Kick 'em all out.

Looks like Jose Canseco got it right after all.

Former Texas Ranger Rafael Palmeiro was last seen appearing before Congress saying in Clinton-esque "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"-style that he never took steroids, mainly in response to the charges in Canseco's book.

Yesterday, Palmeiro was suspended 10 games for Steroid abuse.

Now he's saying he didn't knowingly take steroids.

Next time Raffy opens his mouth, he will probably say that it depends on your definition of "steroids".

This isn't Barry Bonds, whom the media hates, this is Palmeiro, whom the media and players love. When Jose Canseco's book came out, people were falling all over themselves in order to defend Rafael Palmeiro. Now their golden boy, their avatar of locker room sanctity, and their poster boy for the falsely accused, turns out to be guilty after all. And the media and players are running for cover.

I don't care what Palmeiro's numbers are anymore, baseball's Hall of Fame has to step up and do what's right. If they can kick Pete Rose, baseball's all time hit leader, for gambling, then they can remove anyone else.

If they admit to using substances, regardless of whether or not they knew what they were taking (because we all know that they know what goes in their system, they are just looking for weasel room), or they test positive, they should be gone. Period.

And yes, Jayson Stark, that means Gaylord Perry gets his plaque pulled for getting caught spitballing also. This whole "romance" with baseball cheating is ridiculous because it helped create an atmosphere where performance enhancing drugs were rampant. The other cheaters, if they are caught or have admitted to it, should be gone too.

And if players and any Hall of Famer who might get kicked out don't like it, too bad. The Hall of Fame is a museum that recieves no federal money, and they are independent of MLB and the Players Association, so the folks who run it have free reign to decide how they want baseball to be remembered.

It's a Hall of Fame. It should have high standards. There are too many "good, but not great" players in the Hall anyway, so it's time to start doing some culling.

Tomorrow: It's in the game