The 'Mitch' Hunt

All things considered, I think the MLB dodged a bit of a bullet yesterday. Regardless of Senator Mitchell's request, the names are, and will continue to be the story. As I said in my previous post, baseball could not afford an iconic player to be named in these investigations. Granted, Bonds and Clemens are about as big as you can get, but both of these guys had already been convicted in the public eye. The judgment has been out on Bonds for years and anyone who doesn;t suspected a 40+ year old pitcher winning Cy Youngs is not in touch with reality. Additionally, while great players, both Bonds and Clemens are hated figures. Arguments can be made for both as the greatest hitter and pitcher of all time, but neither is loved nor revered. The saddest name is Andy Pettitte, a star pitcher with a reputation as clean as a whistle. Pettitte is a guy no one had pegged, and is the most surprising name in the lot of all-stars including Miguel Tejada, Eric Gagne and Paul Lo Duca. Obviously, Paulie being named is a dissapointment to those Mets fans that learned to love him over the past few years. But with his incredible passion for the game, and psychotic competitive nature, I can't say I'm shocked he tried to get an edge. It's certainly not a good day for baseball, but my initial reaction, and one that appears to be echoed around the league is, "It could have been a lot worse."