Hear Hear

I don't think you can really blame the players for that either.  They were told by MLB to not use them, but then were told that winning was the bottom line.  The few that started using (ie Sosa, McGwire, Bonds) acheived instant fame through what they started to accomplish.  MLB embraced that, even though someone had to know what was going on as far back as then.  When they let Sosa and McGwire and Bonds (and I'm sure a few others) go unchecked, untested, and unpunished, it was all anyone could do to get on them.  Baseball is competitive; players had to keep themselves competitive to keep winning to keep their jobs.

Grimsley said he tested positive in 2003.  In fact, 83 people tested positive that year.  Maybe it was widely known who was what in the baseball circuits, but the fans never knew.  If the baseball players knew, they certainly never ostracized any of the players, or not publicly at least.  

All of this leads to my point.  I think players who dabbled in the substances back in the day shouldn't be punished now -- if they've truly kicked it.  It's too hard to prove and too witch hunt-ish for my liking.  However if they're caught with the substance now, throw 'em out of baseball.  If you're too stupid or too dependent on the drugs to kick the habit when everyone comes looking, you don't deserve to be playing anyways.  Bonds might fall under this category.  If he stopped using when the steroid issue broke, then he should be deemed innocent.  Unless there is ever a picture or videotape with Bonds pantless, bending over a table while Greg Anderson is injecting his ass with a vial clearly marked STEROIDS, how do you prove such a claim all these years later?

This is why I think these phantom muscle injuries have become the norm lately in MLB players.  Isn't this a record season for these type of injuries?  I'm not a scientist or a doctor, but after reading what steroids do to a body it's pretty easy to assume that you are going to be left with a lot of pain in your muscles once you get off them.

Personally, we should just consider this entire generation a wash and start the really stringent blood testing down lower at the Class A levels.  Enforce it there that it's not acceptable and they'll carry that through the major leagues.

As an Astros sidenote, I'd only really be devastated if Morgan, Berkman, Biggio, Backe (all those brilliant playoff performances), or Lidge was ever found using substances.  The others I think I could be okay with.  If Gallo or Zeke were ever found with them, I'd banish them to hell for still managing to fuck up on them.