Whether or not the steroid era in Major League Baseball is over is certainly debatable. Even if it is however, the shadow of the “steroid era” still looms large over the game. Roger Clemens is back on trial and Barry Bonds soon will be again. The reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun is generally considered to have used PEDs and to have escaped punishment on nothing more than a technicality. And if the “steroid era” taught us anything at all, it was that the cheaters are always one step ahead of those trying to stop them.

We were all made to look like fools once before and as a result we seem reluctant to celebrate anyone’s assault on the MLB record books. Having to acknowledge that Jose Canseco, of all people, tried unsuccessfully to warn us of the depth of the impact of steroids on the game, it’s understandable that we’d rather not revisit that particular brand of humility ever again. But to what end?

The ascendance of Jose Bautista has been met with its fair share of skepticism and cynicism, and in a week in which Josh Hamilton should have been carving out his place not only in the annals of baseball history, but in the romantic parts of our baseball memory banks as well, we’re again compelled to pause and reserve our celebration until we can be sure it has been earned.

Type Hamilton’s name into your Twitter search and you’ll find as many empty steroid accusations as you will congratulatory praise. What has Hamilton done to merit such accusations? Nothing other than hit homeruns at a rate like we’ve never seen before.

It’s not just Hamilton stirring up memories of an era not so far from our memories to remove the stench. A quick glance at the HR stats this season suggests that quite a few players could be in for seasons of 50+ homeruns…and the weather hasn’t even begun to get warm just yet.

For nearly 30 years after Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris topped 50 in the magical 1961 season no one in the AL matched the feat, and only 2 players in the NL (Willie Mays in 1965 and George Foster in 1977) managed it. Then came Cecil Fielder and shortly thereafter a barrage of juice induced super sluggers made the accomplishment common place.

Recent events have suddenly made the feat rare again, but still not completely uncommon. Still, only 6 players have gone over 50 HR since 2002. This year however, all bets may be off.

The degree to which the record books were rewritten during the steroid era has been especially troubling, as many of those records had stood for decades before being obliterated by PED induced sluggers. It therefore stood to reason that no one would be able to write them out of the books without some other type of assistance or historic shift in the game. So as Hamilton unleashes his assault, of course we’re prone to question it. I’m sure I’m not the only one this year who’s looking at Albert Pujols forearms as he begins this season in a prolific funk, and wondering if they look smaller or frailer then before.

The funny thing about homeruns though, is that anyone in MLB is capable of hitting one, at any time. We don’t point glaring fingers when pitchers or light hitting utility men hit 3 or 4 per season, but when the guys who we expect to hit 30 or 40 suddenly find themselves raising their frequency and challenging 50 or more…eyebrows (and suspicions) go up.

At a time when we’d like to believe that we should be celebrating the potential to have Bonds’ single season HR record erased by a “clean” slugger, we find ourselves instead questioning just how clean he is.

Indeed the steroid era is still taking its toll on MLB and our infatuation with its record book…and that’s before we start really debating the merits of the era’s achievers for the Hall of Fame.

As first reported by the NFL Network, the Baltimore Ravens hosted former Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones for a visit Sunday.

Jacoby Jones became an interesting name for Ravens fans after the NFL Draft, as the Texans’ selection of DeVier Posey made it appear as though the veteran receiver could become expendable for the team. He obviously was, as the team took only days to part ways with Jones.

Perhaps adding Jones to the mix would be a good idea for the Ravens. He’s been in the league for five years, but has only spent the last three seasons getting significant reps as a wide receiver. His numbers aren’t spectacular (31 catches, 512 yards and two touchdowns in 2011), but they’re certainly serviceable for a complementary receiver. The Ravens clearly need depth, as behind starters Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin they have just four combined career receptions (all belonging to LaQuan Willams) from a group that also includes Tandon Doss, David Reed, Phillip Livas, Rodney Bradley, Patrick Williams and 6th round pick Tommy Streeter.

As much as the Ravens may have needed a playmaker type, they clearly needed depth at the position in general. Jones could bring that, and could also bring experience in the return game. Despite his two fumbles against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2011 NFL Playoffs, he has four TD returns (3 punt, 1 kickoff) in his career.

An even more intriguing name that has loosely been discussed amongst Ravens fans is the name Michael Crabtree. The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver has been a hot topic after the team drafted Illinois WR AJ Jenkins in the first round of the NFL Draft. In addition to Jenkins, the team has added veteran free agent receivers Mario Manningham and Randy Moss this offseason, leading to some speculation that the team could be prepared to move on from Crabtree after selecting him with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

I want to reiterate that the rumors surrounding Crabtree have been thinly veiled. While a National Football League source told me he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the Ravens had interest in trading for Crabtree, no true source has been able to confirm that actual interest exists. However, in my chat with CBSSports.com NFL writer Clark Judge (who is honestly amongst the absolute best in his line of work) last Friday on “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net, the Crabtree-Ravens conversation came up…

JUDGE: “Hey one other question for you, are you serious about taking that caller’s suggestion and trying to acquire Michael Crabtree?”

