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Hall voters need a clear directive on PEDs

Nope. Couldn't do it.

My hand hovered above the Bonds box, the Clemens box and the Sosa box. (Not Manny's, however. He needs to be penalized for sheer stupidity). Was this going to be the year I actually did what I said I might do someday? Was this the day I woke up to decide I could no longer be judge and jury, that I didn't know which juiced pitchers pitched to which juiced batters and therefore trying to enact a "moral" approach to my Hall of Fame voting was fruitless? I know the tide is turning, and, oh, did I come close.

But I couldn't do it. I knew I'd sleep better that night if I were to submit a ballot with blanks next to that trio's boxes. It doesn't make me right and it doesn't make me wrong. It continues to make me conflicted and also angry with the powers-that-be at the Hall itself. If only they would issue a proclamation that, yes, we know there was a period of time when PEDs infested baseball, and still may be, but we instruct our voters to judge people strictly on the accomplishments and the numbers. We will leave it to the patrons of the Hall, the fans, to decide how they feel about every individual we enshrine. If the Hall would do that, I would vote them all in, unhesitatingly.

Am I consistent, however? Did I vote for suspicious candidates such as Mike Piazza? Yes. Am I now voting for suspicious candidates Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell? Yes. Would I vote for Big Papi? Yes. I hate this discussion. It used to be all about baseball.

Speaking of which, here are my seven choices for the Hall of Fame.

Jeff Bagwell: To the best of my knowledge, they've got nothing on him but the eye test. His 162-game average numbers, half of which were spent in a pitcher's park: 34 homers, 115 RBI, 114 runs scored (check that out!) and an OBP of .408. He had an MVP and Gold Glove in 1994, and he was worthy of many more of the latter. His career OPS is .948 and he had three years over 1.000. I mean, c'mon.

Edgar Martinez: Perhaps people are finally seeing the light. After two years of trending downward, he jumped from 27 percent of the vote to 43.4 last year in Year 7 of his 10. Edgar's 162-game averages: .312, and a .933 OPS. He led the league in OBP three times. He has two batting titles. He had a spectacular 1995 ALDS against the Yankees, hitting .571 with 10 RBI. He was the most respected righthanded hitter in the AL for a decade. Oh, that's right. He was a DH primarily. I can't believe any AL voter would discriminate against him. Has to be those NL Luddites.

Mike Mussina: I came around on him. His career winning percentage of .638 (270-153) is way better than that of many Hall of Famers. He won 17 or more eight times, including 20 his final year. He was a very good pitcher for a long time (18 years) and the trump card is that he did it all in the AL East.

Vladimir Guerrero: Vladdy's 162-game averages: .318, 34 HR, 113 RBI and an OPS of .931. Feared? He led the league in intentional walks five times. He was a nine-time All-Star, the 2004 AL MVP, and winner of eight Silver Slugger Awards. And he had a great arm. To me, a total no-brainer. In his Montreal years he was arguably the Best-Kept Secret in baseball.

Tim Raines: You don't hang around for 23 years if you aren't pretty good, and this guy was far more than that. His voting problem is that he is widely acclaimed as the second -best leadoff man we've known, and that's not good enough, I guess. He's another guy who had his very best years up there where they speak French and he kinda fell under the radar. He had a career OBP of .413 and he was a great base stealer, swiping 70-plus six straight years in his youth. His career total of 808 trails only Rickey Henderson (1406), Lou Brock (938), 19th century ace Sliding Billy Hamilton (914, when taking an extra base counted as a steal) and Ty Cobb (897).

Ivan Rodriguez: A Top 5 all-time catcher? Very possibly. A consistently dangerous hitter, with 2,844 career knocks, he was a 14-time All-Star. But when you think of Pudge you think of the thing attached to his right shoulder, the gun which, combined with his quick feet, earned him 13 Gold Gloves. Jose Canseco, who, sadly, has been proven right on these matters more often than he has been proven wrong, has outed Pudge as a PED guy. I'm choosing to ignore it. I told you this was tricky business.( Please, Hall Pooh-bahs, help me out).

Curt Schilling: He's cuckoo; we all know that. But not for one millisecond do I believe he truly favors lynching sports writers. Having a weak sense of humor is no disqualification for the Hall, and as far as his goofy politics are concerned, hey, it's still a free country. Now then … the only time Curt Schilling wasn't a great – great, not just good – starting pitcher was when he was injured. The guy was 216-146 who three times struck out 300-plus, who twice led the league in WHIP, and whose K/BB ratio is a dazzling 4.38. And the postseason? Just 11-2, a 2.23 ERA, and a postseason career WHIP of 0.968.

Guilt feelings: Larry Walker and Jeff Kent. I could make the Devil's Advocate argument for you guys. Some complain that it is no longer the Hall of the Truly Unquestioned Great, but the Hall of the Very Good. We crossed that bridge long ago. I've long wanted to start all over. If the folks in Cooperstown would like to do so, I eagerly volunteer to be on the committee. Until then, this is how I roll.