Interesting things have happened in the month that passed.

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Alfredo Simon confirm my assertion that pro athletes should never be left to their own devices. Mischief ensues. Sometimes it's strange things like having fireworks go off in one's face. Sometimes one sneezes in such a way that it lands one on the DL or fingers get slammed in car doors, ruining the finger nail one uses to throw one's nasty curve ball . Sometimes it involves sending inappropriate pictures (of your dick) to inappropriate people. And sometimes one shoot one's cousin. Dead. Simon, while in the Dominican Republic for the holidays, shot and killed his 25 year cousin and also shot his 17 year old cousin in the arm. Apparently he tried to diffuse a situation involving two women. Just for future reference, dear readers, it is usually counterproductive to diffuse a situation by shooting bullets into that situation.

Julio Lugo encouraged Simon to turn himself in and went with him the police. Lugo says that Simon shot the gun in the air in the traditional Dominican New Year's celebratory way and then ran away when he realized what happened. Whichever the story, it's very, very sad.

Jeff Blair writes an interesting piece on Larry Walker's bid for the Hall of Fame and reminds me that Walker's nickname is Booger.

A seven-time Gold Glove winner and five-time all-star who hit .313 over 17 seasons (383 homers, 1,311 runs batted in) with the 14th-best slugging percentage and 16th-best OPS, Walker was named the NL MVP while playing for the Rockies in '97. Blair points out that Walker has avoided any link to steroids, unlike many of his contemporaries. Of regrets, Walkers says, “The only thing I regret about my career is the injuries. I wish I could have stayed healthy, to see what my numbers might have been like.”

Now this is where things will start to get interesting. Often one of the stated motivations in PED use for players is the desire to quickly bounce back from injury and the general wear and tear the body takes. As the top players who dominated the mid to late 90s start to become eligible for the Hall, are voters going to start taking into consideration those who had great, but perhaps not consistent numbers due to injuries, if they have been able to avoid the tarnish of the era.

It'll be something to see it all play out.

Shoot them all and let (baseball) God sort it out. Maybe that's gonna be Simon's defense.