I’ve waited long and hard before commenting on the Mitchell Report. Like most fans, I was shocked by the scale of the report, and yet not shocked at the same time(if that makes sense). I’m also a little concerned about the lack of corroborating evidence for much of the report but more about that later

Many Americans may not understand or appreciate the respect Irish people have for Senator Mitchell. He played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process and there is no doubt that without his work, terrorism could still be a force in a corner of this small island. many people probably owe their lives to him without realising it and he is far more worthy of the Noble peace prize then some born again has been Presidential candidate.

The fact that much of his report into the game is based on hearsay is disturbing. Too many innocent people around the world have been convicted on bad evidence and incompetent investigative work, the West Memphis 3, Guildford 4 and Birmingham 6 all spring to mind for starters.

However, If this report had been writen by anyone else, I’d be majorily concerned, the fact that it is Sen Mitchell gives me a lot of confidence that what he is saying is correct. Let’s be honest with ourselves here as well, we’ve seen the bulked up players, the sudden changes over a summer in performance, the records being smashed, c’mon, be honest here, we all knew something wasn’t right

So who’s to blame, the players, undoubtably take the bulk of the blame, their the ones who stuck needles in their arms. Likewise the clubs have to take responsibility for their employees actions. You have to wonder, how many exectives and owners knew players were juicing up and turned a blind eye. The union did not condon juicing but certainly did not go out of it’s way to prevent it either. Bud Selig and the people who run the game have to take responsibility also, the buck ultimately stops at their desk. It doesn’t matter if they didn’t know, they should have known.

And what about us, the fans, do we share responsibility?. Most definately we do. Who cheered when someone hit a homer in a play off game, or when Bonds hit a special into centre field, or a pitcher’s heat couldn’t be handled by the batters?. We did and did we care?, as long as it was one of our players doing great things, probably not. Like Bud Sellig, it didn’t matter if we didn’t know, we should have known and we should have shouted oh so louder

What’s happened has happened so where do we go from here?. I believe what is now required is an amnesty for all players. Let them come forward between here and the season opener and admit they cheated, if they indeed did. Take no action against them, this is about simply getting things out in the open but put an * on their records for all times. However, if a player does not come forward and further evidence comes to light to prove they did cheat, then let justice be swift and merciless and treat these people in the same manner as Pete Rose, lifetime ban, strip them of their pensions and let them become pariahs for all time

Secondly, robust drug testing policies are needed, probably in line with WADA rules. If it is good enough for every other sport in the world, why not baseball?

Players too need support, I know some serious athletes are reluctant to get medical treatment because they may fail a test subsequently. A players health is the main priority here, so if a doctor recomends medically something that would otherwise be banned, let the player get a 2nd opinion from MLB sponsered medical teams and if deemed the correct course of action, let them take the remedy

As for players caught juicing,  we can all make a mistate so I don’t believe punishment for the first offence should be excessive, 20-50 games and a fine is probably sufficient(and an * on that seasons stats). Get caught again and a season ban, get caught a 3rd time, and you’re out

Clubs too need to be punished, they are responsible for their players behavious. So if a player fails a test after a game they’ve won, fine the club and strip them of their victory, regardless of where in the season it’s at. If it persists, then if needed, ban the team for the rest of the season

Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of the jucing era and 2008 will allow us to start afresh, if not, I fear for the future of this great game

1: We’re not very good at it. Let’s be honest, everyone loves a successful team in any sport. 10 years ago,

Chelsea

would be doing well to get 20000 fans into

Stamford

 

Bridge

, now every game is a sell out.

Baseball is played over here in

Europe

, but because the standard is low, it’s played for fun more then anything else

2: We don’t see enough of it. It tends to be only shown in the small hours of the morning on cable television, thank God for NASN because at least they do show it. Trouble is, because of time differences, if they show a game during the day, it’s a repeat from a night or 2 previously, and most true fans know the result

I have stayed up the odd Friday night to watch a game, but it is difficult to stay away and watch the Pirates at

2am

. (Actually it’s probably difficult to watch the Pirates any time, but that’s another story). Having said that, the joys of a 9 month old daughter (Hello little Maire), means I have seen a few more games this year then I would have liked!!!

3: We have no local superstars. Is there anyone from

Europe

playing MLB?. NHL Hockey is big in parts of Europe due to the Scandinavian influence, likewise the NBA with the likes of Tony Parker, but is there anyone local playing baseball?

4: Too many games. More then one person over here has said to me, how can you take a game seriously when it has 162 games to decide who goes through to the knock out stages?. In fairness, it is a bit of a valid point, compare that with the Premier league in soccer(36 games) or the 6 Nations

Rugby

, (5 games!!!). Sometimes I look at a baseball game, especially if it is at the end of a long road trip for one of the teams, and the same intensity isn’t there. I suppose we should be glad however that it is not like hockey or basketball, with 162 games to eliminate only half the teams

5: Does anyone watch the game? Again, a fair question..  Any baseball game you go to, probability is that at least 10% of the crowd are wandering around buying food, drink and tee shirts. I was at the Phillies in July , and I watched a group of guys on the concourse behind me spend most of the game chatting and shooting the breeze, probably cost them $40 to get in, not to mention what the spent, they could have saved the admission money and sat in a bar and known as much.

In fairness, this is not unique to baseball; it’s an American thing where the game is often secondary to the occasion. I’ve never been to a playoff game in the

US

, perhaps that is closer to what we in

Europe

experience at our sports. Only time I have ever come near to that in

North America

was in

Canada

for a Habs V Leafs season opener in

Montreal

If you want a 2^nd opinion on this, have one from a player and read the Rangers CJ Wilson’s splendid blog on his trips through

Europe

http://cjwilson.mlblogs.com/

6: Clubs come, clubs go. Again a very American phenomenon. How can you get passionate about a club that could up sticks and leave next season, how can you be passionate about a club that has been in the neighbourhood for a few seasons. The reason the Packers, Yankees, Red Sox or Maple Leafs have that bit of extra intensity at the grounds is because history backs them up and they’d be a riot if they ever tried to move to the other side of the country. But how many clubs can you say that for?

7: Steroids

Like it or not, the whole steroid issue and the failure of baseball to tackle it has made the game the laughing stock of the world. Indeed,

America

at international sporting level is now regarded over here in much the same way as

East Germany

was in the 70s.  I know any American reading this will think, who cares what the pinko liberal wimpy Europeans think.? Here’s why, we’re your friends and a true friend tells you when you are wrong, so in the same we give you a hard time over your inane dangerous President, we’re going to give you a hard time over drugs in sport. We’re your friends and that is what true friends do

So why do I love baseball? Am I a European freak? Who knows, but I do and that’s a story for another day

Slan

Jerry