Jerry Hairston has no idea how his name got hooked into this whole HGH mess.
We have no idea who is guilty and who is innocent, but we know this: With only one or two exceptions (Guillermo Mota, Matt Lawton), they all say they are innocent. Which, sadly, makes them all look really guilty.
And Commissioner Bud Selig is really in a bind, with almost no good options.
If he decides to lay down the law and suspends Gary Matthews and Hairston, to make a strong in-the-best-interests-of-baseball statement, the union would challenge his ruling and an arbitrator would overturn it in about 0.32 seconds.
And the Commissioner must consider the possibility that there will be many, many more names connected with these Internet busts in weeks to come, as more companies are raided. If he tries to suspend Matthews and Hairston unilaterally, he must be prepared to do the same with many other players, including stars. At the same time baseball is championing its drug-testing, these pharmacy busts and the possibility of resulting suspensions would mostly serve to highlight just how easy it is to circumvent baseball's program (and it always should be noted that all other pro leagues face the same dilemma).
Selig's alternative is to issue no suspensions, to do nothing, and refer the information about Matthews, Hairston and any others to the Mitchell investigation. He can promise to consider action at the time the report is issued, which at least buys him time. But in the interim, he will look indecisive, and inevitably, politicians will leap onto this like hyenas.
What a mess this is, on all sides, and there is no end in sight, no great exit strategy.
Here's one good strategy, however, that should've been put into place a year ago: Seize the high ground, taking three big steps.
1. Major League Baseball should ask the union and all of its members for cooperation with the Mitchell investigation, and if the union doesn't agree, MLB should suspend the investigation and explain that it cannot expose the whole truth without the participation of the players. Plain and simple. To continue the investigation without the players' involvement will lead to nothing good -- a weakened report that leads to more questions than answers.
Some club executives who've been interviewed by the Mitchell investigation have walked away extremely concerned about the speculative nature of the questions they have been asked. "I don't how they could possibly use the answers I gave," said one executive. "Because I didn't see anything with my own eyes, and I'm sure almost all of us [club employees] are in the same boat. I could guess about who used, but what good is that? And I'd probably be wrong, in some cases."
(The Commissioner said Friday he thinks the Mitchell investigation will have a meaningful conclusion.)
2. Acknowledge culpability. The Commissioner should hold a press conference and say Major League Baseball made mistakes in handling performance-enhancing drug questions in the past. He should say, "I didn't ask the right questions at the right time, and as the leader of the sport, I made mistakes. I cannot change the past, but going forward, my actions can affect the future."
3. The Commissioner should then announce that he will do everything possible, going forward, to clean up his sport. He could become Drug-Busting Bud.
He should insist on the maximum measures, putting the onus on the union to respond. He can ask for blood samples to be taken for testing. He can ask for the storage of blood samples, and he can announce a greater commitment to research funding. If the union doesn't agree to go along with all of this, it will effectively acquire the responsibility for the built-in weakness of baseball's drug program. Selig could issue a public challenge to other sports to match baseball's program, highlighting its strengths.
By doing all of this, by taking all steps available, MLB would be perfectly positioned to be absolutely frank about the scientific boundaries of the testing. Selig could publicly ask Congress: "What more would you like us to do? Tell me what to do, and I will ask the union for it."
While MLB does deserve criticism for what it didn't do in the '90s, there are hard limits to what baseball executives can do now in the 21st century; the cheaters are ahead the folks trying to clean up the sport, and always will be. MLB executives need to do what they can to make fans see the limits of what is possible.
And Selig should tell Congress: "Look, if you want to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs in our sport, go ahead. We're here to answer your questions, and we'll help you in any way we can. But we can't speak for the union."
Baseball was slow to react to this, and gradually, the sport started to catch up. But the recent pharmacy busts have illuminated how far behind MLB is, and Selig has to find a way to get out in front of this mess, once and for all. MLB cannot ever go wrong by taking the highest ground available.
• Not only did Carlos Zambrano say that he thinks he will win the Cy Young Award, he guaranteed the Cubs will win the World Series. And then his own words apparently sunk in, and he backed off a little.
• The head of DirecTV says his company's Extra Innings agreement with Major League Baseball, but as Richard Sandomir writes, others wonder how that could be. There is word that an official announcement could come next week.
• Bobby Murcer has returned home after undergoing chemo.
• Josh Hamilton had a single and a home run for the Reds among his first at-bats of spring, as Hal McCoy writes, and home run was a whopper. So far, so good for Hamilton, and for Dustin Hermanson.
