This is a further example of how clueless the commissioner of Major League Baseball really is–he should be embarrassed that he and his office made the decision in the first place. And he should be even more embarrassed that the hats they wore in pregame were physically taken away from the players, after it was heard that they may conspire to wear them anyway–the players had given the league an out (tell the players they can’t, players do it anyway, fine the players, donate the money to a charity supporting first responders).

And he shouldn’t be surprised–especially in today’s modern world, where players are constantly tweeting and actually interacting with fans–that the players would go public about the situation.

MLB dropped the ball on this one–multiple times now.  And if Selig was smart, he would look in the mirror, and figure out a way to fix the situation.

Why do I not think that’s going to happen?

At the beginning of IP this year, Jayson Stark went and found a group of players who don’t like it.  Aside from revealing Adam Dunn to be a complete whiner, Stark’s column tries to take an objective look at some of the things that make the players unhappy.

The major complaints seem to be that there are more “meaningless” series’ (i.e. Kansas City vs. Houston) than there are “rivalry” ones (like the Yankees vs. the Mets), it goes on too long, the travel can make things really difficult, and of course my personal favorite: “it’s not fair.”

I have some pretty strong opinions on the unbalanced schedule, and it occurs to me that we should explore that topic very soon. I’m the rare guy who is a fan of baseball’s schedule, and nothing gets me itchy quicker than someone telling me “it’s not fair”. Dude. You’re a professional ball player, playing at the highest level. If the New York Yankees had to play the New York Mets, and the Tampa Bay Rays had to play Edison Community College, I’d say that’s not fair. You’re playing another major league team. Stop talking and sit down. You’re embarrassing yourself.

I have to say I kind of enjoy interleague play. I’m not over-the-moon in love with it, but it is sort of fun to see my AL club go to Wrigley and St. Louis, as they did this year. I’m not a big fan of the designated hitter, and I like watching Ron Gardenhire have to manage under national league rules.

It reassures me that my skipper understands the nuances of the game. I don’t really understand these people who get all worked up over it, and think it’s an annual scarring of the game. What’s the big deal? The world is not going to come to an end because the Dodgers are playing at US Cellular Field. It mixes things up a little bit. Don’t get your undies in a bunch.

I do think MLB should look at some format changes, though. The National League should bring the rules with them when they go on the road, and vice versa. Namely, there should be a designated hitter at the NL home games, and pitchers should bat at the AL home games. It would make things a little more interesting for the fans, and might sell a few more tickets.

Also, I think the overall league records should determine home field advantage for the World Series. That would be infinitely more fair than a using a one shot beauty pageant like the All-Star Game to determine such an important facet of the championship series. If MLB is going to continue to ignore the best and most obvious way to determine home field advantage (which is, of course, the better record of the two participants), they should at least try to do something a little more played out, if not scientific.

Neither of these are new or original ideas. I’ve probably heard Bert Blyleven talk about the home field advantage thing on 50 different Twins broadcasts over the years. But just because Bert wants it doesn’t make it a bad idea.

It’s not a panacea. It’s not going to end world hunger, fix insolvent banks or bring stability to Afghanistan, but it is a nice little diversion. It’s the rare venture that MLB puts together that is largely for the fans. Stark’s column points out that IP increases ticket sales on an average of nearly 10%, and my guess is that it increases TV ratings by at least that much.

Tweak it, yes. Make some minor changes. But don’t get rid of it. It’s just kind of fun.

Ramirez is eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3. But according to Major League Baseball’s rules, he’s allowed to play in up to 10 games in the minor leagues before he returns.

Why? How can a guy who was suspended for 50 games as part of baseball’s performance enhancing drugs policy have the right to do anything to sharpen his game skills BEFORE his suspension ends? How is it in the league’s best interests to let a guy suspended for these reasons return to baseball, albeit the minor leagues, before his suspension ends?

If the Dodgers want Ramirez to play a half-dozen games in the minors before he returns to the big leagues he should. But that should start on July 3. Otherwise it’s not a true 50 game suspension. Part of the penalty for the clowns that continue to abuse performance-enhancers and cheapen the integrity of the game should be the requirement that they work themselves back into game shape AFTER the suspension ends.

Part of the penalty for using performance enhancers should be that the player is put in a situation where his performance can be hindered upon his return. He either comes back cold or he loses more time getting back into game shape.

Suspended players should not have any opportunity to participate in any kind of sanctioned league activities, major or minor, before their time on the sidelines is up. Otherwise it’s not a full 50 game suspension. And it’s just one more reason people can continue to question the voracity of the league’s efforts to stop this problem in its tracks.

