Mitchell Report Due Next Week

[Jpup]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3145958

NEW YORK -- Baseball is about to get its official boxscore on the Steroids Era.

The Mitchell Report is due next week, probably Thursday.

It's the findings of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's 20-month investigation into performance-enhancing drugs, a modern-day Black Sox scandal that has tarnished many of the game's greatest stars and records.

Although some are sure to claim it's one-sided and outdated, it has given players and executives cause for pause.

"Well, it ain't Merry Christmas or Happy New Year for somebody," Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Shining light into the shadows, the 74-year-old Mitchell brought experience from many fields. The former chairman of The Walt Disney Co., he once was offered a spot on the Supreme Court by President Clinton and famously challenged Lt. Col. Oliver North during the Iran-Contra hearings.

But he is also a director with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, a role players say makes him hopelessly conflicted and an agent of Selig, who appointed him. Players also claim Mitchell refused to show those accused the evidence against them, denying them a chance to refute the allegations.

For now, Selig claims not to know what's inside the report. Suffice to say, midway between Boston wrapping up the Fall Classic and the start of spring training, there are plenty of jittery people around the majors.

"Obviously, it can't be really good," New York Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "If there's some really, really big names I'm sure it's going to be a real impact in some ways."

Outfielders Jose Guillen and Jay Gibbons, linked in media reports to receiving human growth hormone, were suspended Thursday for the first 15 days of next season. The penalties are an indication how baseball might treat any players named by Mitchell.

Although some say Barry Bonds' home run record -- and milestone ball -- should be marked with an asterisk, Mitchell noted the Hall of Fame vote in which Mark McGwire was picked on just 23.5 percent of ballots, nowhere near the 75 percent needed for induction.

That election in January was considered the first test on how history will view a period when bulked-up stars amassed bulked-up stats.

"If nothing else, the results of the Hall of Fame voting last week, and the reaction to it, offer fresh evidence that this issue will not just fade away," Mitchell said then. "Whether you think it fair or not, whether you think it justified or not, Major League Baseball has a cloud over its head, and that cloud will not just go away."

To some, the drumbeat of suspicion is falling on deaf ears.

"Now when it comes out, more people seem to be numb to it," former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly said this week. "If it's not some huge name, they don't even pay attention anymore."

Said Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost: "I don't care one way or the other, to be honest with you."

Hired by Selig in March 2006, Mitchell and his staff spent millions of dollars interviewing people and collecting evidence. Their task: Provide a history of what happened off the diamond during a time when home run marks that had lasted for decades fell as suddenly strong sluggers changed the balance between pitchers and hitters.

Previously undisclosed names could be tied to steroids and HGH, thanks to the cooperation of former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. A national investigation led by the Albany, N.Y., district attorney's office is also believed to have provided evidence to Mitchell.

Active players have largely resisted cooperating -- the Yankees' Jason Giambi is the only one known to have spoken to the inquiry. However, retired players have spoken with Mitchell, who did not have subpoena power.

Selig's decision to launch an official investigation followed the release of "Game of Shadows," in which San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams said Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs for at least five seasons beginning in 1998.

Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's career home run record in August, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges he lied to federal investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs.

The home run king was arraigned in U.S. District Court on four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice stemming from a Nov. 15 indictment. If convicted, he could spend more than two years in prison.

Bonds, currently a free agent who hopes to play in 2008, has denied knowingly using illegal performance-enhancers. He nonetheless became the face of steroid allegations while dozens of other major- and minor-leaguers tested positive.

"I think we're all eager to get this era behind us and to get steroids out of this game, growth hormone out of the game, get things that change the competitive balance other than hard work and a desire to be the best ballplayer you can be," Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

To former World Anti-Doping Agency leader Dick Pound, baseball is an outlaw sport, refusing to agree to WADA's standards for testing and discipline.

But athletes in U.S. team sports, protected by collective bargaining agreements and American labor laws, have no interest in international standards.

"I think if you look at attendance, if you look at the health of the game right now, that would suggest that fans have digested what information exists and perhaps assumed that the problem has been addressed, at least for the moment," San Diego Padres chief executive officer Sandy Alderson said.

While cycling has been hurt by doping allegations, Selig repeatedly says this is a golden age for baseball. The sport drew a record average of 32,785 fans to games this year, breaking the previous mark of 31,423 that was set in 1994 -- before a 7½-month players' strike caused a steep drop.

The major leagues set a total attendance mark for the fourth straight season, drawing 79.5 million, up 4.5 percent from last year's 76 million. Performance, thus far, has been what has largely determined players' reputations, not whether they are clean.

"That may unfortunately be the case," Alderson said.

By hiring Mitchell, Selig gave himself time to see what other information would emerge. Sensitive to what's written about baseball and himself in newspapers and what is said on the airwaves, Selig acts at a deliberate pace.

Selig has maintained he didn't realize performance-enhancing drugs were an issue until 1998, when The Associated Press reported McGwire used androstenedione, a testosterone-producing pill that baseball did not ban until 2004.

