Drugs

Before I get started, a little request: is there any way to somehow filter out the spam comments while still allowing non-blog members to comment? I like getting the legitimate input from various readers from time to time. Maybe Blogger is working on this?

Now, on to today's topic - more from me on various drugs issues in sports:

1. Rafael Palmeiro: I'm still so angry at this jackass. I have no idea what's been going on with this in the last few weeks, and came back to read Frank Robinson's comments. I don't know whether Robinson thinks that deleting stats is actually feasible, but regardless, the sentiment behind his remarks is quite valid. Maybe Palmeiro's name and numbers will remain on the books, but there ought to be some effort, explicit or otherwise, to let every current and future baseball fan know about Raffy's failed drug test. It's not enough to merely place all records from 1994-2004 under the cloud of a "Steroid Era" label, because there ought to be a distinction between merely playing under general non-specific suspicion and actually getting caught. Guys like Frank Thomas, Jim Thome and Jeff Bagwell, who excelled during this era, will forever have to answer questions about the legitimacy of their statistics, even though most fans would probably agree that there's little reason to suspect any of these stars of malfeasance. We should not simply throw Palmeiro into that group; he got caught. He deserves to be thrown into a special sub-group of those dirtbags who we know, for a fact and by the rules of the steroids game, to have cheated.

2. Doc Gooden: This is just so sad! As unstoppable as Doc was during his time with the Mets, he seemed to turn it up an extra notch against the Cubs, back when the two teams were big NL East rivals. Doc's the first pitcher that I personally remember as being dominant - he emerged two years before Clemens broke onto the national scene and stole every headline available during those first two seasons. We hated Doc on the north side for how he made us look like the Russian little league team, and yet we loved watching the artistry behind his masterful pitching. I hope and pray that somehow Doc finds it within him to get on the straight and narrow and lead a productive, safe and sober life.

3. Barry Bonds: Now GM Brian Sabean says Bonds might be back this year. He's been "sprinting and cutting" since last Wednesday, we're told. But no baseball activities yet. On his website, last Monday, Bonds said he will "definitely be in the 2006 lineup," if not sooner. He then went on to plug his 2006 apparel line from Majestic.

I'm still taking bets. Bonds never plays again. That darn knee just won't cooperate, will it, Barry? It just won't let you play at the level you expect from yourself, huh? What a shame. And so close to the record. Of course, this has nothing to do with the steroid testing, right?

4. Stephen A. Smith: Ok, this has nothing to do with drugs. But quite frankly, Stephen A., I didn't miss you one bit while I was travelling.