Despite the lack of playoff wins during his tenure with the Cubs, Piniella has done a good job in Chicago.  He led the team to back-to-back division championships for the first time since 1907-08, and the Cubs had three winning seasons in a row under him (2007-2009).  Depending on how the 2010 season ends, he could end up with four winning seasons in a row (although I would not bet on it).

Of course, the speculation on who the Cubs manager will be starting in 2011 started even before Piniella officially announced his retirement.  Ryne Sandberg seems to be the fans choice.  Sandberg is probably my favorite Cubs player of all time (I celebrate Ryne Sandberg day every June 23), but there’s a big part of me that hopes he isn’t the next manager.  Sure, I have some concerns about Sandberg’s ability to lead a big league club.  But more than that, I don’t want to see him fail.  Ryno has a spectacular reputation among Cubs fans and I would hate to see that tarnished in any way.

Another potential managerial hire is Joe Girardi.  I have a lot of respect for Girardi.  I also have the tangential connection to him through my in-laws (I’ve explained this before, but my wife grew up with Joe and their families were friends for years, although not so much now).  I think he would do as good of a job with the Cubs as anyone, but I seriously doubt he’ll leave the Yankees.  Maybe his connection to the Cubs is stronger than I think it is, but I just don’t see him giving up the managerial job with a perennial winner to take the same job with a perennial loser.

Cubs announcer Bob Brenly is also in the discussion.  I appreciate the fact that he has spoken his mind concerning the Cubs poor play this year, but I wonder if that might not hurt him.  Even if it doesn’t hurt him with the front office, it just might hurt him with the players.

Alan Trammel’s name has also been thrown into the mix.  The Cubs bench coach is certainly familar with the ball club, but I wonder if his association with Piniella might not hurt him.  With Piniella leaving, I would think the club would want to make a clean break from the past.  Keeping Trammel around sort of just continues the coaching philosophy of the past three plus years.  Plus, for what it’s worth, Trammel does not have a particularly inspiring track record as a manager.

Paul Sullivan also mentions Joe Torre as a possible replacement for Piniella.  Torre’s contract with the Dodgers is up at the end of this year and he has mentioned his desire to manage the Cubs in the past.  Personally, I don’t see it.  I’m not sure that it is a good fit and I wonder how much the 70-year old Torre still has in the tank.  Of course, it’s hard to argue with the success Torre had in New York and to a lesser extent in Los Angeles.  Even so, if I was a betting man, I’d bet against a Torre era with the Cubs.

Finally, a dark horse candidate might be Pat Listach.  He a former Cubs minor league coach and the current third-base coach for the Nationals.  He was well-liked while he was in the Cubs’ organization and he’s well-respected throughout baseball.  Even so, I don’t think he has the big name brand equity the Cubs will likely be looking for.

So who will the next manager be?  Perhaps a better question is, who will be hiring the next manager.  Jim Hendry is on the hot seat and he very well may not be back next year.  Will Hendry do the hiring?  Will a new GM do the hiring?  Will Tom Ricketts make the decision on the next Cubs manager regardless of who is sitting in the GM’s chair?  It should be interesting.

UPDATE:  Paul Sullivan at Chicago Breaking Sports has an update on the Lou Piniella press conference.  In addition to confirming that Piniella will retire at the end of the season, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said that he plans on retaining Jim Hendry and that Hendry will be making the decision on a new manager.  To me, that’s a little surprising, but it is probably a good idea to get it out of the way now rather than fueling speculation for the rest of the year and going into the off-season.

There’s no doubt that Hendry has his detractors and some of what they say when they complain about him is true.  Hendry has made his mistakes.  But who among MLB GM’s has not made similar mistakes.  Theo Epstein in Boston is often held up as the perfect GM, especially by the Sabermetric crowd.  But Epstein has made his share of mistakes.  Under his direction, Boston has released players who were still owed big money (i.e. Julio Lugo) and are in a position right now where they want to pay someone to take Mike Lowell off their hands.  Brian Cashman and Billy Beane are two other GM’s who are often lauded, but who also have a mixed record.

