Steroids spawn cynics as well as mutants.

Her e-mail began, "My name is Rachel," and she gave me her take on steroids in baseball. Her take was the cynicism of the betrayed. I loved her for it.

A 22-year-old college student, the child of baseball purists, Rachel said she grew up with a father capable of reciting the Royals' starting lineup for Game 7 of the 1985 World Series and a mother who knew every nuance of Ernie Banks' career.

But those were the good ol' days. "Baseball is not what it was in 1970 or 1985," Rachel wrote. "It's not filled with role models. (God forbid that I ever have a son that acts like Barry Bonds.) It's filled with Entertainers. It's Hollywood on a Diamond."

So, Rachel said, it's time to get real.

"Let's treat them like Entertainers. I don't care that some actor in Hollywood has checked into the Betty Ford clinic because of a drug problem. I don't care that John Belushi's habit killed him. What I care about is, when I put on a John Belushi movie, I get Entertained.

"And when I watch a baseball game, I want my money's worth of Entertainment. I pay $30 a ticket to see my beloved Royals in person. I pay $159 every March for DirecTV to get all the games. I can't even catch a game on the Internet radio without paying!

"Well, when I pay $8 to see a movie, I expect to be Entertained. I'm paying way more than that to see baseball, so I expect to be really Entertained.