Fire or Ice?

I don't know what I'm more excited about — the Winter Meetings and all the possible trades OR the Mitchell report and all the names...

Winter Meetings:
Oye Como Va - So Johan Santana is on the block and the Yankees want him. What's new?
Honestly, it's going to take Melky, Hughes and at least two more prime prospects for the Twins to send the best lefty in the game to the Bronx. Will the Yanks do it? Will the Twins ask for too much and price themselves out of a great deal? Will their fan base in their new stadium be happy knowing they've got to see Santana at least once a year in another uniform? Will Santana agree to any of these trades or throw a monkey wrench and wait for free agency and the highest bidder of his choosing? So many questions with interesting answers to them all...

Mound of reasons - Speaking of pitchers, I'm banking on the majority of the offenders on The List to be middle relief pitchers, like Jason Grimsley. By the way, where's that guy now?
I'm not buying that all the steroids, HGH and clear/cream in the world can help your eye-hand coordination and reaction time.
If that were the case, then wouldn't the US Armed Forces be piping this stuff into RTE's and water supplies? I mean, don't you want those protecting you to stay awake longer, to see clearly when on watch, to be bigger and stronger than the enemy?
Yes, I'm stepping way out off bounds, but all those Vets from Vietnam and Desert Storm mumble about mustard gas and the like whenever I pick up my ears away from the sports page...

Field of Dreams - With Torrii Hunter's signing with the Angels, the market for center fielders is weakened but still relatively deep. Aaron Rowand is a quality defender who will run into a wall for you and is coming off a career year at the plate. Andruw Jones has been sniped at for the past two-three years from all angles. Whether people are talking about his approach at the plate, Jones being an overrated fielder with too many Gold Gloves to count or that this past year (.222, 26 HR, 94 RBI) is what to expect in the future.
Doesn't matter cuz that's one brother about to get paid. And I've yet to mention Mike Cameron, likely the best bargain for the dollar, and another OF from Japan (although he's a corner guy).

1 vs. 100 - Regardless what is said, the media's focus has been and will continue to be on Barry Bonds. So I'm wondering how many names it will take to lessen that focus on the one and move it towards the masses that allowed this to happen, that looked the other way.
We can't change the past and I don't have the time, but I would love to compare the columns of all the writers like Jay Mariotti from a decade ago when Sosa and Big Mac were blasting home runs and they found that andro in his hamburger, I mean locker, with what they're saying today.
I know I've seen a couple of writers look inward and say, we as a medium should have smelled something. But it doesn't seem to be enough and it likely never will be.
Personally, I hope Mitchell comes up with about 100 names with at least 50 still current. I will be interesting to see how teams approach dealing with a guy, like say Pudge Rodriguez, after it comes out he was juiced up for a five-year run. Will it matter if he's clean now?

The thing is, while it may seem like I care a ton, I really don't. Until they come up with a urine test for HGH, that's the drug of choice. Before that, it was roids and prior to that for about 50 years, it was greenies to get that pre game boost.
When they talk about integrity, I think of scuffed and spit balls. I think of corked bats and groundskeepers watering fields for too long or cutting the grass short. I think of stealing bases and signs, leaning over the plate, out fielders hesitating before a catch and middle infielders feigning stupidity to confuse the runner.
It's the American pasttime because baseball is a simple, complicated game where you can win with might, but if need be, you can win with hustle, moxy and guile.

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