Baseball players line up at the confessional

Is it us, or are things getting weirder by the day out there?  Baseball discussions once were about home runs, RBIs, batting averages, throwing arms, pitching rotations, and other things basebally.  Now, national controversies light up when a pitcher says the wrong thing about someone else's steroid use.  No article discussing the Bonds' career home run record is complete without a discussion of did he or didn't he (juice).

In the latest trend, players line up to confess their steroid sins, or to declare innocence.

1.  AM New York reports Jerry Hairston Jr. denies ever taking steroids (which leaves open HGH).

Hairston, the outfielder said: "I've never taken steroids in my life ... I can't comment on somebody I don't know anything about. I don't know the guy (Radomski). I never even met the guy. I don't even know what he looks like."

2.  Boston manager Terry Francona, and Red Sox outfielder David Ortiz  spent the day denying that Big Papi meant he took 'roids.  Apparently writers interpreted Papi's rather serpentine interview on Monday to somehow indicate he juiced.

Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who spoke with the Boston Herald earlier this week about the Giants slugger, was furious about a short story that accompanied the main piece, one that appeared under the headline, "Papi unwitting 'roid user?" In that story, Ortiz spoke about how he used to drink protein shakes in his native Dominican Republic, but abandoned the practice because he didn't know what the drinks contained. "I don't know if I drank something in my youth, not knowing it," he told the Herald.

The national media picked up the story, and Ortiz said yesterday he may stop talking to reporters altogether. "Maybe it's better not to say anything," said Ortiz, frustrated that the story invited unwanted attention.

Manager Terry Francona also was distressed.

"I've got a writer from Toronto who comes in last night, and he was on a mission," Francona said. "He goes, 'Ortiz fessed up to taking steroids.' That's how he starts with me. I almost carried him by his collar out of here. That's not true. That's being unprofessional. That's disappointing.

"I've got to go through the next 10 cities trying to defend David. That should never happen."

Ortiz in past interviews has adamantly said he has not used illegal performance-enhancing substances.

3.  The maelstrom known as Curt Schilling (who makes national news once a week for some reason) kneeled for repentance.  Here from the Seattle Post, via the AP:

Curt Schilling apologized Wednesday for criticizing Barry Bonds and was advised by his manager to keep some of his opinions to himself.

The Red Sox pitcher leveled the criticism Tuesday on a radio show then backed off his remarks Wednesday in an entry entitled "Public Apology," on his blog.

"Everyone has days and events in life they'd love to push the rewind button on, yesterday was one of those days," Schilling wrote on the blog, 38pitches.com. "Regardless of my opinions, thoughts and beliefs on anything Barry Bonds it was absolutely irresponsible and wrong to say what I did. I don't think it's within anyone's right to say the things I said yesterday and affect other peoples lives in that way."

"As someone who's made it very clear I have major issues with members of the media that take little or no pride in their work it's the height of hypocrisy for me to say what I did, in any forum."

Shillings manager, Francona agreed:

Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who has known Curt Schilling a long time, finally stepped in yesterday and not only had a meeting with his veteran pitcher concerning his recent comments about Barry Bonds, but told him to "zip it a little,"

4.  Even non-suspects like Cal Ripken need to confess or not.  UticaOD.com reports at Cooperstown NY, Ripken addressed the issue while at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

While Cal Ripken Jr. toured the Hall of Fame Wednesday, his former team — and teammates — once again found themselves entangled in baseball's steroids scandal.

But as was the case during his playing days, Ripken said he knew nothing about steroids...

"I don't know about it, so it's hard to talk about it," said Ripken, who was quickly briefed on the Times' story by reporters. "Specifically did I see anything when I played? No — and I'm glad I was naïve to those sort of things if they were going on.

"Beyond some suspicions about people coming back bigger, stronger and heavier, and there are many ways to explain that, I never saw anything that told me someone was juiced or doing the juice," he said.

Clearly baseball didn't show foresight when dragging management feet on PED testing.  That led to apparent rampant anabolic drug use.  However, now the feeding frenzy grows so hungry for steroid stories that the average fan might become numb to important stories.

Looks like everyone should back off on the needle.