And we're back to business as usual

Do you think that seeing some of the biggest stars in the game brought before Congress to face the threat of jail time will cause some of the next generation of stars to think twice before using illegal drugs?
Or do you think seeing how little power anyone (Congress, the commissioner, the Player's Union) has to punish offenders on the grounds of hearsay will only further embolden cheaters?
Or won't matter?

I've been thinking about the large number of veteran players who are still out of work. Some interesting pieces have been written lately about the possible collusion that is driving down the price on a large number of experienced baseball players.

I wonder where the steroid scandal fits into all of this.
I've always thought the clubs have to know who is doing something if not who is doing what.

So maybe we've just reached a tipping point.
We've always questioned the cost of a replacement player; maybe that minor leaguer can perform as well as the veteran, or close enough to be worth the drop in salary. Now the clubs have to worry about Radomski clones turning up in every major city. Maybe the money plus the road map of who knew how to get what is going to drive a lot of role players into an early retirement.

As Brian Cashman said of the market: "You either have the stars or the young guys. There are very few players in between."

The biggest names (like Pettitte) are worth the cost and the risk. Shawn Chacon, not so much.