THE NEW DOOLITTLE RAID: THE MITCHELL REPORT

Link for report on the Mitchell Report:
ESPN.com - Howard Bryant

More than 65 years ago the Doolittle Raiders flying B25B Mitchells bombed Honshu in a limited attack at the Japanese home islands. The attack itself did little material damage but the aftereffects on moral and minor strategic were valuable. If not transparent.


Tomorrow the Mitchell Report is due to be released, more than likely in limited form (you REALLY think MLB is going to release EVERYTHING?) with press conferences to follow Friday.


The Report will have much the same impact on baseball as the Doolittle Raids. Little material impact but the aftereffects and ploys of psychological and emotional value will sustain the general public for a brief time.


The fact remains that PEDs and steroids were not against the rules of baseball until 2003 and players who used were not cheating. From designer steroids and HGH to Ritalin and diet pills. Long before steroids there was cocaine, amphetamines (greenies), different 'vitamin' shots and drug cocktails - one called the red sludge used by indignant Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Ever wonder why players before the late 1980's were so damn skinny? Didn't have anything to do with steroids. Players were hopped up on uppers and cocaine and their metabolism was working non-stop. And it wasn't a select few, either.


Barry Bonds wasn't a cheater. Neither was Mark McGwire. And if you think they were then you need to throw in Paul Molitor and 1978 Pittsburgh Pirates. Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle, too. they all used a substance illegal to possess to enhance their performance. Were any of them against the rules of MLB? No. So, how are you a cheater if you aren't breaking the rules? Against the law? Throwing a high 90's baseball at a hated co-workers head would be considered illegal, too. But Jose Mesa has no problem doing that. Nor does Roger Clemens or Curt Schilling. Is there a larger hypocrite on the planet than Schilling? Why is cortisone accepted but other drugs not? How many pain killers and other drugs was Schilling on during the 'Bloody Sock' games?


If you haven't read Ball Four by Jim Bouton (inventor of Big League Chew, by the way) then you really need to before you start your internal argument on this issue. Then move on to The Juice by Will Carroll and go from there. I do feel bad for Will as his book was lumped into every book that came after with the title 'juice' in it. Of course, Judy Blume was probably irked that Freckle Juice was being ignored.


If your career hung in the balance and a $30 Million payday existed for using PEDs - anyone who says they wouldn't use is lying. If you think an extra cup of coffee in the morning will help you perform you are going to head to Peet's and load up. Even if the FDA has stated that if caffeine were introduced as a drug in the 21st century it would have to be regulated. But caffeine is accepted. Nicotine, too. If you think that there is a weight loss miracle diet are you really going to question the ingredients and their purity? Not if it works, right? As it turns out a high portion of over the counter PEDs and supplements are laced with steroids and other fun chemicals that are illegal. So if Aunt Cindy lost 40 lbs on her new diet and the self-confidence led her to a promotion and a fancy new beau-hunk are you going to call her a cheater and a fraud?