Hall members watch, wonder as Bonds chases record HR haul

In some ways, Cooperstown was kind of like the Dodger Stadium crowds this week, only without the "Barry sucks" and "Ster-oids!" chants. From a distance, folks marveled at his skills and remain mostly curious and tongue-tied at all the stuff they still do not understand.

"It's a shame (performance-enhancing drugs) weren't illegal in baseball many years back, that's all I can say," former Baltimore manager Earl Weaver said. "I tell you, to become bigger and stronger than anybody, you're taking substances that are not illegal and you're enhancing your ability. Now, if it was illegal ...

"If you're a young man and it's legal to get something to help you hit the ball further, to help you become bigger and stronger, I think you're going to do it."

Weaver continued: "I'd like to see Hank's name stay in the record book for home runs. Be it so, if there are no criminal charges against Bonds, let it go in with an asterisk. The Steroid Era."

Yep, even in Cooperstown, feelings ranged from "innocent until proven guilty" to "Anybody got some Irish Spring? I suddenly feel the need for a shower."

"We all make mistakes in life," Feller said. "I'm no saint. Neither is anyone I know in the Hall of Fame a saint."

Only questions are the size of the sins, and the degree of guilt of the sinner.