Say It Isn't So, Raffy

Cuban-American and Miami-raised baseball star Rafael Palmeiro has tested positive for steroids.

This is the same Palmeiro that testified in the congressional panel back in March along with Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Jose Canseco. Palmeiro emphatically denied ever using steroids at the hearing, despite Canseco's account that he had used them back in the early 90s.

Here's a guy who's hit 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. Those are guaranteed Hall of Fame numbers. The reason he's not a household name (except for those Viagra commercials) like Barry Bonds is because of his quite, understated personality, his ability to stay clean until now, and never playing for teams in big markets like New York or L.A.

That's what makes all this even more disappointing. As much as I'd like to believe that he unintentionally ingested the drug, it's hard for me to believe that a professional athlete does not know what he's putting in his body.

If the story holds up and he used steroids, then I don't believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

That's hard for me to admit, but that's the way it goes.