The State of the National Past-Time

Given the looming economy and talks of the trillion dollars of deficit spending that we have been inundated with recently, I thought it might be of good use to turn our attention away from politics and the economy and focus on the advent of baseball season.
It was approximately a week ago (depending on when this gets published) when Sports Illustrated leaked the results of the "anonymous" steroid tests that were conducted in 2003. The name that was leaked that fateful Saturday was that of Alex Rodriguez. This so disheartening in the eyes of baseball fans because A-Rod stood to be the most viable opportunity to take back the home run record from Barry Bonds.
Now, I’m no Yankees fan, but to be honest, I was at least hoping that someone would have legitimized the record. That being said, "A-Roid" has dashed the hopes of many. He has been stripped of the title, "Baseball’s Savior", since his record is too tarnished by performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
We have yet to hear all the names that are on the Sports Illustrated report of big-name major leaguers that tested positive in the "anonymous" 2003 steroids tests, but I don’t think the results will be that pretty. The use of PEDs in baseball has been widespread. How many records in the books can we be sure are even true records made by those people who adhered strictly to the rules of the game? The list seems endless; Andy Pettitte, Garry Sheffield, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi (wow, I’m noticing a lot of Yankees are making this list), Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Eric Gagne, and many others.
Commissioner Bud Selig has even talked about reinstating records that were knowingly obtained without the use of PEDs. This sounds like a good idea to me. We need these records to remain in the hands of those players that worked hard to achieve such great feats and didn’t cut corners to get a competitive advantage. For me, part of the appeal of the game is that these players are good at what they do and got where they are because of hard work, dedication, and a genuine talent; not because they have the best drugs.
We need to keep the integrity of the record book in tact and remove the "records" of PED users. Anything less would probably make Ted Williams’ head spin in it’s cryogenic cooler.
Either way, there is something to prove this coming season. Baseball is jaded by the Mitchell Report and who knows what will come of the Sports Illustrated report when it is released. Baseball desperately needs a savior and to see some good this season in order to rejuvenate the faith fans have in the game. I personally hope it comes soon, and that it does not comes from someone that plays for the black and white pinstripes (Yes, I’m talking about you Jeter).
Scott Boras certainly won’t help bring salvation to baseball, rather he might aid in it’s destruction. Every contract he negotiates is like the Midas touch; worth a lot of gold, but when it comes down to it, the money’s not worth the trouble. His contracts get his clients the most money (breaking the banks of these franchises), but often these players are the ones that offer the least to their teams. I mean, really, Barry Zito? Get that big contract and you end up getting benched? Manny Ramirez still wants more money from the Dodgers and played there for what, 3 weeks? Fantastic. Maybe Scott Boras should be cryogenically frozen?
Thank goodness there is still hope; the hope that the Devil Rays (sorry... Tampa Bay Rays) gave us last year by making it to the World Series with a bunch of players the other big-budget teams didn’t want (and that really pains me to say considering I despise the Rays). The same hope that the Phillies can win it all. The same hope that the Yankees won’t make the post-season again. (Just goes to show you that the old saying are true; cheaters never prosper.)
Dear Baseball, I hope this season you bring back some class and leave the scandals at home. I don’t care if A-Roid left his wife for Madonna (and has recently been seen getting "friendly" with 19 year-olds). I don’t care that Roberto Alomar and his wife are going through a nasty divorce proceeding (where his wife accuses him of giving her AIDS). I don’t care about it all. I just care about the game. Please, keep the game in tact. Please, keep the game honorable. For goodness sakes, give me something to look forward to come March. Sincerely, Patrick.