And this may get me flamed (dons asbestos suit) but for the exception of some of the really high profile stars, baseball is a sport with an extremely long season populated with lots of journeyman players with fairly short earning years, for whom I am sure the risk to benefit ratio of using PEDs (and lets be real, aside from the cheating aspect – these drugs can have serious risks and lasting effects) can be likened to anorexia and drug use among models – it may be the only way that you can keep your job and meet the unrealistic expectations of your employer and/or the public/fans.

I suppose this sounds like being an apologist, and I don’t mean it to. I agree with Mitchell’s hypothesis that the conduct of those that used PEDs and banned substances caused harm to the careers of those players who did not, and perhaps that is enough to not care “so much” about the loss of reputation being suffered by those named now. But I think owners, management, cities and fans reaped the benefits of the risks taken by these players that they “nudge nudge wink wink” didn’t know “anything” about – it is wrong to rest the blame chiefly on their, albeit, enhanced, shoulders.

Sosa isn’t mentioned. But, again- just because someone wasn’t mentioned doesn’t mean the Mitchell group forgot about them, or that they cleared their name — it just means that none of the informants and/or evidence they saw implicated that person.

How many of the list were or are Boras’ clients?

And you are VERY welcome, fc- it was fun. Well, as fun as stressing out about whether a bunch of grown-ass men stuck needles in their butts full of juice can be. :)

Jason, I’m sorry I had even a moment of doubt. Please, please continue to be worthy of our trust.

Let the fallout begin with MLB and the MLBPA battling over drug-testing again.

Oddly enough my list doesn’t have Gagne and Donnelly on it. Big oops on my part.

What’s shocking to me is that there wasn’t a lot of Mets on there given that Radomski worked for them.

The reality is: lots of Orioles were named (Bigbie as the source) and then several Yankees (McNamee as the source)- with some Dodgers thrown in. There weren’t a lot of guys named from MOST teams, not just the Sox.

HOWEVER, I think it’s very obvious this thing is by no means complete. That doesn’t mean everyone else is innocent- it just means the Mitchell committee didn’t have a Bigbie or a McNamee to rat on the other clubhouses.

And it’s disturbing to see those emails from Theo quoted in there about Gagne… and all of those concerns were summarily ignored anyway.

While our beloved Red Sox are spared in this report (and there’s some conflict of interest on Mitchell’s part as Director for the Red Sox), it doesn’t mean they’re not using something, just that no evidence was uncovered or corroborated during this 20-month investigation.

To wit: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

Now, no throwing things at me, please.

what i find to be the most interesting thing about Gagne and Donnelly’s involvement in the report is that Theo and his staff knew of their alleged use and didn’t do anything about it..

Caroline i agree with you. Roberts probably should not be in the list because of the heresay factor.

Also: someone commented that “Northern Ireland was easier than this”. I about blew a gasket.