Gonzo Reacts Angrily

In the wake of the Jason Grimsley incident, we now have an angry reaction from Luis Gonzalez when his name surfaced in rumors of previous steroid use. The shocking part of this isn't that Gonzalez's name surfaced in a steroid rumor, it's that the Diamondback's general partner Ken Kendrick was the one who freely mentioned it.

Everyone from this era is going to have the steroid cloud over their heads, it's just a matter of to what degree. And if you're a player who hit 57 HRs at the age of 34, after having a previous high of 31, and then you go back to hitting 25-28 HRs the next few years, the fans and media are going to question that season. Just ask Brady Anderson.

We live in a tabloid-friendly society, and the only pasttime more entertaining than watching our heroes rise, is to watch them fall. I can certainly understand Gonzalez's reaction, as he would know for sure if he ever used something to aide his performance. But Gonzalez is just one of many players who has found his name whispered about when it comes to steroids this season. Even Albert Pujols, who has never given anyone a reason to suspect steroid use, has had his name mentioned by the media in regards to HGH. The bottom line is, if you're

Is it fair? No, of course not. But this is the price the sport of baseball, its players (both clean and juiced) will have to pay for doing nothing to stop the use of steroids when it had the opportunity.

More Inter-League Fun

If there is one issue MLB has that I'm somewhat indifferent on, it's interleague baseball. While I can certainly understand that in most markets, it's rather senseless (Colorado and Arizona, for example), that might be the tradeoff for having the Mets-Yankees, White Sox-Cubs, Royals-Cardinals, Reds-Indians, Giants-A's and Dodgers-Angels games that actually are entertaining and meaningful for those areas.

Unfortunately you also have weekends like this one, where the only real "rival" matchup is the Indians-Brewers rehashing their old American League rivalry. Yeah, I suppose you have the Braves-Red Sox, but does anybody really care about that? I didn't think so.

There are, however, some interesting matchups to watch. Felix Hernandez pitching to Barry Bonds tonight in Safeco Field, for example. Jon Lester making his 2nd major league start in Atlanta, Justin Verlander pitching in Wrigley Field tomorrow afternoon.

Interleague games are greeted with thunderous silence in most baseball towns, but I do see the benefit in seeing how the other half lives. I think its good that fans in Pittsburgh will have a chance to see Joe Mauer and Johan Santana, or fans in Atlanta get to see Big Papi (SI cover boy this week) in action.

When I was growing up, there was never an opportunity to see National League stars like Ryne Sandberg or Tony Gwynn play in person. With interleague baseball, that's possible.