Just in case you, the sportswriter with a long-standing grudge against all things performance-enhancing, were wondering how long fans would hold failing and then unfailing a test for performance-enhancing drugs against National League MVP Ryan Braun: Like, part of a season, maybe. Braun is on pace for a season exactly as impressive as last years--he leads the NL in home runs, with 24--and at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, which has proven itself more than willing to boo if need be, he got a basically average hand of applause when his name came up.

Here's where that leaves PEDs, then, on the fans' list of baseball-ruining tragedies: Way behind not putting Billy Butler into the Home Run Derby, and significantly behind being Chris Perez.

Sportswriters will always have their hobbyhorses, but at some point they're going to have to come to grips with the fact that baseball fans don't care about steroids as much as they do. My suggestion, if that leaves them without material: Take a look at all those football players who are clearly using.