Juice, Jerks and Some Synonym for Gambling That Starts With the Letter "J"

"BALCO." The "cream" and the "clear." "Juiced."

These phrases can now be added to the Unabridged Dictionary of Destructive Baseball Terms. They will rest comfortably within a myriad of other words that have stained the great game of baseball like "Anti-trust" and "Black Sox" and "Collusion" and "Strike" and "Ty Cobb."

Baseball now has to endure another scandal that will tarnish the reputations of players, executives and even vaunted records. Players past and present will undergo scrutiny and speculation as to whether or not they participated in activities that were detrimental to the character of the game. There will be talk of affixing asterisks next to records broken by suspected cheaters.

All this drama gets me worked up. Not because I want to take pot shots at baseball. Or stop following baseball. But because I can't fully understand why the focus is so easily swayed from what I believe is the best game on the planet and onto the controversy that temporarily surrounds it from time to time.

Maybe I'm naive, but I really enjoy watching the game of baseball. When I'm watching baseball, I don't think about how much money Alex Rodriguez is making or when the next collective bargaining agreement is up. I don't think about why Pete Rose gambled or why Ivan Rodriguez dropped 20 pounds in the off-season. I tend to wonder if Zack Greinke will throw another 61 mph knee-buckler. Or if David Ortiz can hit another game-winning, walk-off homerun. Or if Jim Edmonds will make another impossible catch in center field. To me, that's what baseball is.

It bothers me that Pete Rose is not in the Hall of Fame. I certainly don't condone his actions in relation to gambling. But when it came down to playing the game of baseball, nobody put more of their heart and soul into it. My dad told me as a kid that if I wanted an example of how to play the game the right way, I should watch Pete Rose. The guy's nickname is "Charlie Hustle", for Pete's sake. He would run down to first after a walk. He dove head-first at full speed into the bases. He gave maximum effort at all times on the baseball field. And in doing so, he broke one of the most daunting records in history: the most career hits. How does this player not belong in the Hall of Fame?

"Pete Rose's actions jeopardized the integrity of the game." No kidding? If you're talking about integrity, how does Ty Cobb get in to the Hall of Fame after a career of spiking opponents on the basepaths or going into the stands to pummel fans? Or how about Babe Ruth for being a womanizing drunk? Or Gaylord Perry for knowingly throwing a spitball decades after the pitch had been banned?

I think we need to let moral judgements be made by indviduals and baseball judgements made by the baseball establishment. We should let Major League Baseball control what it can control and leave the rest alone. Steroids and performance enhancing drugs are something baseball can get a little bit of control over and they should continue to have progressive policy in place to handle the problem. But they can't catch everyone and trying to figure out who may or may not have used illegal substances in the past is an exercise in futility.

I realize it is nearly impossible to be a baseball fan and not pay attention to the business side and the controversy. And it is definitely disappointing when rotten things happen to the game. But every year, they keep playing games. And until they stop, I'll keep watching 'em.