On steroids:

First of all, I personally wish that any players who have taken steroids or are taking steroids would be banned and not allowed back on the field (though, of course, a more efficient testing system would be in need) and Manny is definitely no exception. I have to wonder, are all the players I’ve been watching for the past decade on steroids? Well, obviously not a couple of my favorites, David Eckstein and Derek Jeter (I would guess/hope), but how about Rick Ankiel (most likely)? How about Ray Lankford? …. what about Albert? I shudder to think how I would feel if Albert Pujols was found to have used steroids. I don’t think I could even watch the game for a while.

Since when did baseball stop being about going out and playing the best game on the planet, having fun, and putting on a show for fans?

I’m NOT naive – I understand that home runs conjure up fans and fans buy tickets, which produce MLB’s income. But I, personally, would rather see 700 clean, natural players take the field 162 games a year than see 200 clean players and 500 dirtbags go out and hit 300 more home runs per year.

The game cannot be blamed. It’s the guilty players who need to be blamed. Responsibility is always diverted in these kinds of situations. It’s not Bud Selig’s fault that Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez or even Brain Roberts goes home and sticks a needle in themselves or whatever they do so that they can play better and make more money. It’s their fault alone. It’s a fault of character, not of policy. Don’t divert the blame. Blame the players who are guilty.

On Bob Melvin’s firing:

I wasn’t around before 1989, but has it always been this important to demand perfection from baseball organization managers? Joe Torre’s firing, as you may know by now, disgusted me, and Bob Melvin’s isn’t much more justified. I mean, I don’t know if there was some other reason for his firing other than his “lack of success” with the organization, but come on! This guy won the Manager of the Year Award in 2007, has led the D-Backs to winning seasons more often than not, and – oh yeah – has had to manage a young team to a 12-17 start to the season. He must be fired!

What?

To me, this seems like an admission of defeat for the Diamondbacks. Are they really that far out with, what, 133 games left on the year? They can’t come back from this? And is this really Bob Melvin’s fault?

No!

I’m not a D-Backs fan and I don’t watch them on a regular basis. But I don’t see how his managing could be that obviously bad that he could deserve this at this point in the season. If anyone should be fired, I’d be happy to offer up Joe Girardi and Jerry Manuel, neither of which should have gotten into their positions in the FIRST place (Joe Torre and Willy Randolph both did not deserve to be fired, in my eyes!).

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaatever.

Who’s still in first place in the NL Central? THE CARDINALS! WOO!