A-Rod didn't need to do it

OK, to the point:

If 104 people tested positive, and it was 5% -- that means they tested 2,080 baseball players.

If 104 people tested positive, and it was 6% -- that means they tested 1,733 baseball players.

If 104 people tested positive, and it was 7% -- that means they tested 1,485 baseball players.

OK, in 2003 there were 1,300 baseball players who got at least 1 at-bat in the big leagues or pitched 1/3 of an inning.

There were fewer than 1,000 baseball players who got at last 50 at-bats or pitched 25 innings.

There were roughly 432 players who qualified for the batting title, the ERA title or pitched 50 innings of relief.

In other words ... I don't get the 5-7 pwercent thing. I guess they might have tested a whole bunch of minor leaguers and minor players. I guess that 103 of the 104 positive tests might point to insignificant players just trying to bust through. But it sure seems like 104 failed tests is A LOT, and it's also A LOT MORE THAN THEY LED US TO BELIEVE. Maybe 104 is legitimately 5-7 percent of the tests, but depending on who those 104 are, it might have represented a monstrous problem. Once you take everything into account (the difficulty of tracking designer drugs; the potential complicity of the union; the incentives to not get caught) the 104 might represent something closer to Ken Caminiti's famous "50 percent" statement in the 1990s.

For a long time, it was wrong, but it was also good odds to use performance-enhancing drugs. I don't know what effect steroids really can have on a player's production or his long-term health -- and frankly, from what I've read, it's possible nobody else does either. I do know that throughout the 1990s, steroids in baseball were illegal the same way that driving 60 in a 55 mph zone was illegal. Baseball wasn't testing. Teams were generally winking. Players were pushing limits. Money was flying. Home runs were flying. Fastballs were popping. Many fans were enthralled. Many media members too. It felt good to get caught up in baseball again.

And the longer this goes on, the less interesting the whole era becomes. A-Rod reportedly tested positive for steroids. Barry Bonds seems to be heading to his day in court. The Roger Clemens story keeps getting sadder. Mark McGwire's brother peddles a book about steroids, and nobody's especially interested. How interesting is human frailty anyway?