Greg Maddux- Maddux won about 3 million games in his career and for an extended period was the most dominant pitcher in the game, without an overpowering fastball.  Maddux was great because he was a genius when it came to mixing up the pitches and hitting his spots (even if they were six inches off the plate).  Even Steve Stone would be predicting a curve when Maddux would throw that 92 MPH fastball by a batter.  If it came out that he did PEDs, you have to ask yourself if there was room for anyone to succeed without them.

Derek Jeter- All of us Yankee haters might not identify with this right away, but this is an important one.  Here’s a guy we admire because of how well he plays the game.  While he hasn’t been amazing recently, he’s the guy that can be spectacular, while at the same time not making mistakes.  Much like Maddux, it was the mental aspect that seems to give Jeter the edge.  He’s cool under pressure and has the presence of mind to make plays like the amazing late cut-off against the A’s.  Derek Jeter doesn’t need steroids.  Right? I guess he could always blame a positive test on his herpes medicine. Boom, roasted.

Ken Griffey Jr.- Oh, please no.  Junior is a lock for this list.  He’s the highest home run hitter with no suspicion and a positive test would have the effect of invalidating the entire era of home runs in the record books.  Griffey exploded onto the scene with his athleticism and that sweet swing.  We need those things to be the reason for his numbers, not steroids.  Griffey is our proof that pure home run hitters still exist.  Plus, he’s too fun to take steroids with the jokes and backwards hat at the all-star games.  In my generation, this is the first home run type icon I watched throughout his career, so a positive test would be devastating.

Cal Ripken Jr.- So far I could see any of these guys doing the most damage to baseball, but Cal Ripken Jr. might take the cake.  Griffey and some of the others have implications on home runs, but Ripken leads the crew that would just be awful for baseball as a whole.  Ripken’s run to the most consecutive games played is one of my fondest baseball memories and he’s just such a great ambassador for the game that a positive test would cause me to question other things, like gravity and whether certain countries really exist.

Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, and David Ortiz- I’m going to group these guys, despite the age gap with Thomas in relation to the other two.  I would throw Thome and Ryan Howard in this group as well.  We’re talking about guys that are just plain huge.  A positive test here makes you wonder whether anyone can just hit homers based on the fact that they’re as big as an aircraft carrier.  Pujols has been outstanding his entire career and has a serious shot at some records and David Ortiz has provided some of the greatest baseball moments in recent memory with his late game heroics in the playoffs.  Thomas fits into the Griffey category as well, as the Big Hurt was a fan favorite and one of the first iconic home run guys of our generation.

Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera- Martinez was absolutely dominant in the 90’s.  This is amazing when you think of how widespread steroids were among batters at the time.  The 1999 All-Star game was a good example mentioned in the FanHouse post, when Pedro struck out five of the six batters he faced in two innings.  Mo Rivera was just as dominant as Pedro.  Aside from a couple of post-season stumbles, when Rivera came in the game, you knew it was over.  His cutter is still one of the most dominant pitches in the game.  Here are a couple of pitchers that owned roided up batters throughout their careers and it would be a shame to realize that they needed some juice to accomplish that.

Tim Lincecum and Evan Longoria- I get what they’re doing here, putting these two on the list.  Tim and Evan are young prospects that have shown they have promise.  They can be the foundation of a clean game going forward.  Lincecum is simply too tiny to be roided up apparently, his laser fastball a result of a slingshotting delivery.  Longoria has shown he has power as well, and we can only hope that it isn’t a result of PEDs.  Obviously there are plenty of players you can add in this category, depending on who turns out to be the face of the game in the next ten years.

So that’s the entire list from FanHouse.  Overall, it’s hard to disagree.  One point that I take away from it is that I, along with many others, may have overlooked the impact that a positive test on Maddux or Ripken would have on the game.  To this point, the only guys we seem to care about are the home run hitters.  What would the impact be of the pure baseball players?  What about Ichiro?  The steroids debate and fallout will continue ad nauseum for the foreseeable future, but this is a good list of guys we hope stay out of the discussion.  What do you think and who did they miss?

1. Alex Rodriguez 3B Yankees - Arod is getting drafted first or second in almost every single league, but if I have a top two pick, there’s no way I’m taking him. Given his current situation, I just don’t see Rodriguez putting up numbers worthy of a top overall pick – I think the steroid cloud will hover over him and greatly affect his play throughout the year. Most experts don’t think it will have any impact on him, but I don’t think Arod is mentally strong enough to simply put all this behind him – Isn’t that one of the reasons he said he took Steroids in the first place, because he couldn’t handle the pressure? This is obviously my own opinion as I obviously don’t know the guy personally – all I am saying is that with a top pick in a fantasy league, you want to take someone without any ?s, and I think that Arod comes with more then a few ?s this season.