In order to be a successful GM, you have to take some risks.  And when you take risks, sometimes you lose.  It’s the nature of the game.  If you look objectively at Hendry’s record (something that is hard for Cubs fans to do, including me), you find that at the very least, he has done a respectable job.  I can’t say I’m thrilled that Hendry will be leading the Cubs into 2011 and perhaps beyond, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it either.

With Hendry coming back, I think the odds of Sandberg being the next manager just increased a bit.  Sandberg has done everything Hendry has asked of him, and he has done it well and with success.  He’s climbed the coaching ladder within the Cubs organization and I think it will be tough for Hendry not to choose him as the Cubs next manager. 

In fact, let me make a prediction.  In the near future, I predict that Sandberg will by moved up onto Piniella’s coaching staff to get a little big league coaching experience before taking over the team next year.  It’s just a guess on my part, but remember, you heard it here first.

In a separate Tweet, Stark says that there are “2 or 3″ other teams interested in Bradley.  Earlier in the day, one of those teams was identified as the Kansas City Royals and the rumor was that they were interested in trading Gil Meche to the Cubs for Bradley.  There was also a rumor that Meche would go to the Mets, Luis Castillo to the Cubs and Bradley to Kansas City.  However, Royals GM Dayton Moore shot down the rumors calling them “unbelievable” and saying that there were no talks going on with either the Cubs or the Mets about a potential deal.

Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wrote that the Mets might be interested in trading directly with the Cubs to acquire Milton Bradley.  If Bradley couldn’t handle the bright lights of Chicago, I’m not sure how he’s going to handle New York, but if a trade can be made, that would not be the Cubs problem.

Away from the Milton Bradley front, Miles opined that Ted Lilly may not be back from injury and ready to pitch until May 1.  I’m liking the Cubs starting rotation less and less.  To start the season, it looks like Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Randy wells will be the Cubs top three starters.  Tom Gorzellany and Sean Marshall will likely be the other two starters to start the season with Jeff Samardjzia waiting in the wings. 

What happens if Zambrano or Dempster gets hurt?  What if Randy Wells suffers a sophomore slump?  I sure would feel better about the Cubs rotation if they had another legit pitcher as their number three or four starter.  Even if Ted Lilly comes back when expected, the cubs could still use an “insurance” arm.

Could that arm be Braden Looper?  Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com wrote that Looper would love to pitch in Chicago.  His three kids go to school there and he’d like to pitch “at home.”  The Brewers declined his $6.5 million option and instead chose the $1 million buyout.  The 35-year old right hander was 14-7 last year with a 5.22 ERA.  His career ERA is 4.15 and he has been durable, especially over the past three years.  If the Cubs could sign him to one-year at a discount (he earned $4.75 million last year), it might not be a bad signing. 

Morosi also reports that the Cubs are showing interest in right handed reliever J.J. Putz.  Putz is coming back from surgery and held a throwing session in Arizona last week to showcase his arm.  Putz could be a nice, inexpensive picjup for the bullpen.  However, since quite a few other teams are also interested in Putz, he might not be too cheap afterall.

Another rumor that made the rounds today involved San Diego sending Heath Bell to the Cubs.  It was unclear who the Cubs would send to the Padres, but two names throw out there were Geovany Soto and Ryan Theriot.  Bruce Miles had commented earlier in the day that San Diego might be interested in moving Bell because they have Mike Adams ready to take over as their closer. 

Phil Rogers of the ChicagoBreakingSports.com ran with that thought and suggested that the Cubs and Padres had discussed such a trade.  In a later post, Miles debunked the rumor started reported by Rogers by saying, “Cubs GM Jim Hendry laughed off a Chicago-based rumor that had the Cubs interested in Padres closer Heath Bell, with possible trade bait being catcher Geovany Soto or shortstop Ryan Theriot. As I blogged this morning, the Cubs like Bell, but he’s not on their radar at all because he’ll have a big raise coming this fall, as he’s arbitration-eligible.”

