Who Cares About the Mitchell Report?

The Mitchell Report.  Will it name names?  Will it point the blame at the General Managers for turning a blind eye?  Will it blame the trainers and strength coaches?  It could do all of these things, or possibly none.  Nobody really knows exactly what Senator George Mitchell has been digging for the last two seasons or what type of information he has compiled from his subjects.  The question is:  Does it really matter?

At this point, after a universal cold shoulder from the players, I don’t expect it to offer much more than some broad, sweeping, speculations about baseball’s subculture.  A few names will appear, many of which have already been dealt with or implicated in the pharmaceutical raids that have already taken place, a few GM’s will likely be blamed, and the trainers and strength coaches will be blamed for not being more aware of what was going on around them.  But then what?

At this point I don’t think anyone really cares what happens.  The only guy that anyone ever really wanted is being dealt with by the United States Government.  If Barry Bonds is sent to prison, what happens next?  There will be no asterisks or footnote about his steroid use.  So what does it really accomplish for the game besides giving it another black eye?

From a fans perspective this document will be meaningless and unsatisfying if doesn’t indict other big name players.  Who cares about guys like Paul Byrd?  I would never encourage a player to cheat, but if this guy was using performance enhancing drugs and still posted a 4.61 ERA, then I’d really hate to see what he’s like without these substances.  He’s a marginal player, as I expect a majority of the ‘dirty’ players are.  Where is the harm? 

Now don’t take that the wrong way, I just believe that many fans don’t care what the players do until the impact of their substance abuse becomes unavoidable and blatant.  Even then, if he’s likable, he still might get a pass.  Come on, Mark McGwire turned into Paul Bunyan right before our eyes and no questioned it for a second.  Byrd isn’t a problem because he isn’t a perennial Cy Young award winner, he isn’t challenging Nolan Ryan’s strikeout record, simply put, he doesn’t really matter.  If you really want to get down to the nuts and bolts of it, all he’s really doing is upgrading the product on the field. 

I just don’t see them getting anyone that matters.  Howard Bryant, author of Juicing the Game and senior writer for ESPN, conducted follow-up’s with those that were interviewed by the Mitchell regime, and by all accounts, they have nothing.  The general consensus was that they were naïve to what really occurs in the clubhouses around the league.  They were asking trainers to make their best “guess” at who was using steroids and they wanted to know “who had back acne.”

If these accounts are accurate, then this is going to be most hyped piece of gossip in American History.  Reportedly their chief ‘witness’ is a former Mets employee, Kirk Radomski, who pleaded guilty to steroid distribution in April.  Clearly this guy is privy to what is happening behind closed doors, and he could likely give a laundry list of names and events strung up on a line for Mitchell to pluck, but excuse me if I’m a little skeptical of a guy that got a reduced sentence in exchange for his co-operation with Major League Baseball.  What is stopping him from lying to them?  Is he under oath?  Is there a judge there to make sure that they aren’t leading him into answers?  What were the rules here, and who was enforcing them?

Since we are talking about a compromised investigation, we my-as-well start with the guy who’s name is on the byline of the document.  I’d really like to know how many Red Sox employees were forced to testify considering that work for the organization that signs Mr. Mitchell’s pay-check every week.  Oh, wait, that’s right, Mitchell severed ties with them once he started this project.  Or at least that’s what he said after his credibility and integrity was under fire.

On November 30 Larry Lucchino, the Red Sox president, wrote a letter outlining Mitchell’s involvement with the organization.

“The title of director is an honorary one, and Senator Mitchell is not engaged in any advisory activities with the Red Sox.  He has received no compensation from the Red Sox organization, or its related entities, during the investigation.  In that all formal votes of NESV LLC (the Red Sox parent company) are weighted on the basis of equity, Senator Mitchell’s position was a nonvoting position.  At the conclusion of the investigation, it is our hope and expectation that Senator Mitchell will return to the Red Sox in his previous advisory role.  At which time he would also return to the payroll.”

That’s a far cry from Mitchell’s original remarks regarding how he would carry forward after being appointed to this position by Bud Selig.  On March 30, 2006, when the investigation was announced, Baseball’s Senator said, “I do not intend to resign from the Red Sox.  I don’t believe there is any reason for me to do so.  If, in any way, anyone associated with the Red Sox is implicated, they will be treated like anyone else.”

So which is it?  I think one event sums the whole thing up better than any words could.  During a game against the Yankees Mitchell sat in the dugout wearing a Red Sox cap and jacket, collecting autographs for his grandson.  Isn’t that kind of a compromising position for a man that has been adorned baseball’s crusader?

Simply put.  This thing is a complete mess.  Everyone is anticipating some huge groundbreaking document.  They aren’t going to get it.  The big event already happened; nothing is even going to come close to eclipsing it.  Instead of trying to shake the bushes for every guy with a needle in his duffle bag, Mitchell should have been asking how they could move forward in an effort to make sure that something like this never happens again.  Believe me, there’s some scientist out there that has already figured out how to beat MLB’s drug tests, what’s going to stop the next guy from going there when the smoke clears? 

If they would have went about this in a different way maybe they could have done something that really matters.  Instead of threatening to fine and suspend players if they didn’t co-operation, grant them immunity and allow them to speak anonymously about how to stop players from juicing up.  The game has proved to be resilient, but I don’t know if it could live through this again.

I highly suggest reading Howard Bryant’s column.