Walk away Bud

I'd love to be able to sit here and straighten out what happened with steroids: who took what, when they took it, how it affected their performance, and who knew about it. Unfortunately, I don't have the answers and I doubt we'll ever know even half of it. Many of the players from the early part of the "steroids era" are retired. Why not leave the past in the past and move on? The answer: Bud Selig.

Selig's reign as commissioner has been riddled with questionable decisions. Realignment, interleague play and unbalanced schedules are fine if you want to create geographical rivalries. Unfortunately, little care was taken to maintain an equitable system. If teams play a disproportionately large number of games in a strong division, they are less likely to claim the wild card than a 2nd place team in a division with 3 weak sisters. Plus, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to point out that it isn't the best system to have 4 divisions of 5 teams, one with 6 teams and one with 4 teams. In the AL West, teams have a 1/4 chance of winning the division, on average. However, in the NL Central, teams have just a 1/6 chance. It's not fair. That's 25% vs. 16.67%. A little ingenuity with the scheduling (rather than selected periods of interleague play) would allow 15 teams in each league and 6 divisions with 5 teams each. What a novel concept.

Moving past the subtle challenges (trying to be nice) Selig has encountered, we arrive at the All-Star game tie fiasco and the absurd "this time it matters" remedy. I can't help but feel that with Barry Bonds approaching Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron on the HR list, Selig views steroids as his chance to make his mark as commissioner. He should have learned from President Bush's War on Iraq. Sometimes, it's better to do nothing.

McGwire is long gone. Sosa and Palmeiro seem done. Canseco has no credibility. Caminiti has passed. Barry Bonds ... he's a convenient scapegoat. Bonds has the misfortune of being disliked by the majority of media members and fans and of being in the spotlight because he's the best hitter in baseball and is nearing 2nd place on the HR list. Why isn't there any talk focused on Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi? Are they in danger of being suspended?

MLB should focus on cleaning up the game now. If Bonds tests positive, suspend him like anyone else. Invest resources into staying ahead of the cheaters with the testing. If Bonds is using human growth hormone then MLB probably should attempt to figure out how to prove it. The easiest solution to Bonds not having the all-time HR record ... wait 10 years and make sure A-Rod stays healthy in the mean time. In the last 10 seasons, Rodriguez has 424 HRs. Records are made to be broken. With the tightly wound balls, small ballparks, and increased focus on physical fitness, players will remain near their peak productivity even without illegal performance enhancers (see Clemens, Roger and Franco, Julio). I'm not saying A-Rod is a lock to hit 800. One look at Ken Griffey Jr.'s stats will reveal that sometimes trends just don't hold. However, A-Rod isn't Griffey and if A-Rod doesn't break the record, someone else will. Selig should resign and wait for Bonds to be passed by.