In non-trade news, the Cubs announced that Ryne Sandberg will manager the AAA Iowa Cubs next year.  This will be Sandberg’s fourth year as a manager in the Cubs minor league system.  He spent two years in Peoria (2007-08), a year in Tennessee (2009), and now a stint in Iowa.

It would appear that the Cubs are grooming Sandberg to take over after Pinella retires after the 2010 season.  He told the Des Moines Register,  “I’ve been very pleased with the progression,” Sandberg said in a telephone interview today with the Des Moines Register. “Getting closer to the major leagues is very gratifying. I’m looking at this as another stepping stone.”

But wait, is Piniella really going to retire after 2010?  He’s not saying he will and not saying he won’t.  He told Bruce Miles, “I’m going to do the best job I possibly can, and at the end of this year, we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I can work on a handshake.”

All of this is a moot point, at least for now.  Decisions will be made sometime next year, and the decisions will likely revolve around how well the Cubs do in 2010, as well as how well Sandberg does managing in Iowa.

What’s in store for Today?  I’m sure there will be plenty of more rumors and maybe even some action.  Stay tuned.

The Cubs pitching staff is in pretty good shape for next year.  Starter Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells will likely take the top four spots (barring any trades), with Tom Gorzelanny, Sean Marshall, and Jeff Samardzija fighting it out for the fifth spot.

The bullpen may also be pretty well set.  Two of the three pitchers listed above that will be competing for the fifth starter role will likely end up in the bullpen.  Carlos Marmol will be closing, which leaves four or five additional positions in the bullpen.

Assuming Angel Guzman is healthy, he’ll claim one spot.  John Grabow is slated to be a free agent, but the Cubs are working on an extension for him and he has indicated that he would like to return.  If he does, he’ll claim another spot.  The finally two or three spots will go to any combination of David Patton, Esmailan Caridad, Justin Berg, Jeff Stevens and John Gaub.  There’s also a chance that the Cubs may try to resign Aaron Heilman, who Miles points out had a decent second half this year.

It’s fair to say that the vast majority of the offseason action is going to be focused on the position players.  A little tweaking here and there (like resigning John Grabow) may take place, but don’t expect many changes to the pitching staff.

Caveat: Of course, this assumes that none of the Cubs pitchers are involved in trades.  My gut tells me that a couple of the guys listed above will not be Cubs when the 2010 season rolls around.

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Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago (the “other” Bruce) has a new article up wherein he says:

The most likely scenario in the offseason will have the team allowing right-hander Rich Harden to test the free-agent waters. The Cubs will not offer arbitration to Harden, who was their top strikeout pitcher in 2009. Credit should be given to the Cubs’ medical and training staff, which did a fabulous job keeping the oft-injured pitcher on the mound the last year and a half. And to Harden’s credit, the extra work he did last offseason was also a key factor in his ability to make 26 starts this season.

No disrespect to Mr. Levine, but I think he’s wrong.  I expect the Cubs to offer arbitration to Harden and I expect Harden to turn it down, thus giving the Cubs a second round draft pick from the team that eventually signs him (Harden is a type B free agent). 

As a type B free agent, Harden knows that it is more likely that a team will sign him, potentially even to a multi-year deal.  They will not be as shy about signing him as they would have been had he been a type A free agent.  So it’s in the Cubs best interest to get something for him.  Worst case scenario is that he accepts arbitration and the Cubs end up with a good pitcher with the potential to be great if he can stay healthy.

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2009 is the 25th anniversary of the Cubs 1984 NL East winning season.  It was the first time since 1945 that a Cubs team had gone to the post season, so for Cubs fans, the 1984 team and season was very special.

