Bud Selig says he sent George Mitchell out to reconstruct the steroid era.
In the days since its unveiling, the mission has been described variously as noble, absurd and, by almost anyone who might be contacted by Mitchell's investigators, a complete waste of time.
That, of course, will be entirely up to them. If those who lived it, saw it, benefited and suffered from it choose not to remember it, then what we'll have is a report that reads a lot like leaked grand jury testimony and a few splashy books.
Calls to half a dozen player agents found none who would recommend his clients, past or present, roll over on teammates who fouled their bodies and the game with steroids.
There are plenty of players who will gripe privately of toiling in a decade warped by drugs not officially banned by baseball until 2002. Few, if any, will feel strongly enough to turn whistle-blower, Jose Canseco being among the exceptions, though this time there won't be a buck in it.
"That's up to the individual player," agent Scott Boras said. "I think any major league player realizes that ... they've got a career, a future and a reputation inside the game. I don't know what a player will have to gain by disclosing historical facts that have nothing to do with his career."
Within the game, Boras said, "You're there to protect confidences that are given to you by teammates. The written rule among players is what's said to him in confidence remains in confidence."
Jeff Borris, Barry Bonds' agent, would not speak specifically about Bonds' strategy when the call comes, though it's fair to assume he won't risk a perjury charge to cleanse his soul.
But, if Mitchell has a notion of angling to the players through the agents, there probably won't be much there, either.
"If I were called, I would assert the attorney-client privilege," said Borris, who is a lawyer. "And that's no indication of whether I was hiding or not hiding anything."
One agent believed retired players would be most likely to divulge secrets, perhaps at the peril of an awkward moment at the alumni golf tournament, and a few said the players' union should provide protection.
No one seems to know where Mitchell will show up first, though the BALCO tree seems a fair place to start shaking.
