MLB: Baseball will miss Donald Fehr's intelligence and reason whether management realizes it or not. - ESPN

"Baseball will miss Donald Fehr's intelligence and reason whether management realizes it or not."

In the history of humanity, there must have been more disastrously wrong opinions than that one stated above, but it would be difficult to think of one since Napoleon thought it was a good idea to invade Russia.

Here's what you should remember Fehr for: he consistently did the best for his players in the short term, without ever giving any consideration to how they (or the game of baseball) would be served in the long run. Like Bud Selig and all of us, he was well aware that just about every major star in baseball was juicing. Selig, however, was simply a weak man who was willing to pocket his big checks and keep his job by not rocking the boat. He did what was best for Selig. He is employed by the owners, so he did what would make them happy, ignoring what was best for baseball. Most of us would have done the same thing and kept our cushy jobs, because that is human nature. Not Ol' Faye Vincent, though. He may have been a pain in the owners' and players' asses, but he would have kicked them in said asses when necessary. That, of course, is why they fired him.

In contrast to Selig, who simply pulled a Sgt Schultz and said "I see nossink," Fehr did everything actively possible to prevent drug testing and other controls. Morever, he invented the evasive "nothing illegal" response which became a virtual mantra for Sammy Sosa and others. Of course, every human being in America knew that when he said the players did not approve of doing anything illegal, he was really saying "Of course everyone was juicing, and it just so happens that there was no law against it. Nanny-nanny-boo-boo."

As late as last January, Fehr told Congress: "Did I appreciate the depth of the problem? ... The answer is 'No.' It's a failure that I didn't."

I'll tell you what. Fehr is supposed to be a very smart man and was very close to the situation - how then could he have been the only male human being in America who didn't realize the depth of the problem? Forrest Fucking Gump could have figured it out simply by looking at the sizes of Barry Bonds' and Sammy Sosa's suitcoats from year to year. Not to mention Roger Clemens' neck. If you believe that "no" in Fehr's answer, I would like to interest you in some penis-enlargement cream.

Fehr and Selig. At a time when we needed two lions in their positions, we got a pussy and a weasel.

The article finishes by saying the players should thank Fehr. That is true in a certain sense. When they look at their yachts and mansions, they may want to do that. Salaries increased something like ten-fold in Fehr's reign, and that's an indication that he did one part of his job brilliantly. If you are Carl Pavano or Chan Ho Park, Fehr should be your God. But there is one other situation when the stars will need his number. When Bonds and McGwire and Palmeiro and Clemens and A-Rod are on their lavish solid-gold deathbeds wondering why Cooperstown never called, Fehr is the guy they can thank.