What a joke.

Now for a look at the other side of the coin – what is up with the San Diego Padres?

Well, for one thing, owner John Moores and his wife have been embroiled in a bitter divorce that has created a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the club’s finances. That’s largely why the 27-year-old Cy Young winner Peavy was – and likely still is – available in the first place.

At least one radio show indicated this afternoon that Peavy wouldn’t be the last Padre to hit the road this season – stud first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will likely follow him out the door, the host (likely more than) guessed (though he is signed cheaply through 2011).

The Padres entered Thursday 18-22, probably overachieving for a team starting Luis Rodriguez at shortstop most of the first quarter of the season. And with a couple studs likely heading out the team was giving fans plenty of reasons to stay home the rest of the season. So what did they do?

The Padres pulled off a deal to acquire Tony Gwynn Jr., a minor league outfielder from Milwaukee, for Jody Gerut. Gwynn Jr., the son of the team’s most beloved link to the glory days of the past, Tony Gwynn Sr., is considered by many a fringe major league player at best, possibly a fifth outfielder, according to one assessment (search the bottom of the link).

He’s a decent hitter with little to no power. But one can’t help thinking that it’s kind of sad that the Padres seem hard up enough for good news or positive ratings points to trade for the mediocre son of a former team hero. I’m sure Gwynn is a decent guy – his father certainly was.

But it seems to me that the team would be better during its owner’s time of financial uncertainty focusing on making deals like the one it tried to make with Chicago for Peavy. Four-for-one deals that bring back top-notch young, inexpensive talent are the way to go right now. Such moves will give fans hope that when Moores either finishes dealing with the divorce courts or sells the team to a new owner that a playoff-caliber team might eventually emerge.

Maybe I’m just cynical. But in my opinion, washing over the present by acquiring a link to past glories, on the other hand, only further illustrates the degree to which this franchise has fallen.

Going into the game against the Twins today, the White Sox were 17-22. Prior to this series they had endured a five-game losing streak, which put them six games out of first place. There’s no real reason to panic at this point – after all we’re barely 25 percent of the way into the season – but it clearly didn’t sit well with the South Side General Manager.

So he picked up the phone, called San Diego and made a deal for Jake Peavy. Even though it appears as though Peavy isn’t going to accept the deal (though I think he just needs some financial prodding to change his mind), Williams deserves credit. Two of the guys they were counting on toward the top-to-middle of their rotation have started slowly. But with the addition of Peavy, the Sox would have been starting a rotation of Peavy, Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Who Cares.

It would easily have been the deepest rotation in the AL Central, and one of the three or four deepest in the American League. The 20-1 pasting they received from Minnesota today notwithstanding, this would have made the White Sox the hands down favorites to win their division.

I’ve always heard that for a major league GM, the bulk of the workload is in the off-season. That, to me, seems like an excuse perpetuated by lazy GM’s. I realize there is a lot to do between October and April, but it doesn’t mean that once spring training ends you can just throw your feet on the desk and enjoy the season.

The guys I admire are the guys willing to make an aggressive move to help their team win, especially early on before the July and August trade deadlines add ridiculous ransoms to deals for slightly-better-than-mediocre players. I’m not talking about doing something stupid like trading Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, but making the moves that will have an immediate and long term impact.

Take a guy like Doug Melvin and the Milwaukee Brewers. Last season he made a bold move, giving up a highly-touted power-hitting prospect, Matt LaPorta, for CC Sabathia. Then with 12 games remaining in the regular season, he fired manager Ned Yost (a move I criticized heavily at the time, by the way) and inserted bench coach Dale Sveum.

Those moves energized the team. Carsten Charles was a monster for the Crew, going 11-2, and they surged to second place in the NL Central and won the Wild Card, breaking a 26-year playoff drought. Even though Sabathia is now in Yankee pinstripes, and Sveum is no longer the manager, Melvin’s gamble worked. Winning breeds winning. The Brewers young, talented core got a taste of success last year, and they find themselves in first place in their division on Memorial Day weekend.

Kenny Williams has always been a guy willing to take a risk to get his team going. Sometimes they work, like in 2004 when he switched the team’s focus from power to pitching, speed and defense by acquiring guys like Orlando Hernandez, Scott Podsednik, Tadahito Iguchi, and A.J. Pierzynski while bringing up Aaron Rowand and Joe Crede from the farm system.

Other times his moves have fallen flat. He traded for Roberto Alomar and Carl Everett in successive years with nothing to show for it. He traded for Ken Griffey Jr. last year. The Sox won the division in game 163, but probably would have anyway.

