And So It Begins

We've circled his return date on our Dodger calendars. We've watched the team maintain control of the NL West since his suspension. We've seen the circus following his rehab stint in the minors. Now, we wait one more day to see him in Dodger Blue down in San Diego on the eve of July 4th.

It would be hard to argue that even in his absence, he still commands attention. Not only the attention of Dodger fans, but of all fans of baseball. Like it or not. While the city of L.A. prepares to embrace his reinstatement, the rest of the country is ready to pounce on this man and tear apart any credibility or integrity he may still possess. I don't speak for everyone at ROB, but i know that i'm struggling with the thought of baseball purists calling this season a tainted one for the Dodgers. What did i do wrong to deserve having my team ridiculed and slammed for one player's mistake? I won't give excuses or try to reason as to why he violated the league's drug policy. I shouldn't have to. That's his problem. If he decides to remain silent on the subject, the figurative elephant in the room will need to find a bigger house to reside in. (Howard Cole of baseballsavvy.com currently has a great piece posted on this very topic.)

The next few weeks (hopefully not months) will be riddled with boos and creative signs seen in ballparks across the country that attempt to take away the success enjoyed by the Dodgers thus far this season. To these "fans" that take pleasure in this, go ahead, get it out of your system because we all know that if he were on your team that's what you would expect, right?

*-Original image courtesy of strumpette.com