Inside The Park | Jim Rice Disses Jeter

The AP printed a story today about new Hall-of-Famer Jim Rice giving a speech to the kids before the start of this year's Little League World Series held, as always, in Williamsport PA. During his talk, he urged the kids not to look up to today's players because they love themselves more than they love the game, and because steroids has tainted the current generation.

"You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod, you see Jeter ... Guys that I played against and with, these guys you're talking about cannot compare," Rice said. "We didn't have the baggy uniforms. We didn't have the dreadlocks. It was a clean game, and now they're setting a bad example for the young guys." Flexing the muscles in his right arm, Rice said, "That's all the steroids you need ... It's called God-given talent."

Rice went on further to urge the kids to respect their coaches and parents, and to work hard on the weakest parts of their game. He, for example, had to work really hard to improve his fielding.

Okay, so his heart is in the right place, and the message he's trying to convey to the kids is certainly a good one: don't be a self-absorbed, celebrity-craving steroid user with poor work ethic. I get it. Good for him. But he really hung those other guys out to dry. He's basically saying he believes that those guys accused of taking steroids really did do it. Manny, A-Rod ... wait, Jeter? I think he went a little far with Jeter.

Derek Jeter in my mind is the last great hope of baseball. He seems clean, he plays hard, is apparently well-liked all around, and he's good-looking to boot. Now if he ends up getting named as a cheater, well the world is coming to an end. I have no love for the Yankees, but I respect Derek Jeter enough to leave him off the list of people I think are cheaters. Is he a bit of a pretty-boy? Sure. And he likes to have fun around town, no problem. You can't tell me they didn't have a few swingers back in the '70s and the '60s. Some of those old-time baseball players were notoriously shady characters off the field. Leave Derek Jeter alone.

And I always cringe when I hear old-timers talking about how today's players can't compare to the stars of the olden days -- Wilt Chamberlain, Babe Ruth, Ben Hogan, guys like that. Gag me. Have you seen footage of these old guys play? They can't compare alright -- they're not even close. Players of today are bigger, stronger, and faster. And it's not all steroids, gramps. It's better training, better nutrition, better technology ... everything. I don't bother comparing athletes of different generations because the circumstances are just completely different. Each athlete should be measured against their own peers and that's it.