tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

MLB: Accept It, Clean It or Shut It Down

With pitchers and catchers reporting this week, the 2013 Major League Baseball season is in its preliminary stages before it kicks off in about 6 weeks. Spring training is a time for hope for a good season and the possibility of some young phenom to make his mark. But this year what will be hovering over all of baseball is the suspicion of who is on some form of performance enhancing drug (PED). The report out of Miami that has linked several players, the biggest name being that of Alex Rodriguez, will dominate the spring just as much as who will be the favorite to win the World Series.

I have gotten to the point where all of the discussion and hand wringing is tiresome and needs to be boiled down to these three positions: 1.) accept the fact that players are using PEDs and move on, 2.) impose blood testing and if a player has been caught they should be banned for life and 3.) shut the season down until all users are identified and given the opportunity to clean themselves up.

Acceptance: Quite frankly this is where I am at. I really don't care anymore because, in my opinion, the teams and MLB don't care. It is hard to believe that in this day and age that the teams don't know what's going on. If the teams and/or MLB are not aware, then shame on them because they should be considering the amount of money that they have invested in these players. Of course, maybe they do know and feel that it is in their best interests to have a 38 year old star bounce back quickly from an injury.

Clean It: If MLB and the Players Association were truly concerned about the reputation of the game and its players, they would make mandatory blood drug testing. It should be done at the beginning of the season, randomly during the season and at the end of the season. Every player should be tested, from the superstar to the 25th man on the roster. In addition, MLB should fund testing throughout the minor league system. I'm tired of hearing about invasion of privacy. I don't want to hear about the costs. If MLB, its teams and the players are serious about repairing their image and cleaning up the game then just do it.

Shut It Down: If MLB and its players refuse to do anything about the use of PEDs, then maybe the 2013 baseball season should be shutdown. No baseball. Maybe Congress could place the heat on Bud Selig and mandate blood testing or else they will remove the anti-trust exemption they enjoy and order the season canceled. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell of this happening but it's to the point that I am sick and tired of talking about PEDs in major league baseball.

Of the three, the only one I can control is acceptance. Of course, I guess there is one other thing I could do is just not follow baseball anymore. But being a fan, I know that that won't happen. Then again, with the possibility of the Stanley Cup Finals going into late June, the NBA Finals being in mid-June and NFL training camps opening in mid-July, maybe it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Hmmm...do you think Selig and company would really care??