Pre Fan-Hitting

SPORTING GOODS

I'd just like to go on the record before we get a big list of cheaters from George Mitchell in a couple hours, that I don't really care what it means in terms of individual records or the accomplishments of teams that may have had steroid users on them.

I'd still like to know who was cheating for sure, but so many players who were using steroids will be left off this list, that we still can't separate the innocent from the guilty.

And with so many players using performance enhancers, on one hand it doesn't really impact what I think of players' accomplishments, but of course in history this era needs to be judged in a different way than those before and after it.

I wanted to get that on the table...if David Ortiz was a user, I won't be willing to say it tarnishes 2004, just as if Mike Mussina or Aaron Boone was a user, it doesn't mean I think the Sox should have been awarded the 2003 AL crown.

Besides, if everyone thought that, then Mr. Jason "2 homers in game 7 which went to extra innings" Giambi would have already made that case.

Let the media outrage begin! It's like early Christmas!