Tony Arnold from WBEZ in Chicago is interviewing the various members of that 1984 team, including league-MVP and future Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.  Sandberg remembers the season vividly, including the excitement at Wrigley as the season wore on, peopler gathering on the rooftops across from Wrigley for the first time, as well as specfic games and plays.  Take a listen to what Ryno remembers about the great 1984 season.

This series in Colorado is imprortant for a couple of reasons.  First, the Cubs need to beat everyone they face, so by that standard, every series is important.  Second, the Cardinals  are in Pittsburgh to take on the last place Pirates, so chances are they will be having a successful weekend (let’s hope not).  If so, the Cubs need to at least keep pace.

Carlos Zambrano will take the mound tonight against the recently cooled off Rockies.  The Rox have lost their last two games and are 5-5 in their last ten.  Prior to that, they had hit a hot streak that had catapulted them into contention in the NL Wild Card race.  At the moment, they are in second place in the Wild Card standings, one game back of San Francisco and one game ahead of the Cubs.  Hey, there’s another reason this series is important.

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Ryne Sandberg is getting an itch.  The manager of the AA Tennesee Smokies is closing in on his third full season as a minor league manager and he is looking forward to managing in the bigs.  That, according to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sandberg downplayed his aspirations, but did say “I think the goal of anyone in the minor leagues — you hope — is to get to the majors.”  If he is getting impatient, who can blame him.  After all, he’s a Baseball Hall of Famer; the only one currently managing in the minor leagues.

So will the Cubs promote him to manager?  Jim Hendry wasn’t making any promises.  When asked about Sandberg’s chances to manage in the future, Hendry said:

“I would leave that totally up to him,” Hendry said. “I would think if that happened outside of our organization, he’d have to take it. I certainly would never discourage him. Sometimes timing in life is everything.”

Whether it was fair or not to make Sandberg prove himself managing in the minors after a Hall of Fame career, it was necessary.  Sandberg by nature is reserved and even a bit introverted.  He had to learn to come out of his shell more and to communicate with guys who might not have the natural talent he was blessed with.  He also had to learn to communicate with guys that maybe didn’t have the same strong work ethic he had.

Sandberg admits that you need to have a much different perspective on the game as a manager than as a player. 

“It all started with just watching the game from a different perspective than what I did since 1978 as a player playing the middle infield,” he said. “It’s completely different. It’s watching the whole field. It’s positioning the outfielders, working with the catcher to shut down the opposing running game. It’s working the lineup. All the things to run the game.”

I watched Sandberg as he managed a AA game in Tennessee earlier this year (I wrote about it here).  I was impressed with Sandberg’s focus and his involvement in the game.  When the Smokies were hitting, Sandberg was coaching third base.  When they were in the field, Sandberg was calling pitches.  I think it would be easy for someone of Sandberg’s stature to ride the waves of his past successes.  Instead, just like when he was a player, Sandberg is working hard, doing things the right way, and trying to prove himself every day.

Lou Piniella is signed through 2010.  Speculation has been that he will retire after next season.  If that happens, I’d like to see Sandberg get a shot at managing the Cubs.  I don’t know if he’ll be successful or not, but he has certainly paid his dues to the organization, both as a player and as a minor league manager.

First, I had hoped to shoot some video of Smokies Park, the clubs stadium.  Unfortunately, camcorders are not allowed in the stadium, so that idea was shot (no pun intended).  Instead, I’ve provided a photo of the cup I drank out of during the game.  Not as exciting as a video, but it’s the best I could do.

Then, just before game time, the area got hit with a thunderstorm that delayed the start of the game.  Not to worry.  We dashed into the Double Play Cafe (the restaurant at the ball park) for drinks and an appetizer.  After about a 30 minute delay, the tarp came off the field and the game was ready to start.

When the game started, it was 95 degrees and humid.  We got tickets fives rows behind the Smokies dugout on the first base side.  As it turned out, that was a mistake.  The late afternoon sun was beating down on us while the folks on the third base side of the field were in shade.  Oh well, live and learn.

