Beil's Spiel: Do you feel reassured?
Bud Selig struck out looking, Donald Fehr struck out swinging and Mark McGwire went down taking – the Fifth, that is.
It's now obvious why players and Major League Baseball officials resisted appearing before Congress. They were barbequed Thursday on live TV.
From the ever-bumbling commissioner to the defiant Fehr to the testy negotiator Rob Manfred, everybody involved in baseball's drug testing policy, past and present, looked like they had something to hide.
Especially McGwire. While Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro flatly denied ever using steroids, the best McGwire could muster was, "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."
Positive? Hello Mark ... anybody home?
McGwire's silence was deafening. In the court of public opinion, McGwire looked very guilty.
Just when you think the lords of baseball can't embarrass themselves anymore, they find a new low. In this case, the revelation that the "new and improved" testing policy secretly contains a huge loophole for first-time offenders: a clause that would allow them to pay a $10,000 fine to avoid being identified publicly.
So how did that little escape hatch sneak its way into the new regulations? Manfred called it "a drafting error that needed to be corrected," but nobody bought it. The explanation angered the politicians, who know a good verbal two-step when they hear it. "All you do by your answers is make me want to know more about what the hell you do," Rep. Christopher Shays said.
When the Congressmen asked if the so-called drafting error could be fixed on the spot, Fehr hemmed and hawed, saying he'd have to go back and check with the players. Only after it was pointed out that the players didn't even know about the clause did Fehr relent.
Note to Don: Arm-wrestling with Congress over grammar isn't going to win you many points.
MLB wants testing, but not too much. They want penalties, but not too many. Selig insists he wants tougher sanctions, but when pressed on whether he favors a zero tolerance policy, Bud Light said he'd have to think about it.
What Bud and his buddies really want is to make sure the politicos don't get serious about meddling in the business of baseball. It may be too late.
"I have not been reassured one bit by the testimony I heard today," said Rep. Stephen Lynch.
"I think Congress has to act."