2. David Wright 3B Mets - Wright finished the 2007 season ranked #2 on Yahoo! Fantasy, and finished the 2008 season ranked #6, and there is no reason to think that Wright can’t finish near the top again in 2009, especially when you consider that he is only 26 and just now entering his prime. Is there really anything not to like about Mr. Wright? Wrong. I’m going to nitpick a little  by taking a look at the All Star 3B’s home/road splits from the 2008 season. Wright was unbelievable at Shea last year – in 301 ABs, he hit .336 with 21 HR, but when he was on the road, only hit .271 with 12 HR in 325 ABs. The home/road comparisons from 2008 are a little scary, and when you consider that the Mets are moving to Citi Field in 2009, it might be something to worry about (Wright’s home/road splits were much more balanced in 2006 and 2007 though).

3. Evan Longoria 3B Rays - The 23 year old stud is looking to avoid a sophomore slump in his second big league season in Tampa. He put up great numbers in 2008 considering he only played in 122 games – 67 R, 27 HR, 85 RBI, 7 Steals, and a .272 average ain’t half bad. Keeping in mind how shallow the 3B position is this year, Longoria is definitely a top option in fantasy, and is being selected somewhere in the 2nd round of most drafts. When you compare his numbers to other guys out there, he seems more like a 3rd for 4th round guy, so you need to ask yourself if the 3B scarcity makes the reach worth it. In keeper leagues, his 2nd round ADP is more then reasonable, as he should be a star for years to come.

4. Aramis Ramirez 3B Cubs - Since his 38 HR 119 RBI season in 2006, Ramirez has failed to reach 30 HR in both 2007 and 2008, and there’s a good chance that trend continues in 2009. While still a productive option at 3B, Aram will be 31 in June, and seems to be in the declining half of his career. He has missed over 40 games over the past two seasons, and manager Lou Piniella has stated that he would like to try and get his 3B more days off in order to keep him healthy for the stretch run. Ramirez’s ADP on MDC is 31, which is right in the middle of the 3rd round of 12 team leagues; Like Longoria though, he will most likely put up numbers resembling those of a 4th rounder. He should still be good for 85 R, 25 HR, close to 100 RBI, and a .290 avg, but draft accordingly.

5. Garett Atkins 3B Rockies – 2008 was a pretty disappointing year for Atkins owners. Coming off his amazing 2006 season, Atkins put up a more then decent 2007, but owners drafted him in 2008 thinking he would improve his all around numbers, not lower his average by .15 points and hit 4 less HR and 12 less RBI. Personally, I am going to going on the Atkins diet, and don’t want anything to do with the Colorado 3B. If you take a look at his stats over the past three seasons, you will notice a decline in almost every statistical category (except his strikeout total, which has increased each season). You could still do a lot worse then Atkins at 3B this year, as you know you’re getting 20 HR, close to 100 RBI and a borderline .300 average – if you don’t expect a whole lot more then that, you won’t be disappointed.

6. Chris Davis 3B Rangers - Well well well, if it isn’t the super sleeper of 2009. Everyone seems to love this guy, and deservedly so, as he just seems to rake wherever he’s playing. He strikeouts a ton, and many experts believe that his average will fall, but considering that he’s never hit lower then .298 in any level of minor league ball, and hit .285 in 295 major league ABs last season, I don’t really understand why. He seems like a lock to hit 30 HR and drive in 100 RBI, and depending on his spot in the lineup, could also help out in the run department. Davis is currently slated to hit 5th or 6th in the Texas lineup, but if his production matches his hype, he should be hitting cleanup behind Hamilton sooner then later. The Rangers offense should be as potent as ever, and Davis is definitely in store for a monster 2009.

7. There really isn’t another 3B worth writing about. There’s Chipper, who is unreal when he’s healthy but misses a good chunk of every season with some sort of injury, and at the age of 36 is almost a guarantee to miss some time again this year. There’s  Ryan Zimmerman, who seems to get drafted fairly high even though he’s never done much, and will probably never be as good as people want him to be. There’s Youk who had a great season last year, but is being drafted really really high, and will most likely come back down to earth in 2009. Russel Martin is also 3B eligible, but you shouldn’t be playing fantasy baseball if you plan on using him there. Alex Gordon is someone to keep an eye on – this will be his 3rd season in the bigs, and after being one of the most touted prospects in all of baseball over the past five years, might finally be ready to take the next step.