• The White Sox groomed Brandon McCarthy, held onto him through a couple of years of trade talks -- and just as a spot opened up in their rotation, they traded him, which made me wonder if there was some back story to McCarthy's departure.
Well, here's more indication that there might be: Ozzie ripped into McCarthy on radio Friday for allegedly not taking care of business. Here's more. Phil Rogers says these feuds are simply unnecessary Ozzie Guillen catfights.
And along the same lines, Brian Anderson felt compelled to say his night life didn't affect his performance last year.
• Torii Hunter was beaned Friday night, and then vowed never to play another night game at the Twins' spring training facility because of its dim lights.
The young rotation candidates may outperform the veterans, and Jim Souhan wonders how the Twins will react. He's right: Most teams will take the conservative approach and stick with the veterans at the outset of the season, because they figure that once they bypass a veteran, they'll never have a chance to get them back; with minor leaguers, it's a different story.
• Jeff Baker is showing some power for the Rockies this spring.
• Larry Bird's first outing wasn't as big as Daisuke Matsuzaka's first outing, writes Dan Shaughnessy, and Matsuzaka said he wasn't nervous at all. Matsuzaka threw a variety of pitches, and you will see more of the same in the future, says the Boston pitching coach. Hideki Okajima says he has no problem working in the shadows of his more famous friend.
• David Eckstein is hurt and will miss a couple of weeks of spring training, writes Joe Strauss. Braden Looper was pumped about his great work Friday, plus a lot of other stuff, as Derrick Goold writes.
• Clem Labine, one of Roger Kahn's Boys of Summer, has passed away.
• Because of a visa issue, Chan Ho Park's only option was to pitch to minor leaguers on Friday, as Pat Borzi writes. Pedro Martinez was cleared to throw, writes Adam Rubin. Spoke with a veteran pitcher who had shoulder surgery, and he pointed out that while incredible strides have been made with the now precise treatment of elbow injuries, the shoulder remains a mystery. Pitchers with elbow injuries know that in time, he said, that they should be fine. But pitchers with shoulder problems generally have no idea whether their command and velocity will bounce back, and he noted that the Mets have two pitchers -- Duaner Sanchez and Pedro -- in this position.
• King Felix had his contract renewed by the Mariners, as John Hickey writes. The Mariners posted a $23.3 million profit last season, writes Greg Johns.
• Gary Matthews found a refuge in center field Friday.
• Jason Schmidt was impressive in his first outing in Dodger blue.
• Milton Bradley hopes that Mark Kotsay returns from his back trouble and takes center field back, as Susan Slusser writes.
• Livan Hernandez is working on a sinker.
• The Padres' Chris Young is already ahead of where he was last spring, writes Tom Krasovic.
• Barry Bonds had a rough first day in exhibition play.
• Cubs catcher Michael Barrett did something really nice this week.
• Gil Meche earned his paycheck in a big way for the Royals in his first action of spring.
• Jeremy Bonderman thinks he's found the third pitch he has always needed, writes Tom Gage. Cameron Maybin did a bunch of good stuff.
• Andy Pettitte had a strong first outing for the Yankees.
• The Brewers unilaterally renewed the contract of Prince Fielder, as Tom Haudricourt writes here.
• John Smoltz has never felt as good early in camp as he did against the Pirates Friday.
• Heard from one talent evaluator that Erik Bedard looked spectacular on Friday; Roch Kubatko agrees. The Orioles will still be ugly this year, writes Thom Loverro.
• Adam LaRoche did battle with some old friends, including one who threw him a knuckler. Ian Snell is lined up to be the Opening Day starter for Pittsburgh, and threw like he is worthy of the honor.
• After having his contract unilaterally renewed by the Phillies, Ryan Howard said there is no use crying over spilled milk -- and then he went out and jacked a 460-foot homer. The Phillies missed a chance to make a statement, writes Jim Salisbury.
• The Nationals played a messy exhibition debut, as Mark Zuckerman writes. Chris Michalak is pitching for his 14th organization, but he keeps plugging away, as Barry Svrluga writes.
• The Indians are loaded with experienced outfielders, Paul Hoynes writes.
• James Shields felt good about a changeup he threw to Johnny Damon.
• Gustavo Chacin got knocked around by the Red Sox.
• The Marlins' Josh Johnson is undergoing more tests, writes Craig Barnes.
• Michael Young is now The Man in Texas, officially. It's a signing that's priceless, writes Gil LeBreton.
• Sidney Ponson got a work visa, as Jason Williams writes. The rest is up to Ponson.
• We have reached the semifinals of the SEC tournament. Meanwhile, the Vanderbilt dudes close out their SEC schedule against Arkansas today.
Buster Olney
