Donald Fehr Believes Baseball's Steroid Problem Has Been Fixed

Fehr Blames Sensationalism For Obscuring The Facts

FEHR OR FOUL? In N.Y., Mike Lupica writes Fehr "still acts as if there is no problem at all" with performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Fehr "doesn't want to talk about the 104 players who tested positive" for PEDs in '03, but instead wants to "talk about the '94%' of his players who were clean at the time." But Fehr "talking about that 94% is disingenuous at best," and "more than anything, Fehr tries to do something everybody would like to do now in baseball: rewrite the record book" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/24). In Ft. Lauderdale, Mike Bernardino wrote if Fehr really believes that Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez "will be the last name to be leaked out from that list, he's seriously delusional." It is "only a matter of time before more drips start escaping a very dirty faucet" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 2/23). In Denver, Troy Renck wrote while every MLB player is "guilty until proved innocent," the MLBPA and Selig "must share the blame." Nobody "trusts any of the records anymore," and that is "on Fehr, who too often led a union for the stars and not the hard hats." In addition, for MLBPA COO Gene Orza, the "steroid issue was his baby." Orza once, "famously, compared performance-enhancing drugs to cigarettes." Renck: "Talk about a guy who doesn't get it" (DENVER POST, 2/22).

MARKET WATCH: In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck notes Fehr yesterday also visited the Orioles' Ft. Lauderdale Spring Training home and discussed the "moribund free-agent market" as well as the steroid controversy. Fehr "didn't publicly accuse the owners of colluding to restrict the free-agent market this year." However, it is not hard to "read between the lines and sense there is suspicion about the number of players who have settled for below-market contracts or are still trying to find work." Fehr: "When you have a market like this one -- that seemed to take very long to develop and had fits and starts with significant numbers of players that have yet to sign or haven't -- obviously you look at it a lot more closely. When we're finished with that, if there's anything to say, we'll say it" (Baltimore SUN, 2/24).

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