Mitchell Report- No McGwire or Sosa

The long-anticipated Mitchell Report on major league baseball's steroid problem came out today and a list of the players named in the report was linked to by Matt Drudge. Among those named are some whose presence was expected- Barry Bonds, the Giambi brothers (Jason and Jeremy), Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco. There were also some names whose presence must come as a major surprise, including Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite. However, the biggest news has to be the two names that many expected would be on the list and which were not- Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

Many in the media took McGwire's grudging presence at Congress' investigations and refusal to say anything as proof of his guilt. And Sammy Sosa has had some incidents himself. However, depsite the presence of McGwire's one-time teammate Jose Canseco on the list, neither McGwire or sosa was named in the report- at least as far as I have read so far.

Personally, I am inclined to give both men the benefit of the doubt. McGwire openly had containers of both androstenedione and creatine in his locker, and denies he ever did anything illegal. Since andro was legal when McGwire was taking it, he seems to be telling the truth. In any case, McGwire had been hitting lots of home runs a year dating back to college, where he hit a then-record 49. As for Sosa, as much as he will be remembered for his corked bat, there is currently no evidence that he took anything illegal either. Bonds on the other hand, never hit more than 35 homers until he suddenly began getting bigger and stronger as he aged.

i have always though McGwire is a class guy who handled a very difficult situation as best he could. The omission of his name on Mitchell's report, while not completely clearing him of all suspiction, must go a long way in confirming me in this belief.