Take Me Out To The Drug Store

See, Sssteve? I told ya! The Mitchell Report - a damning list of baseball players who have used steroids - was released today, and some pretty big names are on the list.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Releasing a report that links some of baseball's best to the use of performance-enhancing substances, former Sen. George Mitchell said Thursday it is critical that Major League Baseball restore the integrity of the game.

"This is a serious problem that cannot be solved by anything less than a well-conceived, well-executed and cooperative effort by everyone involved in baseball," Mitchell said in announcing his findings.

"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the Players Association, the players -- shares, to some extent, in the responsibility for the steroid era," he said.

Dozens of current and former major league baseball players, including Roger Clemens, Yankee teammate Andy Pettitte, sluggers Mo Vaughn and Gary Sheffield, and reliever Eric Gagne, are named as being linked to steroid use in the report. (H/T - CNN.com)

It amazes me that the sanctimonious leadership of baseball banned Pete Rose for gambling on games, but does nothing to these offenders. Are they not cheating? Are they not causing harm to the game? We were talking about this in work, and I said, "Wow. Clemens. He's such a good player." And then it hit me: no, he probably is not such a good player, because he had to use steroids.

I feel sorry for the dozens of players who are clean, because everyone in the sport will now be under the microscope. The Phillies' Jimmy Rollins just had a monster year. And now I have to ask myself, "Was he using?" Every player on every team is now under suspicion.

I don't know if they can come back from this - especially since Mitchell said the current list of offenders is just "the tip of the iceberg" - but some of the Stepford Baseball Fans better wake up. Their beloved sport is no better than professional wrestling. Until the MLB starts to police themselves, they will lack any credibility at all.