I just finished watching the Yankees/Red Sox game and I have to say; things are changing in MLB for the better. Flashing back: After the '94 strike baseball was at an all-time low. How would the league recover the fan base from the catastrophe of a shortened season and no World Series? The answer, in retrospect, was to ignore a major infraction in steroids. While McGuire and Sosa thrilled us in '98, we now look back and wonder how "real" it really was. Over the years, in several stadiums players interfered in the game and players didn't hesitate to respond. In fact, it seemed at times players looked for an excuse to take out frustrations. MLB was unable, perhaps unwilling, to make an adjustment. Baseball as an institution seemed to be as juiced as Canseco. But the juice can cripple an institution just as it does the abusing player. More and more questions surfaced following Bonds assault on the single season and all-time home run record. Balco and Bonds, Canseco and his book, and regretably, Caminiti and his life all scarred MLB. But this season is different. MLB was finally able to enact a drug policy that has a little teeth. Minor players have been held to task; time will tell if the policy can really be effective. Roberts helps win a series for the Red Sox by stealing a base. And then there was the Yankees and the Red Sox tonight. The Yankees showed true class during the ring ceremony at the the start of the series. NY players on the top step of the dugout applauding the Red Sox as they received their just deserves. An intense series insues. Mariano Rivera handles the "cheers" from the Boston fans with the utmost grace; typical of how he handles himself on the mound, and then finally nails down a save this year against the Sox. Then, in game three of this electric series, Sheffield shows how professional sports figures are supposed to conduct themselves. It seems that both the management of baseball and the players, however reluctantly, are moving in the right direction. After a decade of watching the NBA take a more public stage over MLB (IMO the NFL still has the best policies of major sports), it seems that baseball has taken the right path towards reclaiming its image. Is it coincidence that this follows Boston's first World Championship in 86 years and that Washington finally has a team and we no longer have to endure the pitiful showing in Montreal. Maybe it is just history telling us we are getting it right. It's early in the season but I remain hopeful that MLB can move forward by looking back to the golden age when moving a runner over didn't just mean a shorter jog to homeplate after a homer.

All comments welcome,

Ryan S.