But he’s never satisfied and he’s constantly tinkering, always looking for ways to make his team better. There are a ton of General Managers who can’t say that. And, frankly, they should be ashamed of themselves. Their fans deserve better.

I won’t watch a ton of Spring Training baseball, nor will I sit on the edge of my seat sweating the results of the World Baseball Classic.

But it’s nice to be able to have a game or some of the network’s alternate programming on in the background. I also like it for the news scrolls across the bottom of the page. One of the items indicated that Barry Bonds has given his agent, Jeff Borris, permission to shop his services to each of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams.

Bonds hit 28 home runs in 2007 for San Francisco when he, cough, cough, broke Hank Aaron’s All-Time Homerun record. But he sat out last season as teams shied away from the spectacle surrounding allegations of his steroid use and other legal issues.

An appeal has freed Bonds from a perjury trial until at least July and possibly for as much as 19 months, according to media reports.

Is anyone interested? Will news of A-Rod’s positive 2003 steroid test and the accompanying front-page headlines have pushed Bonds far enough toward the back page that a team might find it worthwhile to give him a shot?

Hard to say. But despite getting permission to shop his client, Borris doesn’t sound optimistic that Bonds will get to extend his home run total beyond 762.

“Major League Baseball was successful in conspiring in keeping Barry out of uniform in 2008,” he told the USA Today. “Unless they have a change of heart or see an error in their ways, I seriously doubt that clubs will give him the opportunity to play this year.”

He may have gotten his wish.

Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire and the respective allegations against them have at least temporarily taken a hiatus from the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. They’ve been replaced by the resignation of Jim Bowden as he’s investigated for any role he may have played in the skimming of Latin American players’ signing bonuses.

Bowden reportedly denies any wrongdoing and he claims his resignation is due to the distraction caused by media scrutiny of the investigation.

Fair enough.

But this can’t be the type of headline Major League Baseball officials had hoped would replace steroid talk at this time of year.

According to the Sporting News, Bowden met last year with FBI investigators looking into an alleged scam involving skimming signing bonuses from prospects form the Dominican Republic. Last year the Chicago White Sox actually fired David Wilder, then the team’s director of player personnel, and two other scouts in the team’s Latin American operation after a two-month investigation by Major League Baseball’s Department of Investitations, the Sporting News continues. The New York Yankees also fired two scouts.

This has become an issue, according to a fascinating story in New York’s Newsday today, because in the Dominican Republic, baseball is seen as a way out of poverty. “Busconis,” the story explains, are unofficial scouts or agents who finds players before they are old enough to sign with a Major League Baseball team, then works out an agreement with the player’s family to prepare him to sign in return for a portion of the signing bonus.

He gets the teenager tryouts, perhaps buys him food and equipment. But, according to Newsday, the players often don’t know how much they should be receiving – and the agents are taking as much as 50 percent or more of the bonus.

One major league scout told Newsday “there are only about two or three I know that are clean and there are a thousand there.”

“There are a lot of them that are slimy and under the table,” the person continues.

So, there. It looks like Commissioner Bud Selig might have a couple days of relief from dealing with the offshoots of the steroids scandal. Something tells me, however, that this isn’t what he had in mind.

Fair enough. Major League Baseball’s commissioner is entitled to his opinion. But he’s wrong.

Sure, Selig isn’t complicit alone. The Major League Baseball Players Association and every single player that ever stuck a needle in his ass shares the blame. But Selig has been the commissioner of Major League Baseball since 1992. He’s seen the league through some remarkable lows and some performance-enhanced highs.

And while he has taken great pains to see to it that a system has been put in place that will deter future players from taking steroids and using performance enhancing drugs he cannot, as that leader, say he doesn’t deserve some of the blame.

That a homerun record that stood for nearly four decades was broken three times in five years didn’t raise some suspicions?

That players would finish one season and return the next with a completely different physical look didn’t make him do a double-take?

Bud Selig can talk all he wants about being stonewalled by the union or being worried about another work stoppage. If you have concerns about steroids and you don’t fight those concerns you are complicit.

If you don’t get up on mountain top and scream “this is a problem and we need to fix it” until the union buckles, you are complicit.

Instead, both bodies let the records fall and they raked in the profits that came along with the excitement. No, Selig isn’t alone in being blame worthy. Brushbackpitch is on record saying leadership at the union needs to change as well.

But Selig’s attempt to clear his name and shed blame entirely is ridiculous and shameful. With a situation such as this, no matter how much good you do in fixing the problem, you were in charge when the sin was committed. And the buck should – and does – stop at the top.

And that starts with Selig.

