And some are given after birth.

Good point, Colonel Kevin.

Well, of the players who were suspected to have used PEDs in the Mitchell report, a significant number were already out of baseball. Of the ones which weren't, those who are still playing are largely guys who were already under contract for this season BEFORE the Mitchell Report was released, with Andy Pettitte being a notable exception. We'll see what happens over the next couple years as their contracts begin expiring, and what offers are forthcoming.

First, Pettitte signed his k right before the Mitchell Report was released. (He signed on December 10th and the MR was released on December 13th.) I recall that a reporter asked Pettitte about this so-called "curious timing" during Pettitte's PED press conference (you know, the one that resulted in Pettitte being sainted for finally confessing to PED use), and Pettitte's response was, "Well, I've told the Yankees that if they don't want me here, I'll give back the money and go home." There isn't the slightest indication that the Yankees no longer wanted Honest Andy after he was named by Mitchell.

As to your larger point that most players named by Mitchell were already under contract for this season, and that we somehow need to wait to see how they'll be treated once their contracts begin expiring: the premise is false. There were plenty of players named by Mitchell who were signed, re-signed, or acquired by teams after the Mitchell Report came out on December 13, 2007. Including:

Rick Ankiel: re-signed by the Cardinals on January 18, 2008
Gary Bennett: signed with the Dodgers on December 17, 2007
Jack Cust: re-signed with the A's on February 28, 2008
Troy Glaus: acquired by the Cardinals in a trade on January 14, 2008
Jerry Hairston Jr.: signed with the Reds on March 3, 2008
Scott Hairston: re-signed with the Padres on March 3, 2008
Kent Mercker: signed with the Reds on February 8, 2008
Ron Villone: signed with the Cardinals on February 19, 2008
Paul Byrd: option picked up by the Indians before he was named in the MR -- but his link to HGH became public 10/21/07

Then there are other pre-MR cases, like Guillermo Mota, who was signed by the Mets after his 50-game suspension for using banned substances was announced, and then was acquired by the Brewers a year later.

It simply isn't the case that we don't know how teams plan to treat players named in the MR "as their contracts begin expiring"; it simply isn't the case that teams have shown reluctance to acquire players connected with PEDs on the basis that teams believe their so-called non-PED-performances will decrease. And I really wish you would stop saying otherwise.

I thought "with all due respect" was code for, "What a dumb response", as in whenever two gangsters converse and one says "with all due respect" as a preface before disagreeing with the other, it meant that one thought the other was saying or doing something really stupid- and one wise guy couldn't tell another wise guy he was being "stupid" (or worse)- without it being deemed an actionable insult- so you had to say it in another form which allowed the recipient of the criticism/advise to pretend he wasn't being insulted.

Say, how much is that sawed-off shotgun concession at the next BTF meetup going for these days? I ask this with extreme respect.

it simply isn't the case that teams have shown reluctance to acquire players connected with PEDs on the basis that teams believe their so-called non-PED-performances will decrease.

I agree with this completely. If the only negative associated with Bonds was that he was suspected of taking PEDs, he would defintely have been signed by now. There are lots of other negatives associated with signing Bonds, which in combination with the PED thing, make him relatively toxic.

Mike Cameron has been busted twice under the current policy, and had no problems finding work. Never mind one more "Accident" on his behalf, would cause him to miss another 50 games. He had multiple teams looking for his services this winter, and ended up signing a $17 million dollar contract with a limited no trade clause.

Yes, Cameron had no problem finding work. And Ryan Franklin, and Gary Sheffield, and Matt Lawton, and Ryan Jorgensen, and Felix Heredia, and Alex Sanchez, and Jorge Piedra, and Juan Rincon, and Clay Hensley, and on and on and on. All players who have been signed, re-signed, or acquired by teams **after** being named in connection with PED use.

The idea that teams aren't acquiring these guys, or are worried that these guys might be no good without PEDs, is pure fiction. (They're worried that Gary Bennett might suck without steroids? How much worse could he be?)

Yes, that Ellerman. See, we have these things called "names"; they're given to children at birth, to help us tell people apart. Ellerman's parents called him "Troy Ellerman" to distinguish him from the guy whose parents named him "Victor Conte." Ellerman is not Conte. They're different people. There's a reason Ellerman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for the leak, and Conte was not prosecuted for the leak: Conte had nothing to do with it.

It's not even worth trying. How many people are still convinced that it was A-Rod that "disrupted" the World Series by announcing he was opting out of his contract.