Andy Pettitte was like a punch in the gut for me. He really seemed like a guy you could put your hope in. I know people make mistakes, but this one still hurts. He's been my favorite player for years.

I really don't understand why the names were necessary. All it does is leave lots of fans feeling cheated and miserable. It ruins the reputations of certain players while leaving out many others who might have done the same things. Why make a certain few the scapegoats?

was/is the balco investigation completely separate from the mitchell investigation? maybe that's why some guys aren't on there?

Umm...Bonds and Palmeiro are in the report.

This whole thing is a joke. Clemens is going to hide away and be forgotten just like McGwire, while Bonds continues to get thrown under the bus.

Bonds didn't destroy baseball, people. He's no more guilty than Clemens, Pettitte, Sosa, Mac, Raffy, Alex Sanchez, Jose Guillen, Juan Rincon, etc. etc. etc.

Bonds is held to a higher standard simply because he's better than all those people. It's hypocritical. It's like saying crappy players are allowed to cheat but good ones aren't. Hypocrisy.

Hold Bonds to the same standard that you hold everyone else. He isn't any more guilty than any of them. They all committed the same act.

MLB is at fault here. Not Barry Bonds. Get off his back.

If Mitchell is right and this report scratches the surface, it appears that it was a pretty even playing field.

Also it appears that the fine print on the viles says "Results may very". Ron Villone? Nook Logan? Gregg Zaun? Jack Cust?

I don't know that Pettitte is as guilty as, say, Raaajaah. From what I read, it looks like Pettitte had a moment of weakness with HGH, whereas Senor Clemens looks like the Johnny Appleseed of Steroids.

The fact that people are tarring them with the same brush is part of why I have problems with this report. I'll just xpost the rest below. (Warning: Long!)

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First, the report primarily serves the interests of ownership and management by creating the appearance of closure on the steroid issue without actually jeopardizing the architecture of the sport. As I've said elsewhere, I have tremendous respect for Theo and Cashman as GMs and I find it very hard (indeed, some of the evidence re:Gagne seems to confirm this) that they were unaware of what was going on. Selig's delighted by the report because it basically absolves ownership/management/MLB of any complicity in the steroid era. He remains a scumbag in my book -- happy to profit off of the steroid-fueled spectacle but unwilling to own up to his own reluctance to investigate it as he was using it to grow the MLB brand. So we get the story we've heard all too often in recent years: a few bad apples ruining the integrity of the sport/profession while higher ups are in the dark. That line keeps getting less and less plausible, in baseball and elsewhere.

So, what of these bad apples? Mitchell, for reasons unknown to me, chose not to redact their names from the public document. So, instead of remaining available for further investigation they are now subject to summary judgment in the court of public opinion. But if they truly did cheat, why should we care if they get to dangle? Well, there's the issue of the sources they had to work with. Without any subpoena power, they could only really follow up on obvious leads and the two sources they had up against the wall. Regardless of whether Mitchell was willing to implicate Red Sox players, he had no method of extracting the information to do so. As I said, I find it very hard to believe that there weren't any Sox players who juiced.

But because of information issues we have a very narrow cross-section of those involved and those targets of opportunity will be tried in the court of public opinion, which doesn't have a lot of regard for these nuanced differences between, say, what Roger Clemens did and what Andy Pettitte did.

Here I have to admit some personal bias. I have a lot of respect for Andy Pettitte, and I find very disturbing that his family, career and future will be impacted by this revelation, and that his moment of weakness will cause him to be tarred with the same brush as others whose offenses were far more grave.

The fact that the names weren't redacted speaks volumes about the extent to which this was a real investigation versus a publicity stunt and witch hunt. I have nothing against Mitchell, nor do I suspect him of intentional complicity. But given the way things have played out, you'll forgive me if I think the end result is pretty much the same. There was an opportunity to really investigate the game, and what we got instead was a document that plays to the short term needs of ownership/management and MLB itself. I suspect the MLBPA will not go quietly.

I think that, during this moment in which the media is going to take major leaps in the name of sensationalism, that it's important to keep our facts straight.

According to the report, Pettitte was injected 2-4 times with HGH while rehabbing his elbow in 2002, and that was it. Nothing of what are called "steroids" by the media. Let's not stretch this.

When you look at how Pete Rose was essentially destroyed for his gambling, these steroid using players today are getting away with murder for the damage they've done to the image of the game. It's really disappointing to witness the grossly disproportionate lack of punishment being dealt out here.

Cheaters (should) never prosper,
Well I don't care about the money they made or will make, but the individual records should not stand. I guess it's up to Bud to wave the wand, but I can't stand to see the 4 (by my count) 'roid users who have claim to records, keep them ahead of the old hot dog eaters, 'bacco chewers, beer drinking ball players I respected. I'd even let Steve Howe off the hook since the coke didn't seem to enhance his game, and what the heck we all need to have some fun. But gaining a physical edge via use of a substance declared to be illegal, off limits and long term unhealthy is just not OK. As I see it only 4 MLB players set or threatened individual records and these should not stand. Let bygones be bygones, but do not recognize the individual records. If the dude is recognized to be a great, let him into the HOF, even without an asterisk, but drop any reference to HR's per season, or per career or even Stikeout totals. These are illegally enhanced numbers and do not deserve to approach the Babe,Aaron, Maris, or Ryan.
If I were Bud I'd let the balance stay on, let the voters vote, and let the chips fall based on general perception, but send a message to the kids: cheaters may $$prosper, but your legacy will not.
NO INDIVIUAL RECORDS STAND!

It is people who claim to be Yankee fans and the NY media who say things like "Andy Pettitte's steroid use ended in 2002" who are being IRRESPONSIBLE.

Andy Pettitte tried HGH 2-4 times IN 2002 (not ENDING in 2002, but beginning and ending in 2002 when he was ON THE DISABLED LIST) to try to heal an elbow. That is NOT the same as continuous and sustained STEROID use. HGH was not even banned in baseball in 2002.

The bloggers and media who do not separate this from what others did to get a performance edge through sustained use are simply irresponsible.

No self-respecting Yankee fan will let this continue. Do some research and talk about it the way it IS, not the way the sensationalist media are making it sound.

The feds had the goods on one guy from NY so the majority of players named have played or do play in NY. No one seems to care that the city and its team are taking an unfair hit. Idiots.

Bonds is held to a higher standard because he lied to a grand jury and is under indictment for same. He IS different than everyone else.