A Rotten Tradition

Baseball loves tradition and this country has a habit of making mistakes. Congress had no trouble creating something rotten from that.

Congress leads us into so many mistakes and never admits or corrects any of them. And when it comes time to make the same mistake twice – or three times or four times or five times – they jump on people’s throats with both feet.

Hurting people has become a sideshow in this angry mob of a society that we’ve become. We ruined Curt Flood and Pete Rose and then Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro. We are always after Barry Bonds and now the focus is on Roger Clemens.

Leading the way are a bunch of corrupt politicians who have already ruined this country and everything it once stood for. But the saddest story lies in us. We have lost our compassion and decency and are led around by a few hateful people that are calling for Clemens to be banished just like the others.

Some even think Clemens shouldn’t help coach or throw batting practice to minor-league players. But he keeps working because that’s the only thing he’s ever done. He has worked for teammates and fans and soldiers and young ballplayers and high-school coaches and poor people in the Bronx.

All that work made Clemens the best pitcher ever and a decent human being. No one has the right to tear that down.

We have already robbed Flood and Rose and McGwire and Palmeiro and Bonds is setup for a fall, too. Some are determined to push us into the same mistake again.

It’s time to break this rotten tradition.