FORT BENNING, Ga., (Aug. 7, 2013) -- With Alex Rodriguez's upcoming suspension, announced Monday, many, including myself, are outraged over the light sentence A-Rod will receive.
Give me a break Bud (Selig), better yet give Pete Rose a break.
Many sports writers have said there isn't a comparison that should be drawn between the two -- and I agree, but not for the same reasons.
If Rose, and his gambling on the sport "stained baseball," then surely A-Rod and the other prima donna players involved in the Biogenesis scandal have given baseball more than just a black eye, they have made the face of baseball look like Jerry Quarry's face after his fights with Mohammed Ali -- all beat up and unrecognizable.
Yes, Rose bet on baseball. Yes, Rose lied about it for years. None of those facts are even debatable.
Make no mistake, Rose hurt baseball -- for a time.
Baseball, as a game, has long moved past the Rose thing. Even betting on baseball didn't affect the game itself.
But for all those who want to give today's alleged dopers a second chance -- think about the record book and the sanctity of the records threatened by the likes of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and now the A-Rod crowd.
Looking at it, the powers that control the punishment of the game are saying, "For betting on baseball you get a lifetime ban, and for juicing up, you get a second chance -- even if you were juiced when you broke a record."
While it is wrong for a player to bet on baseball, it is equally wrong -- and much more damaging to the game -- for players to not only assault their bodies with drugs, but assault the record books, as well.
Selig -- exactly what message do you send when you allow players (dopers) to negotiate how many games they sit out, like A-Rod tried to?
And what message is being sent to today's youth baseball players?
All messages point to this ... it is OK to cheat the system by using performance enhancing drugs, but it is not OK to bet on baseball.
The one message that is clear though ... it is time to lift Rose's lifetime ban and put his fate on making it into the Hall of Fame to those who vote.
It's time Rose got a break.
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