Major League Baseball has always recognized the influence that our stars can have on the youth of America. As such, we are concerned that recent revelations and allegations of steroid use have been sending a terrible message to young people.

Money has to be put in the way a club feels it should. If you put money in a new ballpark, that helps to generate revenue so you can spend more money. It should be spent to make the club's operations the best. That will help in the end, and it will mean enhanced payroll.

How lucky have we been that the face of baseball for the past two decades, through ups and downs, has been Derek Jeter.

I do have a lot of concerns but I am happy to say the Mets aren't one of them.

So that there is no misunderstanding from my perspective, I will suspend any player who tests positive for an illegal steroid. There will be no exceptions. The (players) union is aware of that and they accept it.

On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am terribly saddened by the sudden passing of Kirby Puckett. He was a Hall of Famer in every sense of the term. He was revered throughout the country and will be remembered wherever the game is played. Kirby was taken from us much too soon - and too quickly.

I want to be my usual painstaking, cautious, slow, conservative self in analyzing it.