We’ve all seen the names, we’ve all heard the audio clips, and we all have our own opinions on what happened with the Mitchell Investigation. But what does it mean for us now? The secrets are out, Major League Baseball has lost face, and in the wake of the Mitchell Report, baseball will enter a new era. hat will happen to the big names hit by the report? What will become of the likes of Roger Clemens, and Miguel Tejada, and Eric Gagne? Only time will tell, but perhaps just as importantly is the question of what will happen to Matt Herges, Glenallen Hill, Jack Cust, and the rest of that caliber of player? Will they be as affected by this news? Will they be more affected, again only time will tell.

Baseball is at a turning point. The league knew that they had a problem, and to be honest, they tried to sweep it under the wrong. Are we to blame them? No, everyone tries to hide their problems, but the issue for MLB suddenly got out of hand. In addition to them knowing they had a problem, all of a sudden the front offices knew, and then the fans, and then congress, soon enough the whole world knew there was a problem, hell even Osama Bin Laden probably figured it out.

But did any of us know that the problem was this big? I mean, maybe we should have, maybe the hints were there. After all, Wally Joyner had come out before the report and admitted to using steroids. Wally freaking Joyner. I hate to be pessimistic, but if that man was doing steroids, then who in the big leagues wasn’t? So perhaps we shouldn’t have been as surprised as we are. Regardless of if the shock should or shouldn’t have hit us, it most certainly did. This report rocked the sports world, and baseball in particular more than anything has in a long while.

Perhaps the biggest effect that this will have on the game is the noticeable gap that will be in place in the Baseball Hall of Fame ten or twenty years down the road. If Mark McGwire didn’t get into the baseball hall of fame because of allegations that he took steroids, then you can sure as hell bet that none of these players will get in after being caught red handed using steroids. There is going to be an entire generation of superstars that is going to be left out of the hall of fame. I guess that’s going to be good news for Roger Clemens, after all, he no longer has to choose which hat he is going to be wearing in his bust. But it’s terrible news for baseball fans everywhere. Heroes, and great players are now identified as nothing more than shams and cheaters. How awful must it be to have a childhood hero appear on this list? Would you not feel cheated? As if that person had played you for a fool? Because thats exactly what happened, everyone mentioned on this list thought that they were above the game, and they played us, and the sport, and now they are going to be paying for it for the rest of their lives.

I don’t want to say that justice has been done, because we don’t know what Bud Selig will do, hell we don’t even know what the fans will do. Have all of these players been judged by the public? Yes, absolutely that is the case, but we are still the American public, and in case you’ve forgotten, it takes us all of about two or three days before we forget that anything happened at all. How will this affect the players next season? I can’t see Roger Clemens coming back again, but will suspensions be handed down to those who were named in the report and will stay in the game? Are the Astros regretting trading for Miguel Tejada?

This report doesn’t answer questions, it just creates more of them, and that is what we need. I would be willing to bet that for each name mentioned in the report there are at least three more who avoided this round of the trap. They may breathe a sigh of relief now, but eventually their time will come too. More clubhouse attendants are going to start talking, more names are going to be revealed, and this is just going to get even uglier. MLB is going to have to do something to save face, and this is why I am thankful that I am not the commissioner on this day, because no matter what he does, people aren’t going to be satisfied. This marks the beginning of a new age for baseball, hopefully a steroids free one, but will the fans return in force, will the numbers be the same next year? It is impossible to predict the future, but I hope for the sake of the game, and for the sake of everyone who is a fan, that we can pull through this mess.