The main attraction at the game was obviously Ryne Sandberg.  He is featured on most of the signs/posters promoting the Smokies and prior to the game, there was a constant line of 30-50 waiting for his autograph.  To his credit, he met each waiting fan with a smile and a handshake.

Things went smoothly for the first four-and-a-half innings until another thunderstorm moved in and delayed the game again.  It was starting to get late, so after waiting another 30 minutes, we decided to head home.  It didn’t look like the rain was going to stop for a while and we had a long drive home.  I really thought the game would get called, but after a one hour and twenty minute delay, they finished the game with the Stars beating the Smokies 3-2.

Although the people at Smokies Park couldn’t have been friendlier, I was not very impressed with Smokies Park or the game presentation.  The park itself is a cookie-cutter park that is wedged into a small hillside.  There’s not a thing wrong with the ballpark, but it is nothing special.  The Smokies do have a very nice scoreboard with video capabilities.  They also have a nice clubhouse store that sells Smokies and Cubs merchandise.  The park is clean and access is easy (parking is right outside the gates), but I just expected more.

The presentation was very amateurish.  I spend a lot of time at summer college league baseball games (See SummerCollegeLeagues.com) and the presentation at many of these games exceeds what the Smokies had to offer.  For instance, the between inning “game” had two young girls behind home plate doing cart wheels (which they weren’t very good at).  This went on for 30-45 seconds and then both girls were given prizes.  The guy sitting next to me said “What was the point in that?”  My sentiments exactly.

Another between inning game had interns walking in front of the stands throwing soft baseballs into the stands.  The girl throwing to our side of the field couldn’t have been less enthusiastic.  She walked down the foul line and just chucked a few balls into the stands without smiling or really even looking where she was throwing.  Plus, I think she only threw 4-5 balls into the stands which seemed kind of cheap to me.

The announcer also showed very little enthusiasm.  His delivery was matter-of-fact and he didn’t do anything special to get the crowd into the game.  And the crowd responded by sitting quietly baking in the heat.  According to the Smokies website, there were 3,930 people at the game.  The crowd seemed smaller than that to me, but however many people were there, they were quiet.

There was a small area near right field that had a couple of games for kids to play.  The offering was small and not very impressive.  In fact, summer college leagues like the Northwoods League and Coastal Plain League do a better job catering to the kids.

The food choices were also rather bland.  There was nothing wrong with the food, there just weren’t many choices.  The usual ballpark fare was offered.  Again, I’ve been to college-league games with a better selection.

I really wanted to like Smokies Park.  I went with high hopes, but was left disappointed.  It just wasn’t anything special.

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Just a quick update on the Cubs.  They lost again.  So they dropped two-out-of-three to the White Sox and they’re 3.5 games out of first in fourth place in the NL Central.  Carlos Zambrano had a rough outing, giving up nine hits and four earned runs over 5.1 innings.  He also hit two batters, which prompted Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune to call on the Cubs to waive/trade Zambrano.

“Get Carlos Zambrano out of here, even if the Cubs have to give him away. He’s not the guy you want as the ace of a curse-busting team, and at this point, it’s wishful thinking that he’ll ever mature into that guy.

“Proving that I did not attend Kellogg, Wharton or even the Acme School of Business, I offer this proposition for Jim Hendry: First thing Monday morning, put Zambrano on waivers. If anyone claims him and the $62.75 million left on his contract, which runs through 2012, immediately trade him for whatever is being offered, from a bag of balls to a 32-year-old minor-leaguer.”

He then goes on to try to justify his unjustifiable stance:

“Unfortunately for the North Side drama queens, their ace once again reported for work wearing size 30 shoes and a red rubber ball on his nose. Zambrano pitched badly and lost his cool for about the zillionth time, venting his frustrations on Sox hitters en route to a 6-0 loss.

