A call to the pen as Papi struggles with steroid issue

Yesterday, when I told Christine (who sometimes accuses me of shilling for the Red Sox) that I planned to rip David Ortiz for his response to being associated with Alex Rodriguez's steroid-tainted trainer, I questioned why Papi wouldn't demand that the other 103 players who tested positive with Slappy be revealed.

If I were innocent, privacy rights be damned, I'd want my name cleared. Right now in baseball, it's guilt by association and the benefit of the doubt points toward guilty.

Brad Lidge understands this:

"I wish they would just come out and say who the 104 players are because it's not fair for the other players," Lidge said last week. "We're all lumped in with them, and people think most players did it during the steroid era. But all of us didn't cheat. I don't care how they do it, they should name all of the players on the list."

Amen, Mr. Perfect.

Thanks to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, A-Roid and possibly Papi, baseball's taint will linger for decades. The only hope to speed up its removal is to get everything out there.

Birthday update: And on that cheery note, some lighter news in andPhils world. I wasn't surprised when there were a few World Series trinkets from Greg included in my birthday present. I was surprised, however, to receive the eight-disc set chronicling the Phils playoff run. I suggested that we immediately sit down to relive the series in its entirety. Greg politely declined. Oh well, maybe another weekend.