Also...

Just so that all the Red Sox fans out there don't get on their high horse about their "clean" team, here's a report on Eric Gagne from a Red Sox scout that was sent to Theo Epstein during the 2006 off season

"Some digging on Gagne and steroids IS the issue. Has had a checkered medical past throughout career including minor leagues. Lacks the poise and commitment to stay healthy, maintain body and re invent self. What made him a tenacious closer was the max effort plus stuff ... Mentality without the plus weapons and without steroid help probably creates a large risk in bounce back durability and ability to throw average while allowing the change-up to play as it once did ... Personally, durability (or lack of) will follow Gagne ..."

The scout was responding to a email from Theo in which he asked, "Have you done any digging on Gagne? I know the Dodgers" -- not to mention everybody else in the world -- "think he was a steroid guy. Maybe so. What do you hear on his medical?"

The Red Sox traded for Gagne nine months later even though they had this report in house plus their own suspicion beforehand. That shows just how much how much baseball owners and management care about steroid abuse. It's all about winning and the money that comes with that. Even for the now sainted Red Sox.

Something in the Mitchell report that seems to have gotten lost in all the Roger Clemens talk is that the GM of the San Fransisco Giants was made aware in 2002 of the fact that Barry Bonds' personal trainer was a steroid dealer and did nothing about it. Here's something that I wrote when the investigation was first reported:

I understand that George Mitchell has a great reputation for being far and tough, but why would Bud even risk the appearance of bias? What happens if he finds evidence that the owner of the Giants knew that Bonds was taking steroids? Will he want to indict one of his fellow owners? Would he want to take down someone from his own fraternity?

Apparently he did find proof that someone high up in Giants management did know of the steroid connection, but that still wasn't reason enough for him to say that baseball ownership or management had any culpability in the steroid problem. Very interesting, don't you think?