The fact that Pete Rose is not a Hall of Famer has not prevented him from camping out in Cooperstown, New York, during Hall of Fame induction week, donning his latest trademark and selling autographs. This practice has caused much grumbling by his peers, who have hated how Rose has used the moment and the institution to make money while drawing attention away from the actual Hall of Famers.
But the Baseball Hall of Fame should take the opportunity it has to use Rose -- still banned by Major League Baseball, as commissioner Rob Manfred announced Monday -- as a way to get itself back to what it should be: a museum that neutrally presents history.
Manfred's statement Monday outlined what a lot of casual fans do not fully understand, that the commissioner has the power to keep him out of Major League Baseball, with no actual jurisdiction over the question of whether Rose, 74, can be inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is up to the folks at the Hall, who can make up their own rules and adjust them as they see fit -- as they have done in recent years, changing the criteria for voter eligibility and the number of years candidates can appear on the ballot.
The Hall of Fame could use Rose to get itself out of the ridiculous box because of the so-called character clause, which has seemingly shifted the place from the simple mission of reflecting baseball history to a bastion of tangled morality.
A review of that slippery slope on which the Hall currently stands: The character clause is believed to have been written by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the former commissioner who labored, in his last years, to keep the sport segregated. For years, the character clause was almost entirely ignored by the baseball writers, who apparently recognized the fact that they were voting on humans with human foibles -- racists, drunks, womanizers, criminals and users of performance-enhancing drugs -- and generally picked the best baseball players. Anybody can Google the names of current Hall of Famers to dig into their various histories, if it's really important.
But once Mark McGwire's name reached the ballot, the character clause suddenly became relevant in the eyes of the latest generation of voters, and the Hall of Fame, with its rules machinations -- such as its refusal to adjust the number of names a voter can vote for -- has seemed to work against some of the steroid-era candidates.
The inconsistency and the folly in this has now put the Hall in a position where its relevancy has been questioned, because at the moment, there are no plaques in the Hall for the all-time home run king, Barry Bonds, or arguably the greatest pitcher ever, Roger Clemens, or the all-time hits leader in Rose. There are folks in baseball who chuckle at the hypocrisy of all of this, given their belief that past users of steroids -- as well as other human beings guilty of doing some of the worst things humans can do -- are already in the Hall of Fame. This is not a house of the holy; it's a baseball museum.
What the Hall can do, through Rose, is to get back on course, using the history to its advantage. In whatever way it chooses, it can make Rose eligible for induction, either by rewriting its rules and putting him up for a vote among the writers or by placing his name before a veterans committee.
Then, if Rose is elected, they can present his entire history, neutrally. Because as former commissioner Fay Vincent has said, in paraphrasing Justice Louis Brandeis, sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants. Just present the truth.
Imagine the power of the moment if Jane Forbes Clark leaned into the microphone and read Pete Rose's plaque, speaking words like these:
Peter Edward Rose, player for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos, 1963 to 1989. The player known as Charlie Hustle exuded passion and work ethic as he amassed more hits than any player in Major League Baseball history, with 4,256. The all-time leader in games and plate appearances; MVP in 1973, and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting 10 different seasons. A 17-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner. In 1989, Rose agreed to a lifetime suspension from the game after information that he had bet on baseball and violated Rule 21.
If Rose was still alive at the time of election, he might be offended by this. Maybe he wouldn't show up. Maybe he would show up, and other Hall of Famers would refuse to show up.
So be it.
This is the history of Pete Rose: One of the greatest ballplayers ever, but kicked out of the sport for breaking a rule central to maintaining the integrity of the game. If Rose were to be inducted, the character clause would be effectively obsolete; for the Hall of Fame, the sooner that happens, the better.
Bonds has a complicated history, as does Clemens, and Landis, and Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and Gaylord Perry and just about every player. They aren't perfect people, but their importance on the landscape of baseball is undeniable.
