On Baseball and Steroids: I have a post up at Only Baseball Matters concerning the current steroid crisis in baseball. Here is an excerpt:

Murray Chass of the New York Times has called the owners out for not testing players under the “reasonable suspicion” clause in the CBA. This clause, however, is a trap for owners. Any attempt by an owner to test a player will surely be challenged by the union. If the player tests positively, then that owner, or a fellow owner, loses the player. This could create considerable dissension among owners and possible goals of retribution. The results could be even worse if the player tests negative. In that case, the accusing party will be chastised for sullying the name of a player, especially if the allegation is made public (as is wont to happen). The player will harbor bitterness towards the accuser and towards the process.



What is the solution to these problems? One, baseball needs a policy for random, systematic testing of players. This would eliminate the accusation and “reasonable suspicion” problem of the current CBA, which Chass points out is completely ineffective. Two, baseball needs a disinterested party to make the decisions regarding its drug policy. The owners are in no way disinterested and must be as removed from the process as possible. Many people also doubt the independence of Bud Selig, though that is a subject for another day.

You can read the entire post here.

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