Murray Chass on Baseball: Romero Joins a Unique Group

What does that have to do with Romero? Well, he cheated (even though he denies or maintains he didn’t know that he was cheating) and he got away with it to the extent that he was able delay his 50-game suspension and pitch in the World Series.

My feelings on the subject were aroused by an e-mail from a reader, a municipal bond lawyer and former Tampa Bay season ticket holder now living in Denver. He said I could use his name, but his firm may become involved with Major League Baseball and I wouldn’t want to affect that potential arrangement.

Romero, the lawyer wrote, was “busted twice with Andro in his body,” yet is allowed to pitch in the post-season and star for the Phillies. Calling Romero an illegal player, he said, “I think world series star suspended for being a drug cheat (yet allowed to play when it mattered) is a pr disaster for baseball that they have tried to spin on the rest of us.”

The lawyer was especially concerned with the reaction of his 9-year-old son with whom he watches games on television.

“Now I don’t know what to tell my son Jimmy,” he wrote. “Is it right to say the Phillies cheated? I think it is. They had a player that (no matter the circumstances) benefited from the andro-like testosterone in his system (as late as Sept. 19th - Met fans may have a beef here too). MLB had the multiple evidence on him BEFORE the World Series and still didn’t whack him. He was a critical player in the Series. I don’t think you can say the Series was played on a level playing field given those facts. Do you?”

Jimmy’s gonna get you, Romero! Jimmy holds grudges!