The sport had been in the doldrums since 1994 when a strike did what wars, natural disasters and the Great Depression couldn’t do – it canceled the World Series.

McGwire and Sosa traded homeruns back and forth while chasing the 37-year-old record of 61, achieved by Roger Maris in 1961. McGwire won that race, beating Sosa 70 to 66.

Four years later Barry Bonds got in on the act, breaking McGwire’s short-lived record and finishing with 73. Six years later he broke another hallowed baseball mark, trumping Hank Aaron’s all-time record. His total now stands at 762.

Each of these characters should be going into the Hall of Fame and living their lives basking in the glow of their achievements (Put Roger Clemens in this collection as well).

Instead, each is disgraced, having allowed themselves to be tied in and tarnished in some way by baseball’s steroid era. None of them have admitted to it and all of the allegations, no matter how strong the evidence, are still just that, for now. Allegations.

But there is strong evidence out there against each of these fellows, leaving two of baseball’s most prestigious records in the hands of alleged cheats.

For the Bonds haters, Alex Rodriguez stood out as somewhat of a beacon-in-waiting. While not the most popular player in the game and not the most successful at this point in terms of winning championship rings, he had at least until this past weekend managed to put himself in position to be the guy to overtake Bonds’ career record and at least restore that position to a non-cheater (allegedly).

Now even that hope is gone. With CNNSI.com’s report Sunday that he tested positive for steroids back in 2003 and his subsequent admission, Rodriguez has assured that even if he passes Bonds the record will remain in tainted hands until someone can overtake him as well.

Rodriguez deserves credit for coming clean. Future Hall of Fame voters and history will treat him better than it will treat his compatriots.

According to Sports Illustrated, he called himself stupid, sorry, naive, negligent and regretful – and guilty. That’s respectable. But it doesn’t change the past.

The thing that I find most maddening about these facts is that with the possible exception of Sosa, each and every one of the players mentioned in this post would have been a Hall of Fame player without juicing up. McGwire and Sosa were fantastic players and had personalities that transcended the game. Bonds is allegedly a jerk but his status as one of the best hitters to ever wield a bat is indisputable. And Rodriguez? Well, Rodriguez might have been the best of them all.

But now their collective legacies will be a permanent stain on this generation of Major League Baseball.

That represented a $3 million raise from the previous year, according to information both publications sourced to Major League Baseball’s tax return and it means that he was more highly paid than all but three players (all Yankees – A-Rod, Jeter and Giambi) during that timespan, according to the report.

Shockingly, Selig has been baseball’s commissioner since September 1992 – when I was but a junior in high school.

Let’s recount some of the “accomplishments” that have taken place during Selig’s tenure that have led to him achieving this stunning level of compensation. During that time baseball’s salaries have exploded out of control, especially on the east coast, leaving a good chunk of the league unable to compete on a regular basis while at the time staying financially responsible and solvent.

Selig oversaw the steroid era. In fairness, he’s taken several steps to strengthen the league’s drug policies the past few years, but it took putting his head in the sand to not see the controversy coming in the first place.

He was the commissioner when the World Series, which had survived world wars, depressions and other calamities, was canceled for a player’s strike.

He, with the assistance of a couple owners, tried to contract the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins as part of attendance, revenue and ballpark issues.

And, following the ridiculous tie in the 2002 All-Star game, Selig made the even more ridiculous decision to tie homefield advantage in the World Series every year to an All-Star game made up of teams required to field players from every team no matter how good or bad. So, a 100-win team takes on an 85-win team but the 85-win team gets four home games because Nate McLouth from the perennially 100-loss Pirates knocks in a run off of J.J. Putz of the 110 loss Mariners?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Great solution.

In some less dramatic but also controversial moves, Selig also oversaw the beginning of interleague play and the adding of another division to each league, adding a wild card – and as such, another round to the playoffs. My preference would have been leaving well enough alone on both – some will use one or both of these to defend Selig, which is reasonable.

And finally, while the National Football League had already eclipsed baseball in popularity, Selig at least helped oversee the league as it slipped to third behind the National Basketball Association on people’s collective radar screens – a pathetic fall for what once was the undisputed National Pasttime.

Again, in fairness to Selig, the league’s revenues and attendance have never been higher. Some think he is the best commissioner baseball has ever had. Others believe he has been a puppet for the other franchise owners. What are your thoughts?

Hmm. According to the Sports Business Journal report, Major League Baseball might be skirting some salary disclosure rules by not including the amounts paid to several officers, directors and trustees, for the second year in a row.

$17 million a year for this resume, eh? Where do I sign up?