Another black eye for baseball

Jason Giambi was also called before the BALCO grand jury and reportedly said he did use steroids.

He has yet to test positive for steroids.

Then came Jose Canseco's book in which he admits using steroids. He also named several other players who he knew used steroids, including former teammate Mark McGwire.

Then Congress decided to wade into the murky waters of steroid use by professional athletes. Neither Canseco, nor McGwire nor Sammy Sosa admit using steroids. They all danced around the questions posed to them by the Congressional inquiry.

None of those three tested positive for steroids.

Then came Baltimore Oriole slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who was adamant. He never used steroids. Period.

Monday, Major League Baseball suspended Palmeiro for testing positive for steroids.

It's ironic one player who categorically denied using steroids is the first big name to test positive for them. Two weeks ago, the debate centered on whether Palmeiro deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. His numbers don't lie - he is one of only four players to have 500 homers (568) and 3,000 hits (3,016). The other three are in the Hall.

Since the whole steroid issue surfaced, there has been questions about what to do with players from the so-called "steroid era." Do players that set records from that era - approximately 1995 to 2003 - deserve to be in the Hall of Fame unconditionally? Could a player that had steroid issues swirling around him be admitted? Forget the swirling, there is now a real controversy - a Hall-of-Fame caliber player tested positive. What will voters do?

That question will be answered five years after Palmeiro retires. The here and now present different questions: Did Palmeiro take steroids or was it a substance found in a legal supplement? In a press conference, Palmeiro said he did not "knowingly" take steroids.

Which then begs a follow-up question: With the intense scrutiny surrounding baseball, shouldn't he have been more careful about what he was putting in his body?

It's easy to cover it up by saying, "I didn't know," but with everyone waiting for a big name to step on his reputation, the feigned ignorance doesn't fly.

There is also a question now of whether Palmeiro would be brought up on perjury charges now that it appears he may have lied to Congress. Monday, he tried to couch that with the word "knowingly" as it pertained to steroid use, which would indicate that he was telling the truth to Congress.

In the long run, none of that really matters. If Palmeiro tested positive for steroids, we can probably assume that all the names suspected of using steroids did. Before, it was easy to tell the steroid user - the suddenly bloated physique, a jump in production. But Palmeiro? He's looked the same since he broke into the league in 1986. Sure, he put on a few pounds, but just looking at him, you wouldn't say he was a steroid user by his physique.

Yet a look at his numbers suggest otherwise. From his rookie year - 1986 - to 1994, he averaged 17.2 homers per season, with a high of 37 in 1993. From 1995 to 2003, he smacked 30 or more homers, including four seasons of 40 or more. He averaged more than 41 dingers during that nine-year stretch.

Maturation of his skills? Definitely. Pharmaceutical help? Possibly. But is it sheer coincidence that after hitting 38 homers in 2003, he dropped to 23 last season, the first season of stiffened steroid testing? It's just a shame that as the steroid controversy was winding down, a player of Palmeiro's stature was popped. It just goes to show you that everything is not as it seems.

In 1977, Cincinnati Reds outfielder George Foster clubbed 52 homers. The baseball world went ga-ga over that performance. It took 13 years before another player hit 50 or more - 1990 saw Detroit's Cecil Fielder club 51. Again, baseball was in awe. Since 1995, 10 different players have hit 50 or more. So after seeing only two do it in a nearly 20-year span, the 50-homers-a-year mark has become almost passe. Now, players are looking to 60 or more, with Bonds' 73 the mark to shoot for.

Maybe it was the adoration that Foster and Fielder received that forced today's Major Leaguer to say, "Hey, I can get all the publicity if I hit 50 homers. And, if I can hit 50, why not take a shot at 60?"

All the adoration and publicity go hand in hand for professional athletes, who obviously crave attention. And with no performance-enhancing drug testing in place, baseball players essentially became lab experiments.

Palmeiro's positive test make him look like a liar and a hypocrite. Although he has hit over 500 home runs and has more than 3,000 hits, the biggest hit facing him now is the one to his - and baseball's - reputation.