The Hall of Fame has the platform to present all of that history, neutrally, and can leave it to the patrons to decide for themselves what it all means.
Getting back to the Manfred decision itself, on the day that commissioner Bart Giamatti formally announced that Rose would be moved to baseball's ineligible list, he presented the route by which Rose could get back in the game: by reconfiguring his life. You can see it here.
This was not some arbitrary or idle phrase, and the sport is filled with people who have reconfigured their lives in order to have a place in the sport. Don Newcombe, the National League's Cy Young Award winner and Most Valuable Player in 1956, overcame a drinking problem and served as a counselor for generations of players, and he has been a constant at Dodger Stadium through the years; on Newcombe's own website, there is a reference to his alcoholism. Near the end of Mickey Mantle's life, when past mistakes had all but killed him, he changed, and he presented himself as a cautionary tale.
Rose had every opportunity to be forgiven in the past 26 years, every opportunity to get back into the sport. But Rose was out of baseball because he bet on baseball, and he lied about it for years afterward, and he continues to bet on baseball, as he acknowledged to the commissioner -- only after first saying he doesn't bet on baseball. Really, he gave no choice to Manfred, who has made what likely will be the final decision from Major League Baseball on Rose in Rose's lifetime.
But the Hall of Fame also has a choice with Rose, who could unwittingly rescue the museum from its character-clause problem.
This is how it ends for Rose, writes Jayson Stark.
Rose is more marketable without reinstatement, writes Darren Rovell.
Rose made Manfred's decision an easy one, writes John Shea. Manfred saw right through Rose's nice-guy charade.
Rose is what he is: a serial liar who seems out of touch with reality, and someone who, earlier in his life, was among the greatest ballplayers ever.
Other Reds were saddened by the decision.
Giants reel in Cueto
As the Kansas City Royals tried to understand Johnny Cueto's struggles in August and September, the predominant theory was that he simply put too much pressure on himself at a time when there was already a lot of pressure on him. Cueto had tens of millions of dollars riding on his 2015 performance at the outset of the season, and after Kansas City swapped a package of prospects for him, he was expected to lead the Royals' charge toward a World Series title. Like a college student expecting summa cum laude honors, Cueto might have simply driven himself crazy in those four days between starts rather than focusing on the business at hand.
But Cueto did just enough in the postseason to allay concerns about his pitching elbow, notching two dominant starts in big moments, the Royals' Game 5 Division Series clincher against Houston and Game 2 of the World Series. On Monday, he agreed to a six-year, $130 million deal that could make the Giants the favorite in the NL West, considering their deep rotation: Madison Bumgarner, Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Jake Peavy and Matt Cain, with Chris Heston serving as the first safety net. The Giants also have some good young starters climbing through their system who could help in 2016, such as Tyler Beede and Clayton Blackburn.
Cueto will continue to feel some degree of pressure to live up to the most significant contract the Giants have doled out for a pitcher, but San Francisco should be a place of great comfort for him, because he doesn't have to be The Man -- Bumgarner will forever own that as long as he pitches for the Giants -- and the clubhouse is so understated and professional that he won't have to fret about the background whispers of colleagues. Cueto also will get to pitch in one of the more pitcher-friendly parks in MLB, with a strong infield defense behind him. He has three career starts in San Francisco and has allowed just four earned runs, a small sample size that the Giants would love to be an indicator of what's to come.
The Giants gave themselves another rotation present, writes John Shea.
The addition of Cueto makes the Giants better, writes Keith Law. Cueto has a lot of mileage on his arm, writes Mark Simon. He has a chance to have an elite presence, says Giants GM Bobby Evans.
Notables
* The top free-agent pitchers have now come off the board and the Dodgers -- who spent more money in salary in 2015 than any club in MLB history -- didn't sign any of them. Now would be a great time for one of the organization's leaders to articulate the team's strategy to its confused fans.
