Steroids, Halls of Fame, and Football, oh my!

So many things to talk about, so little time. Let's start with the steroids thing. Frickin Rafael Palmeiro, probably the only player in baseball history to hit 500 homeruns and not be a lock for the Hall of Fame. And that was BEFORE this steroid thing hit. I mean, really. If you followed baseball casually or very closely, have you ever said to yourself (or heard anybody else say) "Uh oh, Palmeiro is up next. Look out." I mean, quite simply this guy was never really a feared hitter. So how did he quietly reach the magic plateau or 500 HRs and 3000 hits. I think we know the answer to that…

Performance enhancers maybe? And no, I don't mean Viagra. And yes, that joke has been beaten into the ground (since Palmeiro has done Viagra commercials in the past), but I'm still using it dammit. All of the sudden, Giambi, McGwire, and yes, even Bonds don't look like such bad guys. Under oath, Giambi admitted taking steroids. His testimony was leaked, he's struggled through the past 2-3 seasons, and I think it's safe to say he's "clean" now (the loss of 50 pounds or so might be a good hint) and his bat is starting to heat up. From all accounts from players, coaches, and reporters, he's a "good guy". Under oath, McGwire did not admit to using steroids, but he did not deny it either. His double talking jive about "Let's not talk about the past" was bashed in the press, who pretty much jumped to the conclusion that his lack of denail was admission of guilt. Under oath, Mr. Palmeiro not only categorically denied taking steroids, but he defiantly wagged his finger at Congress. Now, the jackass is busted. Not only has he been suspended from baseball, made the poster child of MLB's "tougher drug policy", had all his records and numbers tarnished, been a target of daily Viagra jokes, and probably blown his chances at the Hall of Fame.. If that's all not bad enough, he's under investigation for perjury! Yikes.

So, the next question is.. What do we do about the Hall of Fame caliber players during this "juiced era" of baseball? Good frickin question. I think it's fairly safe to assume at this point a vast majority of the big home run hitters over the past decade have been juiced: McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro, and Giambi are the most visible, but no doubt there are more. You'll hear arguments like "Yeah, but steroids doesn't help them hit the ball! They still are very talented players!" Fair enough, but the juice could be the difference between a home run and a routine fly ball. It's impossible to quantify the difference in home runs it would make.It's going to be interesting to watch how the rest of this plays out, and how the voting goes in a few years. But really, how can you take one of the bunch and not the rest? Seems like it should be an "all or none" type approach. And then, you get to the issue of uncertainty. Bonds still denies using. So does Sosa. McGwire never said he did, but never said he didn't. Can you really say Bonds is a Hall of Famer but McGwire is not? I don't see how.

Speaking of Hall of Famers… Dan Marino and Steve Young were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. I watched some of the ceremony on the NFL network, and it was classy and touching. Two very deserving QBs who I was lucky enough to watch in their primes while I was growing up. Even in New York playing pickup fooball games, Dan Marino jerseys were very popular. It's too bad they never really gave him the running game he needed to win a Super Bowl, but he still has to rank right up there among the best QBs ever. And between the Hall of Fame ceremony, tonight's pre-season game on TV, and our fantasy football league starting to take shape, I think I'm about ready to kick into full NFL blogging mode. ;)