Another reason to cheer for Jeter

Yes, I am a Yankee fan even though I don't worship at Jeter's altar. Love the guy. My kids love the guy. I just don't worship him blindly, as you saw last week. But give the guy his due when deserved.

While he is notoriously bland with his comments, he still manages to say the right things, act the right way, defer appropriately, deflect like Teflon. His comments this weekend (sorry for the Monday posting) are right on with what we need more of: Support for blood testing in MLB.

"You can test for whatever you want to test for," New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter told Bloomberg News. "We get pricked by needles anyway in spring training, so we have a lot of blood work to begin with."

I've been on the record about blood testing and I think it's imperative that the leaders of all sports come around to taking whatever measures needed to ensure integrity remains. Let's hope the Union leaders don't stonewall again, even if that's their right and "obligation". Let it be collectively bargained if need be, but it needs to happen. Now.

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UPDATE: Looks like there's more, and honestly, when ISN'T there more about this stuff? Not only Jeter here and it's worth a read. Some good quotes below:

Asked about the issue Sunday, Jeter clarified his position to the Daily News.

"(The problem) has gotten so much attention now, I think it would probably silence a lot of people that were critical of guys ... so I wouldn't mind it," Jeter said. "I can only comment on myself; I don't know about other people. I don't like needles very much, but I wouldn't mind it."

"I'm not saying I would ever be in favor of it, but if we did do it, that would be the only way the general public would finally believe that baseball is completely clean," said Mike Mussina, the Yankees' players union representative. "But I don't know if it will ever come to that."

Jason Giambi, who was at the center of the BALCO scandal, said: "I'm up for whatever they want to do. I don't really care."

"This has to be a union decision, not an individual one," he added.

Nice, Giambi. "I really don't care." Good work on that one.

Then Moose, who definitely seems to be much more outgoing and media friendly this year, added this little throwaway line, which is a joke if you ask me. Comparing what professional ballplayers have to be subjected to (in terms of testing) to traditional corporate jobs is a joke. Doing so makes one look foolish.

"Nobody else, in any facet of business, drug-tests with a blood test - not in the corporate world or anywhere else," Mussina said. "If they ever find an HGH test that's a urine test, great. But until we can test for everything, we're going to be questioned."

I can't wait until the games begin and this slowly fades into the ether.