MELKY CABRERA OFF WORLD SERIES ROSTER SENDS A MESSAGE

Look, there is no question I've been rough on Melky Cabrera and plenty of you have called me out for having some sort of double standard when it comes to certain players who got caught using PEDs and Melky. Let me be clear; Sure, it seems that way but my biggest point all along has been truth. If you get caught and admit it, you're clearly snagged and need to take your lumps, that's my opinion of course, and you can have yours. We can add Bartolo Colon into that mix as well. 

Now we can talk about Ryan Braun, but I don't want to get into a debate about him. He fought the test, he won and he was cleared. Not really much I can say about that. But I can about Melky and here's my thinking; Melky failed the test, Melky admitted it and Melky served his punishment. And now, I salute the San Francisco Giants for taking it one step further. The Giants didn't include Melky Cabrera on their World Series roster. Do they have to do Major League Baseball's dirty work and block Melky from playing? Are they continuing Major League Baseball's punishment on Melky? No, but they are whether they realize it or not and it says to me that regardless of what you did as a player for that team, if drugs are illegal in baseball and you violate the rules, there should be no reward. The World Series would be that reward in this case, and Melky ain't playing.

People disagree with me on this and I get it, but this is PEDs we're talking about, and it's a gray area on so many levels, except 1; Melky Cabrera admitted it, then tried to cover it up with a phony website. I don't know about you, but for me personally, if someone is caught and then admits it, it cements it for me. It's that whole "Got him red handed" mentality for me.  I know it's not like that for all of you, just hear me out though...

Melky was eligible to come back to play in the World Series. He could have played, but the Giants ignored him.  Do they feel like they don't need him? Do they not like the cover up of his drug use?  Maybe he lied to someone in the organization when it all went down and pissed someone off? Or maybe, just maybe baseball people are finally realizing that the idea of cheating is so extreme now in Major League Baseball, they just don't want the distraction. Sure, I don't have the answer, but I do find 1 thing interesting... Why is Guillermo Mota back with the Giants after being suspended twice and Melky isn't?

(In Photo: Guillermo Mota)
Now, according to Bruce Bochy, Mota and Melky are 2 different situations. As far as he's concerned, Mota came back during the season, Cabrera didn't. Bochy probably believes that inserting Melky in now, is unfair to the team who played well without him, of maybe it goes back to what I said earlier...maybe it's time that teams start punishing players, not because they want to, but because enough is enough. I don't know the ins and outs of any of these cases clearly, none of us do. And sure, maybe Melky is the whipping boy for all of this and it's just not fair when guys like Mota and the others come back clean with a chance to deliver. Or maybe it's what Bochy said...  bad timing on Cabrera's part, he came back at the wrong time. I know this though, it sets the tone for baseball whether this extra punishment, not playing in the World Series, was intentional or not. It also allows Melky to complete his punishment and come back a new man in 2013.

Look, maybe this open player's eyes, hopefully players that have any interest in using PED's will think twice and use Melky as the example. You cheat, you pay the punishment, and you may even miss out on the biggest stage ever for a ballplayer... The World Series. It's something to think about, that's all.

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