ME: “No, I don’t think that’s realistic at all. I was trying to play devil’s advocate.”

JUDGE: “The thing about Crabtree is that they would probably be willing to give him away because while he’s young, he’s an underachieving diva. A second rounder? I’d probably give him away for a fourth rounder.”

ME: “If they were willing to give him away for a fourth rounder, I’d be willing to have the conversation.”

JUDGE: “I wouldn’t want him on my team.”

It should be made clear that Judge didn’t report to me that the Niners were interested or willing to trade Crabtree away for a fourth round pick. He simply said that HE would be willing to do that if he were making the calls for San Fran. (The chat is available here in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault.)

I’ll say again what I said to Clark Judge. If the San Francisco 49ers were willing to trade Michael Crabtree away for a fourth round pick, I’d have the conversation. I’m aware that Crabtree has yet to fully live up to his potential as a Top 10 pick and has certainly had “personality issues” that stem back to his lengthy rookie holdout. I’m also aware that the former Texas Tech standout has become more and more productive in each of his three years in the league and his best year (2011) coincided with the year his quarterback (Alex Smith) finally moved into the “credible” category of NFL signal callers.

Let me stress, I’d have the conversation. But it’s important to point out again that this is not a fantasy football league. This is the NFL.

(Continued on Page 2…)

I’ll just say this up front and deal with the consequences of the comment at some other.

I know-as a fact-that at least one high profile Baltimore Ravens player has been involved with a “Pay For Play” scheme of some sort. That discovery was confirmed to me by both a current and former teammate.

This column isn’t about the details of that revelation, as I have not found the details to be particularly newsworthy. If that changes in the future, I will fully accept the responsibility of sharing them publicly. Instead I bring the note up only to make it known that such schemes are not so particularly unique and it is easy for others around the game of football to offer perspective and commentary.

I also share this to set the tone for an answer to a question asked many times since the “Bountygate” saga surrounding the New Orleans Saints and former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams broke days ago.

“How would we react if it had been the Ravens?”

The question has been asked in the face of sharp criticism levied in the direction of Williams and company. National writers and local analysts alike have cried for severe punishment for both the individuals and the organization. Amongst the penalties suggested have been the loss of draft picks, six to seven figure fines, firings, suspensions and even the forfeiture of the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV title.

We’ll find out reasonably soon what the actual penalties will be, but the down time between the release of the National Football League’s findings and sentencing has certainly allowed for sports media driven by the NFL to run wild with questions/comments.

There don’t appear to be great numbers of supporters of the Saints’ sins, but there certainly appears to be more than a few football fans who have been willing to suggest “everyone does this” or “injuries are a part of the game” as a response.

There is a sense of relevancy at least to the latter. There is an awkward nature about every football game played at every level. Every competitor in every game lines up knowing their chances of victory would be greatly improved if their opponents’ best players weren’t on the field.

It doesn’t mean players have regularly worked to ensure their opponents left the field early, it just means the thought is always very much in their minds.

It certainly doesn’t mean it is okay for a coach/organization to pay players as a bonus for injuring opponents.

The other question regularly asked by the small group of Saints defenders is “how would you feel if it was your favorite team?” As I’ve already noted, I’ve wavered on this since first being asked.

Here’s my gut feeling. If the circumstances were either the same (or at least in some way similar), Charm City would be likely to be supportive of the Ravens. If Gregg Williams was Rex Ryan or Chuck Pagano and Sean Payton was John Harbaugh and the players involved were actually Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Jarret Johnson-we’d be much less likely to call for a death penalty-caliber punishment.

We’d be way more likely to be defensive of the persons involved, suggesting “the bounty wasn’t the reason the unit was successful” or reminding fans that bounties have existed throughout football history.

We’d do it for the same reason San Francisco Giants fans continued to support slugger Barry Bonds despite the escalating evidence suggesting Major League Baseball’s all-time home run king perhaps cheated en route.

I’m not suggesting a football bounty in any way compares to steroid use. I’m only suggesting that it is easier to support players/coaches from your own favorite team because even if you don’t agree with their methods at heart, you believe something more significant.

Those players were trying to help your favorite team win.

When a player accepted money from a Saints assistant to go after an opposing player (or for simple on-field achievement), they did so as part of an attempt to win. Not only were they successful, they were so successful they turned a perennially miserable franchise into a Super Bowl champion.

If the Baltimore Ravens were accused of something similar, it would be much too easy for us to just say “I don’t necessarily like it, but I’m glad they did whatever necessary to win.”

It does not in any way alter the actual facts.

