This should have been a dream script for Bud Selig and Major League Baseball.

It's August and the pennant races are heating up (or cooling down if you're a fan of the New York Mets). One of the more talented players on the most prestigious franchise in all of sports is about the achieve a statistical milestone that only 6 other players in baseball history have accomplished.

And all anyone wants to talk about is steroids. Again.

Unfortunately, that's the way it has to be until the last of the "Needle Bunch" works their way out of the ranks of current Major League players.

Baseball statistical lore is different than any other sport because there's so much more of it. Major League Baseball is the oldest surviving professional sport in the country. Obviously there have been changes and evolution throughout its lifespan, but for the most part there is a huge sample of comparable players.

Enter: the needle.

It's no surprise to anyone anymore that steroids had pervaded the very fabric of the game in the 1990's and early part of the 2000's. Those few that have been factually outed will suffer more than those we simply suspect (yes, Brady Anderson, this means you). Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's talent has never been doubted.

The means by which he maintained that talent is, and because of that this latest milestone that should be a day of celebration to Yankees and baseball fans alike is somewhat deflated.

Not because we don't feel he couldn't have done it without steroids, but because now we'll never know for sure. Could he have stayed healthy and played as many games without artificial crutches? Would some of those lesser home runs be simply warning track fly balls if he was playing on strict natural ability?

These are the questions that assault every milestone this group achieves. It hangs over Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and now Alex Rodriguez.

And that's not even mentioning the resurgence in pitching and no-hitters this year. It only adds to the suspicion that steroids and performance enhancing drugs played a much bigger part in inflating these statistics than even the most cynical fan wants to admit.

Can we fast-forward 5-10 years and just be done with this?