“Zambrano clearly drilled Dewayne Wise in the butt on the first pitch after he had sniffed out a suicide squeeze attempt but threw wildly past Geovany Soto, allowing rookie Chris Getz to steal home. Home plate umpire Brian Runge should have ejected Zambrano, as it looked to me like the second time he had intentionally drilled a Sox hitter.

“He also ricocheted a pitch off Scott Podsednik’s rear end in the third inning. The motivation here wasn’t nearly as clear, but Sox players believe he was angry about either Podsednik’s four-hit game Saturday or, more likely, his unorthodox dance toward the front of the batter’s box during a pitcher’s delivery.”

So, as I understand it, Rogers believes that the Cubs should waive or trade Zambrano because he (Rogers) feels that Zambrano threw at a couple of White Sox players purposely.  The umpires didn’t think Zambrano threw at the White Sox purposely.  Even the White Sox weren’t complaining about Zambrano purposely throwing at them.  But because Phil Rogers thinks he did, the Cubs should waive or trade Zambrano.  Brilliant….

I’ll be the first to admit that Zambrano can be a bit erratic and immature at times, but teams traditionally don’t waive their ace pitcher because he’s emotional and occasionally immature.  Perhaps the Tribune should waive Rogers for his overly-emotional and ill-conceived column.  I understand that it’s his job to help sell newspapers, but the things he writes should at least be semi-realistic.

Ryne Sandberg went 5-6 on the day including two homeruns and a total of seven RBI.  To make the feat even more impressive, Sandberg hit both homeruns off of future-Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter and both homeruns tied the game for the Cubs after the Cardinals had taken the lead.

For the Cardinals, Willie McGee had a tremendous game.  McGee hit for the cycle, going 4-6 with six RBI and three runs scored.  In the bottom of the 9th, NBC announcer Bob Costas announced that McGee had been named the “player of the game,” only to have Sandberg tie the game with a homerun to lead off the frame.  With the game going into extra innings, McGee would have to wait on his “player of the game” award.

The Cardinals scored two in the top of the 10th inning and Sutter came back out to pitch in the bottom of the 10th.  With two outs, Sutter walked Bobby Dernier to bring Sandberg to the plate.  For the second consecutive inning, Sandberg tied the game with one swing of his bat.  

In the bottom of the 11th innning, with the bases loaded with Cubs, Dave Owen hit a pinch-hit single to right to bring home the winning run.  The Cubs won the game 12-11 and Sandberg was named “player of the game.”

Here are some highlights from the game:

The Cubs went on to make the playoffs in 1984 for the first time since 1945.  Sandberg was awarded the NL MVP award that year and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2005. 

The game had such a profound impact on me that I celebrate the anniversary every year by doing something baseball related.  This year, I’ll be taking the family to Sevierville, TN to watch Ryno lead his Tennessee Smokies against the Huntsville Stars (AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers).

I’ll try to get some video of the stadium to post later this week.  It should be a very good time.

After the testing was completed, MLB destroyed the test results.  However, for some unknown reason, the players union kept a copy of the results and the results were obtained by the Federal government as part of their investigation into steroid use in MLB.  The players union is fighting the government in court claiming that the government obtained the results illegally, but while that goes on, lawyers involved in the case are leaking the names of players who tested positive.  A total of 104 players tested positive.  Alex Rodriguez’ name was the first to be leaked.  Now the lawyers have released Sammy Sosa’s name.

I would have preferred that this news was never released, but maybe it’s a good thing.  I’ve struggled with my feelings concerning steroid use in baseball, so I’ll try to use this unfortunate incident to hash out how I really feel. 

When I first became aware of steroid use in baseball, I was outraged.  At that time, I thought Barry Bonds was the only one (or one of the only ones) to be involved with steroids.  I already didn’t like Barry Bonds, so it wasn’t difficult to be upset with what it was reported he had done.

