Buying time in the steroid investigation, By: Jordan Kobritz

April 6, 2006, The Daily Courier

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, besieged by interests inside and outside the game to "do something" about allegations of steroid use, did the only thing he could do: He formed a committee to investigate the allegations.

Heading the investigation is George Mitchell, the former Senate Majority Leader who also served as a U.S. Attorney and Federal District Court Judge. While Mitchell's credentials appear to be impeccable, he's also one of Bud's cronies.

In addition to being the Chairman of the Board of Walt Disney Co., the parent company of ESPN, one of baseball's network partners, he's also listed as the "Director" of the Boston Red Sox. Mitchell was also a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics, whose report in 2000 Selig and the owners used as a negotiating tool with the players.

Having known Senator Mitchell for more than 35 years, I can state unequivocally that he is a man of utmost integrity and I am certain that he will conduct himself, and the investigation, fairly and objectively. Nonetheless, there exists the "appearance" of a conflict, which should have been sufficient to disqualify him from his current role.

In addition to the conflict issue, Mitchell's hands have effectively been tied before the committee is even seated.

The committee lacks subpoena powers, meaning no one has to cooperate with the investigation in any fashion. And why should they? Selig promised to make the results of the investigation public, meaning that anyone who talks with the committee will do so at their own risk.

The initial focus of the investigation will be on those individuals who testified before the federal grand jury in the BALCO investigation, chief among them, Barry Bonds. What, if anything, the committee can uncover that hasn't already been reported is problematic.

The bigger issue is what the Commissioner can do if the committee reports that present or former players used performance-enhancing drugs illegally under federal law, and, if used after 2002, in violation of baseball rules. The Commissioner would seem to have virtually unlimited powers under the "best interests of baseball" clause.

But former players are off limits, unless they wish to work in baseball in some capacity in the future. Any fine or suspension of a current player will almost certainly be contested by the players association and appealed to an arbitrator, who has previously sided with the player if the punishment has been too severe.

It's obvious that Selig, a political animal, appointed the committee because he had to, not because he wanted to. In politics, committees are appointed for the purpose of delaying or killing an issue. For now, at least, the steroids issue is off Selig's desk. But even his good friend Mitchell can't keep it off forever.