The facts here are very simple. The New Orleans Saints broke the rules and perhaps risked permanently altering the lives of men who were friends, former teammates and simply “brothers” on the gridiron.

There is nothing that can be said that will ever make that acceptable in any way. I won’t attempt to tell you what sort of penalty that should bring with it, I will only tell you I too believe it should be significant.

I will also suggest again that asking “what would you think if it was your favorite team” is not a defense Saints fans should even consider in conversation.

I would probably be supportive. I would DEFINITELY be wrong.

-G

Are you at war with the Orioles?

It sounds a tad dramatic sure, and I’ll acknowledge it’s an overstatement at the least, but make no mistake about it; the Orioles are at war with you.

The Orioles at war with you, they’re at war with Major League Baseball, they’re at war with the players and they’re at war with anyone standing between them and their next dollar. And the sooner we can all acknowledge that simple truth, the sooner we can put our collective heads together and forge an amicable solution.

In order to assess our collective position, let’s understand the means by which we arrived here. As I’ve said throughout this drama, in my lifetime (coming up on 39 years) the early part of the Angelos tenure was surely the best of times.

Camden Yards was fresh and new, the Orioles were playing to packed houses and were the only ticket in town, and unlike the Eli Jacobs regime that preceded his, the Angelos regime was ready to share that wealth with big names on the field and in the front office. Everyone it seemed was happy.

Then the Ravens came to town and we quite simply lost our way. Art Modell came to town with a questionable business reputation (fair or not) at best and the city threw money at him, lent him more money at favorable terms on top of it, and provided cushy lease terms at an adjoining downtown ballpark to his palace. The argument could certainly be made that in Oriole Park at Camden Yards the city gave Angelos quite a gift too, but that wouldn’t be altogether fair, as Angelos picked up the O’s after the advent of Camden Yards and therefore absorbed some of that benefit in the purchase price. The city “gave” the stadium and all of its inherent benefit to the Orioles (the Eli Jacobs Orioles) and Jacobs essentially walked away with those benefits by way of the inflated purchase price. *Remember that precedent by the way.

So back to Peter’s perspective:

Here’s Angelos in 1995, spending like hell to field a winner and we the fans begrudge (and even blast) him for silly things like talking too long at Cal Ripken’s 2131 ceremony. He squashes the 1996 trade that would have jettisoned Bobby Bonilla and David Wells and watches the team surge in the standings and actually make the playoffs and still couldn’t get love. He even brought back Eddie Murray. Then he watched the city bend over backward for and celebrate an NFL owner whose bad decisions in running his team necessitated a quick bailout. As I remember, Angelos spoke up about what he saw as disparate treatment then, but was mostly dismissed.

In 1998 the team began to show its age (after a wire-to-wire division title) and the fans quickly turned on the talent at hand. I remember the calls flooding the radio shows begrudging our mercenaries and clamoring for young talent that “played like they wanted to be there”. The O’s began churning the roster and the Ravens began turning a page of their own and winning and the fans had alternatives, and decisions to make with their entertainment dollars.

By 1999 it was evident that the Expos were leaving Montreal, and for those that were paying careful attention, there was nowhere to put them but DC. Angelos was at war with his TV network, CSN, and while his best interests were served by keeping a team out of DC, the network saw dollar signs and the potential of another team on their network therefore putting their best interests in direct opposition with Angelos and the Orioles. Coincidentally, see MASN for the results of how that battle turned out.

Additionally it seemed that the state of Maryland would have had a legitimate and vested interest in compelling a DC team to build their stadium in Maryland, therefore there was no support from the state or the Stadium Authority to be expected for the O’s.

The fight to keep the Expos out of DC was Angelos’ to fight alone.

Ryan Chell and I introduced a new segment Wednesday on “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net. The segment is called “The Starting Nine (Ten)” and is remarkably similar to “The Tuesday Top 7″ that you hear Drew Forrester and Luke Jones doing every week.

During Major League Baseball season, we’ll use “The Starting Nine (Ten)” to pick out the best players at each position in baseball (Pitcher, Catcher, DH, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B and three OF’s). It’s similar to how “The Morning Reaction” guys select the best Baltimore Ravens every week in season.

Outside of baseball season, we’ll select a topic and fill a roster with the same positions based on the topic.

For example, this week’s topic was “The Faces of the Rock Bottom Era of Orioles Baseball (1998-present).”

Here are “The Starting Nine (Ten)” Ryan and I put together…

Glenn Clark’s Nine (Ten):

Pitcher-Daniel Cabrera

Catcher-Brook Fordyce

First Base-Garrett Atkins

Second Base-Delino DeShields

Shortstop-Brandon Fahey

Third Base-Mark Reynolds

Outfield-Felix Pie

Outfield-Marty Cordova

Outfield-Larry Bigbie

Designated HItter-Vladimir Guerrero