeit, an incomplete one.

I'd like to say, you're innocent until proven guilty, and that everyone should have their day in court, in front of a third party to make their case.

However, it looks like all the former cheaters who have squealed have been right and have not been proven wrong as of yet.

I have opined that if I conjured up a list of suspected users, the list would be diverse -- one of stars, mid-level guys, fringe guys, and guys look to hang onto their careers. It looks like it has touched and every organization; thus, for me, the names do not so much matter, but what will be the solutions and now that we know what we know, will the testing become even more stringent?

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