Hall of Fame slugger and Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson believes steroids have created a "cloud over baseball" and that new penalties against steroid use aren't strong enough.
In his most extensive comments to date on the topic, baseball's No. 5 all-time home run hitter said Friday many fans are willing to ignore steroid use because they enjoy the "home runs, the RBIs, the big explosion offensively" of the last few years.
"But I'll tell you one thing," Robinson added. "The players that play this game do care, and the players that have played this game care. I'll tell you that.
"It's a cloud over baseball right now," Robinson said before a Nationals spring training workout. "My take on that is that it doesn't belong in the game."
Robinson has been reluctant to comment on the steroid issue, and he refused to cite individuals — "I don't know if Barry Bonds is on steroids. Do you?" — but he is clearly concerned about the blanket suspicion cast over all players, especially those who have bulked their bodies and improved their games by more natural means.
"It's like when they had testing, back when I was playing, for certain drugs," Robinson said. "A lot of players took it as an invasion of privacy to be tested. I said I have nothing to hide. I've love to be tested. I wish we all would be tested because that would clear up the ones that are innocent. When you throw a blanket over everybody, that's mud on me, and I'm clean."
YANKEES VS. RED SOX: Boston kept up the attacks on the New York Yankees on Friday, with Bronson Arroyo joining Curt Schilling, Trot Nixon and David Wells in the criticism of Alex Rodriguez. Arroyo said the Yankees third baseman "was out of line" when Arroyo hit him with a pitch on July 24 and his reaction helped spark a brawl.
And catcher Jason Varitek said, "I don't need to boast" about workout habits. That's what Rodriguez did in an interview last month.
John Henry, owner of the World Series champions, tried to downplay the talk.
"It's just natural," he said in Fort Myers, Fla., during Friday's first official workout for pitchers and catchers. "The rivalry is the biggest in sports and you're going to have people on both sides saying things, like myself, like I'm prone to do. I'll try to avoid that today."
Henry said the Red Sox may give players their World Series rings at a separate ceremony rather than before their home opener April 11 against the New York Yankees.
"I personally don't think it's necessary to hand out the rings on opening day or opening night. I can't remember ever seeing it done," he said. "It's more an issue of when are the rings going to be ready."
BIG HURT STILL HURT: Frank Thomas hasn't recovered from ankle surgery and will not report to the Chicago White Sox along with other position players Monday. Head trainer Herm Schneider said Friday that the team has "no real timetable" for Thomas' return.
White Sox general manager Ken Williams had said that the two-time American League MVP was expected to report with the rest of the position players. Pitchers, catchers and a handful of other players reported Wednesday.