Deny, deny, deny

I know you’ve got your own version of the truth;
There’s only three things left now I can do:
Deny, Deny, Deny

From “Deny, Deny, Deny,” by Kix Brooks and Bob DiPiero

Just for the heck of of it, I thought I’d say a couple of words in defense of Raphael Palmeiro, who’s on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Palmeiro, who played for 20 years in the Majors and is one of only four players to reach 500 home runs and 3,000 hits — tested positive for steroids in 2005, not too long after his demonstrative denial before Congress:

That remind you of something?

Anyway…

What if?

What if Palmeiro wasn’t actually lying? What does “use” mean? According to a story in The New York Times, “Palmeiro again insisted the anabolic steroid was in a B-12 vial given to him by Baltimore Orioles teammate Miguel Tejada. So if you take something by accident, and it’s only the one time, shouldn’t that let you off the hook?

Here’s another conspiracy theory: What if “someone,” angered with Palmeiro’s literally finger-pointing testimony, sought to teach him a lesson. It would have to be someone high up, sure, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. We’ve all read novels like that, no?

Just sayin.’

Personally, while the numbers are impressive, I just can’t see Palmeiro — or any of the current batch of nominees — as Hall of Fame-worthy. Think of it: Ruth, Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Palmeiro…. Just doesn’t flow. Or substitute Jeff Bagwell or Roberto Alomar, et al. Guess that’s what my parent’s and grandparent’s generations said about guys like Bruce Sutter or Andre Dawson.