Is payroll reduction the primary goal this winter? Is it to avoid deals with veteran pitchers for more than four years, or five? (That's what the Red Sox did last winter.) With the Diamondbacks and Giants being two of the more improved teams this offseason and the Dodgers having responded by signing only Hisashi Iwakuma and Chase Utley, L.A.'s fan base is all but collectively channeling Vince Lombardi: "What the hell is going on out here?"
Here's what the Dodgers' leadership cannot do: They can't simply take a step back to rebuild. Because while that might feel like the right thing to do in the cold of winter, the practical reality of trying to execute that strategy in a market conditioned for success is something very different. The Brewers have the luxury of taking a step back and fully rebuilding, and so do the Braves. The Dodgers do not; they must figure out a way to be deft enough to rebuild while still contending. Because if they start to lose, they'll eventually be forced into the sort of changes they have stubbornly refused to make this winter, and the cost might be even greater than if the Dodgers have made big moves early this winter.
Sometimes obvious moves are obvious because they are the best course of action. (And if Mark Walter or Andrew Friedman would like to hear more about this, it'd be worth a call to Red Sox owner John Henry, who low-balled Jon Lester in talks and wound up paying $150 million more than that offer to replace Lester just a year later.)
The Dodgers have fallen behind, writes Steve Dilbeck.
* The Cardinals are no longer looking for a dynamic signing, GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold. That would seem to rule out the possibility of the team signing Chris Davis, who has the option of going back to the Orioles and could revisit their $150 million offer.
* The Orioles have made a two-year offer to an outfielder.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. The Jays signed infielder Darwin Barney.
2. The Royals are working on a deal for pitcher Dillon Gee.
3. The Nationals announced the signing of pitcher Yusmeiro Petit. Also, they signed reliever Nick Masset.
4. The Pirates signed an outfielder.
5. The Rangers claimed a first baseman on waivers.
AL East
* Joe Girardi expects the Yankees' young pitching to come together.
* Bob Klapisch wonders if new Yankee Starlin Castro can continue to grow as a player.
* Boston is in a good position with its catcher position.
* Here's what's left on the to-do list for the Red Sox.
* J.J. Hardy's shoulder is stronger.
AL Central
* A fresh start can only help first baseman Adam LaRoche, the White Sox say.
* The Tigers are looking at utility player Sean Rodriguez.
* Detroit needs Alex Gordon or Yoenis Cespedes, writes Lynn Henning.
* Chris McCosky has a breakdown of what the AL Central teams are doing.
AL West
* A deal could keep the Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
* Reliever Steve Cishek gives the Mariners experience.
NL East
* Yoenis Cespedes is still outside the Mets' price range.
* Mike Puma runs through some of the Mets' bullpen options.
* Jose Fernandez had no comment on his future with the Marlins.
NL Central
* Mozeliak's strategy is tried and true, writes Jeff Gordon.
* Travis Sawchik addresses the question of whether the Pirates should go with quantity or quality.
* The Brewers signed three minor leaguers.
* The Cubs are listening to trade offers.
* The Cubs' offseason work is not finished.
NL West
* Patrick Saunders breaks down the trade rumors involving outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. A question bouncing around offices of other teams: What is the direction and overriding strategy of the Rockies this winter? Tear down? Build up? Slashing payroll? Adding payroll? They are a puzzle to rival evaluators.
* The Dodgers cannot count on pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.
* Here's how the Padres will pay the Cardinals.
Lastly
* Yasiel Puig is going out on tour.
* Torii Hunter is enjoying his time with family.
* Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo was suspended for one game for what he yelled at referee Bill Kennedy, a penalty that seems astonishingly light given the nature of what happened. Imagine if a white player aimed the foulest slur at an African-African referee; is there any chance that would result in a one-game wrist-slap, in the current climate? No.
Again, baseball can see what has happened in another major sport and prepare for the inevitable parallel incident.
And today will be better than yesterday.