At the behest of my brother, here’s my stance on Rafael Palmeiro’s steroid ban:

Dumbass.

All I wonder is at what point did they test him? I would bet most of what I have that he tested positive at least a month ago. Maybe they wanted to check and double check it before deciding if Bud Selig had the grapes to suspend an actual ballplayer instead of the string of 4-A middle infielders they were going after in April. More likely, there was no way in hell that baseball was going to suspend their late-June/early-July storyline, especially that close to the All-Star Game. Can you imagine the sting baseball would feel if they spend weeks tracking Palmeiro’s bid for 3,000 hits, and how he’s going to be one of four 3,000 hit/500 HR guys in history, and he stood up to the Senate and told them to stick their accusations of steroid use up their ass?

For a couple weeks, he was the Golden Boy. A poster child for the all-time greats among the underappreciated. A guy who’s only flaw was that he might have a little trouble getting it up. And then the test comes back positive.

Oops.

So, what’s baseball left to do? They can’t sweep it totally under the rug. If someone gets a tip that baseball’s steroid policy really is protecting the superstars while hanging the .250 hitters out to dry, they’re done. But MLB would be completely ignorant to suspend him while he’s sitting on 2,997 hits, or while they have an All-Star Game to put on display, or even the excitement surrounding the trade deadline and Hall of Fame inductions. Not to mention blackening the other eye after the “Kenny Rogers vs. all comers with a camera” fiasco.

Which brings me to another point. Baseball goes on this grand stage to talk about how steroid use is the scourge of the industry and they must act swiftly and with a heavy hand to stop it from spreading, yet a positive test lands you half the suspension of someone who flipped out on a cameraman? I suppose Rogers suspension can be more explained that 20 games assures him, as a starting pitcher, misses five or so starts, but on the outside, to the non-fan, how do you explain that a random temper tantrum is worth more than cheating the game with illegal drugs? (Of course, to the outsider, Rogers’ fit was probably categorized as “a maniac out of control of his own emotions brutally assaulting a fellow man”, which it really wasn’t. It was just a dude flipping out.)

Fortunately for baseball, they can now put the Palmeiro feather in their cap as an argument against the “protecting the superstars” complaints, but I still don’t think the spotlight is big enough. The arguments were all laid out against Palmeiro’s Hall of Fame hopes. He’s just a steady performer, nothing outstanding. Well until baseball plays the suspension card on someone in the spotlight (Mr. Bonds, I’m looking in your fat-headed direction), I think they still have some work to do.

*****
In hockey news that I forgot the other day, the Hurricanes traded another favorite former player of mine with the Whale, Jeff O’Neill. These trade rumors have been going on for a few years now, so I guess it seemed inevitable, but it was still a shock to see him go. I’ll never forget him playing with a big-ass black eye during the 2002 playoffs as an example of what he meant to the organization.

Also on the ice, the Blue Jackets signed defenseman Adam Foote today. A very solid move, in my opinion, and by CBJ signing standards, this one’s earth-moving.