As a joke, ESPN.com put up Barry Bonds’s numbers against pitchers who appeared on the Mitchell report.  But this brings up an important point.  Bonds presumably faced pitchers who were as allegedly juiced as he was (allegedly).  Here are his alleged combined numbers against members the Mitchell report pitching staff that he faced:

22 HR, 52 RBI, 229 AB, 71 H, .310 Avg

Those are some fine numbers.  This is why Bonds’s home run record should stand.  Because it wasn’t just Barry.  It was everyone.

Here is the breakdown as reported by ESPN.com:

Denny Neagle, LHP: 18-for-50, 7 HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB,
6 K, 1.251 OPS

Ron Villone, LHP: 4-for-12, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K, 1.583 OPS

Kevin Brown, RHP: 12-for-45, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 18 BB, 6 K, .943 OPS

Ismael Valdez, RHP: 6-for-28, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 7 BB, 6 K, .871 OPS

Ricky Bones, RHP: 3-for-6, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K, 1.500 OPS

Paul Byrd, RHP: 2-for-7, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 0 K, 1.158 OPS

Ryan Franklin, RHP: 1-for-1, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 5.000 OPS

Eric Gagne, RHP: 5-for-17, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K, 1.007 OPS

Matt Herges, RHP: 3-for-10, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 1.117 OPS

Kent Mercker, LHP: 10-for-40, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K, .644 OPS

Stephen Randolph, LHP: 4-for-6, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 0 K, 2.133 OPS

Steve Woodard, RHP: 3-for-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 2.067 OPS

And just in case you’re curious:
Roger Clemens, RHP: 0-for-2, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 BB, 2 K, .750 OPS

Here’s an outstanding article by Mike Celizic about the double standard the media holds between MLB and the NFL.

http://openmike.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/06/499136.aspx

Let me get this straight.  George Mitchell has been working on this report about MLB’s steroid era for how long?  One year?  Two years?  And he only got one source?

I just read the Mitchell report (no, I don’t have a life) and former Mets clubhouse attendent Kirk Radomsky seems to have provided Mitchell with all of his information.  This report should be called "Six Degrees of Kirk Radomsky." 

The bottom line is, MLB is doing all it can about steroids and HGH today (and the press conference confirmed that there is no reliable way to test for HGH).

As for the list of names, most of the guys on the list stink on ice.  Steroids didn’t help most of these guys at all.  And interstingly enough, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are not listed.  But that probably just means that they had no contact with Radomsky.

As for Mets-related players, no current members of their forty man roster are listed in the Mitchell report.  Todd Hundley and Paul Lo Duca were.  Neither surprises me too much.  Lo Duca hit for power early in his career, when he reportedly used steroids, and not at all in recent years.  Hundley was a punch-and-judy hitter every year of his pro career except for 1996 and 1997, his apparent ‘roid-using years.

Other former Mets players: Lenny Dykstra (remember how he blew up in 1989?), David Segui, the immortal Josias Manzanillo, Mark Carreon, Matt Franco, Mo Vaughn (but by the time he came to the Mets, the only substance he was abusing was chocolate), Chris Donnels, Todd Pratt, and Mike Stanton (see: Mo Vaughn)

Oh yeah, and I guess we now know why Roger Clemens threw a bat at Mike Piazza in a (ahem) rage.

Well, Christmas morning has come early for the sports media.  The Witch Hunt Report, er, Mitchell Report is set to be released to the public today.  Apparently 60-80 names will be revealed, telling us who used steroids during baseball’s "Steroid Era."

Then, Bud Selig will get in his time machine, travel back to 1996, and institute the steroid testing policy that is in place today.  Because that’s about the only way this report is going to accomplish anything. 

The players who took ‘roids back then did so during a time when there was no ban on performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.  They violated no rules.  Unethical?  Yes.  Illegal?  No.

So, it’s nice to know the federal government wasted their time and our tax dollars on a dog and pony show that will accomplish nothing.  MLB has already taken action, instituting the toughest drug testing and suspension policy among the major sports.  But at the end of the day, the sports media wants to use this report to further degrade baseball, for the sake of their lingering 1960s (baseball is the establishment, maaaaan!) view of the world.

Meanwhile, the NFL gets a pass.  Players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster every year, and it’s not because they are getting bionic implants and wide-collared 70s jump suits.  Barry Bonds is on trial, and may go to jail.  Shawn Merriman of the San Diego Chargers got to play in the Pro Bowl, and is enjoying huge endorsement deals.

So, don’t be fooled by the media frenzy today.  I’ll be more impressed when the government investigates the NFL.  Or learns how to balance the budget.

According to ESPN.com’s Steve "I saw Mo Vaughn take batting practice and signed him to a gargantuan contract" Phillips, the Mets offered Aaron Heilman, Carlos Gomez, and Phillip Humber to the Orioles for pitcher Erik Bedard yesterday.  Obviously, Bedard isn’t holding up a Mets jersey in front of a gaggle of reporters today, so one would assume that offer wasn’t good enough for Baltimore.

It’s becoming clear that the Mets will most likely not end up with the number one starter they were looking for coming into the winter meetings.  They simply don’t have the amount of quality, young prospects that other teams want.  And they certainly, justifiably, won’t give up Jose Reyes or David Wright. 

Instead, they will probably end up with a guy like Livan Hernandez or Carlos Silva, though past history (see: Barry Zito) would indicate that the Wilpons don’t want to overpay for mediocrity, which is what they would have to do with Silva. 

What the Mets have to do is stop trying to compete with the Yankees, and build up their farm system.  Give Pelfrey and Humber a shot in the rotation this year.  Accept the fact that Kevin Mulvey is a year away.  Live with the growing pains.  They may end up getting a Josh Beckett-type pitcher out of their own system.

In fact, let’s look at the Red Sox.  Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, and Clay Buchholz all contributed to Boston’s world championship last year.  Detroit has Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman.  The Yankees have Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.  Every successful team has home-grown pitching talent.  Heck, the ’86 Mets had Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Rick Aguilera.  Of course, it was a different time. A time where rebuilding years were a given, and only the Yankees, it seemed, had a "win now" philosophy.  Now, everyone does (except maybe the Pirates, who have a "win never" philosophy).

I think the Mets need to be patient with their young players.  Of course, that means the fans and the media need to be patient as well.  I can wait.  Can you?