the mitchell report

though sixty-something hours have passed since the release of the Mitchell Report (a day which will live in infamy in the hearts and minds of baseball fans), I haven't been able to use the time for much reflection (blame the necessary study for an upcoming interview with writer/director John Sayles).
but I did read the Report - or as much as I could get to in a couple of hours - late Thursday afternoon.
and yes, there were some surprising names. and there were names that, in a perfectly transparent world, would likely be included that weren't.

a few sportswriters, most notably the Times' Tyler Kepner, wrote about the revelations from a more personal perspective (and that seems about as viable as any). Kepner, specifically, writes about his relationship with reliever Ron Villone and the charges against him.
"It is hard to reconcile those seedy allegations," writes Kepner, "with the person I know. If they are true, it shows that I am naïve . . ."
naïve is not an adjective one would expect to be used in a Yankee beat writer's self-analysis, but there it is. and at the time he wrote the word, I expect Kepner believed it.

I've been in major league locker rooms and spoken, however briefly, with several of the accused: Bobby Estalella, Todd Pratt, David Bell. Benito Santiago jerked me around for a couple of days before vanishing on the Giants' last day in town, thereby escaping the interview he promised and postponed.

I spoke at greater length, figure at least twenty minutes, with three others. Tim Laker was with the Indians in the backup catcher role he'd pretty much taken on since he made the majors. we talked about catching (he's in the Catcher book) and music. Tim used to play high school ball with Scott Radinsky, pretty much the prime example of baseball's intersection with rock and roll, and suffered more injuries and health problems than a current major leaguer ought.
Jason Grimsley and I talked for quite a while shortly after he'd been traded to the Orioles. we talked about his guitar playing and his friendship with former Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti. Jason told me about how Joe Torre got mad at him the day he threw batting practice to Mark while Jason was on the disabled list. and now, after the rather full revelations about Jason, I'm wondering if Torre's patience with him was short for another reason.
though I must add that Jason was about as "normal" a major leaguer as I've come across. pleasant in a regular guy kind of way and seemingly well-liked by his teammates.

and then there's Andy Pettitte, arguably the biggest surprise on George Mitchell's list of names.
Andy is known as a supportive teammate and family man. he wears his Christianity on his sleeve. and he was kind enough to speak with me long enough to gather enough information to feature him as my Day in the Life pitcher in the Starting Pitcher book (and he could've very easily pulled a Benito without nearly the fallout as the Yankees' PR department pretty much raised hell with me for somehow fouling up other plans they had for Andy that day. but instead of backing out and using his employers as an excuse, Andy sat with me, pretty patiently, on the dugout bench the day after his start because two days before he told he would).
today Andy Pettitte issued a statement acknowledging that he twice injected himself with HGH in an effort to return to the Yankees lineup more quickly. and he apologized.
the fact that he did this was much less surprising than his being named. and Pettitte's confession would seem to remove some of the lingering doubts fans might've attempted to hold onto following Thursday's announcemet.
and in my mind makes it much, much harder for Roger Clemens (on the cover of Starting Pitcher) to proclaim innocence (though he did so through his lawyer on Thursday) since Clemens and Pettitte shared the services of their trainer and accuser Brian McNamee (and not that I'm doubting his word in this instance (primarily because of federal law enforcement involvement, but he doesn't exactly have a pristine past (see: October 6, 2001 date rape drug incident in a Florida swimming pool)).

(do you think the Mets, given their lack of desire to resign LoDuca and the last minute collapse in signing Bobby Estalella, might've had some inside information here? or maybe they just decided to start acting on information that everybody had.
by the way, the residents of the National League's ugliest stadium have just announced that they'll be jacking up ticket prices by around 20% for the upcoming season. great timing, huh?)