Sally Quin has an interesting column up about the baseball steroid mess, arguing that dopers Barry Bonds and Marion Jones are being treated differently than the majority of the baseball cheats, and wondering if there isn't a parallel between this disparity and the demise of the great Jim Thorpe. We're not as familiar with Jones's case as we are with that of Bonds, but here's one thought: all Bonds had to do was to tell the truth to the grand jury. He controlled his own fate in that sense.But be that as it may, whether the feds move on the bigshots named in the Mitchell Report or not, baseball could act, and that it hasn't underscores what a pathetic clown Bud Selig is. What can you expect when you turn over a great trust to a used car salesman? Baseball has gotten exactly what it deserved.
It's interesting to wonder how a more principled commissioner, with no stake in ownership, would have handled this, and it's interesting also to wonder who would be a great commissioner, assuming the owners ever get their fingers peeled off the power of the office again. A couple of names spring to mind:. Mario Cuomo would probably be a superb commissioner, and might even be decisive for a change. Bob Costas has a job, but he'd probably be thrilled to be considered, and we think he could handle the job. Certainly he has a great understanding of the game. Former GE chairman Jack Welch is probably ruthless enough to freak the owners out completely, and he'd completely overhaul the business side of the game. Anybody but that clown who currently runs things.
On a slightly different note, here's a modest proposal: why not just cut through the crap and have a Dope-friendly games? We pretty much live in the Age of Freaks anyway - think Britney, O.J., Pamela Anderson, Amy Winehouse - and it's all turned into fine entertainment, so why not just have the Freak Games and let it sort itself out that way? With a little luck, Bud Selig will be looking for a job soon and he could be the ringmaster.