As time has gone on, more and more players have tested positive or admitted to using PEDs.  And it hasn’t just been hitters.  Pitchers have also been linked to PEDs; Roger Clemens being the most high profile.  As more and more players have been linked to steroids and human growth hormones, my anger has subsided.  I guess my rationale has been, if a lot of people are cheating, it’s better because the playing field is then more level.  That’s probably imperfect logic, but it’s the way I think.

I was stunned when it was revealed that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for PEDs.  I’ve always considered Rodriguez to be one of the best natural players I have ever seen and I was hopeful that he would someday surpass the homerun numbers that Barry Bonds put up.  He still may surpass Bonds, but it just won’t be the same now that he is an admitted steroid user.

The news about Sammy isn’t quite as shocking, but it’s just as sad.  Sosa had a great run with the Cubs and, although his tenure with the club ended badly, my hope was the fences would be eventually mended and Sammy would eventually be regarded as a Cubs great right along with Banks, Santo, Williams, Sandberg, and Jenkins.  Now, that day will be delayed, if in fact it ever comes.

So how do I feel about the use of PEDs in MLB?  I’m becoming ambivalent.  I’m beginning to understand that baseball players, like most professional athletes, will do just about anything to give themselves an edge.  That doesn’t mean that I think everyone is on the juice, but I do think that it’s a temptation that some players just can’t resist.

I’m also learning that unfair advantages have always existed in baseball.  In the 70′s, the use of amphetamines by baseball players was rather widespread.  Players who played before the color barrier was broken had the unfair advantage of playing against inferior competition.  The numbers that we hold in reverence as baseball fans are all obtained to one degree or another through impure or unnatural methods.  The holy grail of baseball – the stats – are not so holy after all.

As a bit of aside note, at least in my mind, the way that steroid users are being exposed colors my view of the PED users.  Let me explain.  Let’s say someone is doing something illegal and they don’t get caught until the police perform an illegal search to catch them.  Obviously, a court would not allow the evidence seized illegally and the case would fall apart.  We want criminals caught, but we insist that the police follow the rules to catch them.

Likewise, I have a problem with lawyers illegally releasing the names of people who tested positive for steroids.  The agreement was that the tests would be confidential and the names of anyone who tested positive would not be released.  Once the government obtained the information, the documents in the case were sealed.  Even so, lawyers, officers of the court, people sworn to abide by court orders and uphold the law,  are taking it upon themselves to release this information.  It’s wrong.  We’re not talking about the Pentagon Papers here.  We’re talking about baseball players who used steroids.  It’s not exactly a national security issue.  So the lawyers can’t claim to be serving a higher purpose or protecting the public interest.  All they are doing is serving their own purposes, whether those purposes be mental/emotional or financial.  The lawyers anger me even more than the players and it is my opinion that the lawyers should be found out and prosecuted.

Like so many people, I’ve grown weary of everything having to do with steroids.  They started out as a horrible evil then became a serious problem, and now they’re just an unfortunate episode.  I don’t like the impact that steroid-induced stats have had on the record book, but the truth is that those stats were achieved on a relatively level playing field.  Juiced up batters were hitting against juiced up pitchers.  I know, that’s a gross exaggeration, but it’s not completely untrue.

The game will go on to face more challenges and scandals.  It’s the nature of life.  And someday, we’ll look back on the steroid era as unfortunate, but generally no different than the amphetamine era or the deadball era or any other era that baseball has lived through.  Eventually, players connected to steroids will get into the Hall of Fame and will be regarded as tainted, yet great players, just like so many players already in the HOF. 

Steroids have been a scourge on the game, but the wound hasn’t been mortal.  In fact, like so many challenges in life, this episode will just make baseball stronger.  The fact that steroid use no longer shocks us is evidence that we’re already moving on, wanting to focus on the game rather than the side show.  More revelations will come, but the worst has passed.  Baseball has survived and will go on to a brighter future.