When players showed up with bigger biceps and hat sizes at spring training in those years, many in baseball suspected something was going on, but no one could prove it. Once the games started, attention turned to the field.

Even now, with the Mitchell report looming, many fans are more focused on what moves their favorite teams are making.

"We're all kind of desensitized," Randolph said. "There will be a reaction, but I think that's really kind of always short-lived and you've got to pick up and move on."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[Joseph]

Will Dusty's stature improve the visibility of the Reds? He's the first guy quoted in this article from baseball, that has to say and mean something. I don't mean to hijack the thread with some other discussion, I just wondered.

[harangatang]

Originally Posted by Joseph

Will Dusty's stature improve the visibility of the Reds? He's the first guy quoted in this article from baseball, that has to say and mean something. I don't mean to hijack the thread with some other discussion, I just wondered.

I was just going to say the same thing, actually, so don't feel bad. I doubt if Jerry Narron was still the Reds manager if he would have a quote in this article. But you have to remember that Baker was Bonds' manager in San Francisco too.

[11larkin11]

I can see it now...

Players Listed

Brandon Phillips
Jay Bruce
Adam Dunn
Ken Griffey Jr.
Josh Hamilton
Jason Kendall
So Taguchi

[MWM]

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be disappointed when the report comes out. I'm sure there will be a name or two that might surprise some people, but I think when it's all said and done, it's going to be very little of substance. I don't think it's going to be the expose some people are expecting.

[fearofpopvol1]

Originally Posted by MWM

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be disappointed when the report comes out. I'm sure there will be a name or two that might surprise some people, but I think when it's all said and done, it's going to be very little of substance. I don't think it's going to be the expose some people are expecting.

This is exactly what I'm anticipating. I hope I'm wrong, but I share these sentiments unfortunately.

[traderumor]

Said Milwaukee Brewers manager Ned Yost: "I don't care one way or the other, to be honest with you."

That is the same attitude that allowed this problem to exist--management's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It seems to me that steroids is the best thing that ever happened to the game if you consider record TV contracts and money to be the measure of success. And I know that Bud does. The state of the game today only makes me think back frequently to Bowie Kuhn nixing a deal for Vida Blue basically because it would make the Reds too good. Now, it is almost as certain as the sun rising in the West that Johan Santana bidding wars will plant him in Boston or New York. Yea, Bud, baseball is real healthy, if money is how you take its temperature.

[Matt700wlw]

So far, I can't think of anything bad to say of Dusty Baker....

He's honest and he doesn't BS people...I like that.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by traderumor

That is the same attitude that allowed this problem to exist--management's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It seems to me that steroids is the best thing that ever happened to the game if you consider record TV contracts and money to be the measure of success. And I know that Bud does. The state of the game today only makes me think back frequently to Bowie Kuhn nixing a deal for Vida Blue basically because it would make the Reds too good. Now, it is almost as certain as the sun rising in the West that Johan Santana bidding wars will plant him in Boston or New York. Yea, Bud, baseball is real healthy, if money is how you take its temperature.

I think what Yost is saying is there's nothing he can do about it one way or the other. Let's say that the Mitchell repor comes out and someone like Bill Hall is named. What's Yost going to do about it? If he wants to be high minded about it he can ask Bob Melvin to release or trade Hall but that's up to Melvin and the owner, not Yost. If Hall is suspended and then comes back, is Yost just going to bench him and risk losing games to prove a point?

As for Santana ending up in NY or BOS, these deals have been going on for years. Babe Ruth ended up in NY because BOS was strapped for cash. Connie Mack broke up one of the greatest teams of all time because he could no longer afford them. If MIN was just getting rid of Santana cause they can't pay im, they would have accepted the first offer for him. If they want to trade one of the top pitchers in the game, they better get fair value for him and it appears that they are doing just that. They are playing the Yankees and Sox off against each other hoping to drive up the price and now the Mets are involved too. Sure, the team who gets Santana is gaining a great deal but they are paying a heavy price whish is how it should work.

Sun rising in the West? Was that when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

[savafan]

Word is that there are between 60 and 80 current and former players named in the report. MLB received it today.

[MrCinatit]

Yeah, I saw on the news ticker at work that a rough draft had been completed.
Let the leakage begin.

[edabbs44]

Top 5 players who end up on the report who haven't been "officially" leaked (Glaus), "officially" outed (Tejada) or admitted (Giambi) in the past?

Tim Salmon
Tanyon Sturtze
Garret Anderson
Eric Gagne
Carlos Delgado

Who's in your Fave Five?

[Raisor]

David Wells
Bill the Cat

[Chip R]

It looks like GMs are on pins and needles waiting for this report to come out. According to this article there seems to be the feeling that they will be the fall guy(s) on the whole steroids thing.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/s...t&lid=tab1pos1

[flyer85]

I really don't see the point of the report anymore. The simple truth is that the numbers from an entire era are tainted and we will never know exactly who did and who didn't.

The real issue should be how does baseball move forward and ensure it doesn't happen again.