For the third year in a row, the start of the baseball season is once again overshadowed by allegations and rumors concerning the use of steroids.
The new onslaught was evoked by the release of the book "Game of Shadows" by two writers from The San Francisco Chronicle. The book claims that Barry Bonds took steroids after watching Mark McGwire break the home run record in 1998.
What's worse, with the storm brought about by this book, Commissioner Bud Selig has jumped the bandwagon and begun an "investigation" to appease the fans.
Selig appointed George Mitchell as the leader of the investigation, which added little credibility. Mitchell's recent resume reads director of the Boston Red Sox and Chairman of Disney, and unless Mickey's been pumping D-Bol, the investigation won't lead to much.
Selig's investigation is too little, too late. Players now know the scrutiny that will follow if they are found guilty and will avoid any connection if possible.
Bonds has openly stated that he will not cooperate with the investigation and McGwire has refused repeatedly "to talk about the past." And that's not even mentioning the thousands of other baseball players that have also graced the diamond.
What is being overlooked is the stand, or lack there of, that this game has taken on "cheating" in the past.
Sammy Sosa didn't earn the asterisk when he was caught with a corked bat a few years ago. In fact, he was forgiven after admitting his mistake, an admission that came only after being caught.
McGwire admitted using a substance now banned the year he hit 70. No asterisk, no problem.
The spitball was infamous in baseball and pitchers have routinely scuffed the ball to get more movement.
Cheating has always been around and this investigation will reveal very little and, at most, distract fans from the true stories of the early season.
Stories like Jimmy Rollins and his current 37-game hit streak and Ken Griffey Jr. passing Mickey Mantle with his 537th home run.
The only conclusion fans will get from this investigation is that a mass of athletes took things that weren't illegal in baseball's eyes and are now being considered cheaters.
And with ESPN's new series "Bonds on Bonds," this story won't go away anytime soon. For now, we'll just have to guess what Bonds was really on.
Reach the reporter at william.hayes@asu.edu.
