LostInaFog.com

Baseball is about to investigate itself. Not because it is fighting with its collective conscience over the effects of steroids on baseball. Not because it is concerned that some kid in sacramento is going to harm himself trying to be “like Barry”. Not because outraged fans are beating down Bud’s door and demanding it. Commissioner Selig is opening an investigation into Barry Bonds and illegal substance abuse in baseball because he is being forced to by Congress.

Don’t get me started on Congress’ role in this. As a taxpayer, I can tell you that every dime spent and minute wasted in Washington talking about baseball is ridiculous. Just get back to porking up those appropriations bills and getting re-elected, because that is all you stand for.

So what exactly is going to be investigated? You think that final report will outline Selig’s complicity in allowing this mess in the first place? You think it will point a finger at Donald Fehr for stonewalling whatever weakass attempts Baseball made to keep performance enhancing drugs out of baseball. You think it will take to task the billionaire club in the owners’ boxes across the league for turning a blind eye to it all? I guess that is possible, but I think it has more to do with Barry and the homerun record.

I am a baseball fan and I see nothing good coming out of this. It will not give any sort of final answer and list of cheaters to be persecuted, because we will never know for sure about most of the players who cheated. It will take a season when baseball fans should be celebrating the breaking of momentous records and turn it into an abomination where every homer Barry hits will come attached with an “objects in the morror may be closer than they appear” warning label.

I am glad that baseball has finally had the sense (well, the Balco-tainted pressure realized sense, anyway) to put a clamp on this crap and put in real testing. It needs to end. But, of course, it won’t, right? I mean most of Balco’s marquee clients were international athletes subject to rigorous Olympics-like testing. But they were able to use these substances and stay in front of the testing machinery. There’s really no reason to think it will work. Its just a car alarm designed to thwart the stupid kid who wants a joy ride. It won’t stop the trained criminal who will still take your car and the alarm too.

So, the same Commissioner that brought us the last strike/lockout and the loss of a world series for the first time in history, will now seek to euthanize this current awful situation with a public witchhunt. Fine. Take Barry Gary and Jason and the rest and walk them on up to those gallows. But in the end, it better be Selig and the owners first in line.

Do you remember the debate way back when about whether it was appropriate to have a baseball commissioner who was actually from the ranks of the owners rather than an independent who could indeed act in the best interest of baseball? Well, I think we’ve now answered that question. Selig should hang his head in shame over his tenure as Commissioner and walk away now. And this time we the fans should demand that the man or woman who takes his place is one of us–a fan.

Most of the world seems to hate Barry Bonds. Fine. Take him down. Run him out of baseball. But don’t make it about him just because he’s arrogant and the best player of his generation. If you’re going to do this, do it right and punish those who encouraged, enabled and applauded the results. This one’s on you, Bud.