After watching the entire coverage of the Mitchell Report and skimming through the actual document, I am pleased with the results of this investigation.

Photo: ABC News - Senator George Mitchell

I think MLB just got the kick in the pants it needed to get tougher drug testing. And, if the list of player names doesn't satisfy you, well, you've not been paying attention anyway.

Besides, I give Bud Selig credit for instituting this report. MLB just set another attendance record for the fourth year in-a-row, the league is booming in popularity and 2008 will undoubtedly mark a fifth straight record attendance year. If Selig truly wanted to side-step this whole investigation he could have easily done so. Instead he chose otherwise, and I say give the man credit for his decision.

Also, it's my belief that attendance is on the rise because of MLB's efforts to clean up the game and not because fans don't care about steroids. Look, we all wanted to believe the 1998 homerun chase was pure even though Sosa and McGwire looked like Hercules. And, every ballgame we attended in helping set these attendance records we wanted to see homeruns. There's nothing wrong with loving the long ball, but it's time for this game to start coloring inside the lines again.

Let's face reality. The batting and pitching statistics from the last 15 years are skewed. Players cheated, and it's time to move forward. Basically, this was the message delivered in the Mitchell Report, and I agree with its proposal to recognize the mistakes made by everyone and make this game better for years to come.

As far as I'm concerned, the record books should go untouched. Unfortunately, it is impossible to distinguish which players followed the rules of baseball by avoiding performance-enhancing drugs from the players who did not. To best serve the interest of the all-time record book fans must understand the era for which such records were achieved. The big picture of professional baseball includes such eras as the Dead Ball, Live Ball and Free Agent Era. Of course, the most recent will be referred to as the Steroids Era, and statistical data should be analyzed accordingly to its Era.

Fans should also acknowledge that there are many more guilty parties than those actually listed in the Mitchell Report. I not only hope, but believe more player names linked to steroid use will be revealed in time. Also, I find nothing wrong with fans wanting to know which players have and have not cheated with performance-enhancing drugs.

Baseball fans must also recognize that Mitchell had to conduct this investigation without the help of its current players. His interview team had no badges or subpoena powers that could force current payers to talk.

Conversely, I would have liked Mitchell's report focus more on the players who have been found guilty of cheating because they've actually failed a drug test.

As expected, there are many players linked to steroids in this report who are claiming false accusations. Whether their claim of innocence is true or not is yet to be determined. This being said, these players listed in the report better start talking publicly and in a hurry.

In conclusion, only a fool believes baseball would have been better off without the Mitchell investigation. Instead, this report is showing baseball fans and its players that the league is seeking justice and seeking the truth.

Make no mistake, this report is only the beginning of what will be an ongoing battle of "he said, no he said" between the players caught cheating and those guilty by association. Get used to it.

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