It was a good day in the...

It was a good day in the commissioner’s office, or so it seemed at first. Rodney Harrison of the New England Patriots -- a high-profile player on a high-profile NFL team -- had been suspended for using human growth hormone.

Harrison got caught in the same investigation that linked a Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor to HGH and steroids. A South Carolina doctor pleaded guilty last year to trafficking in HGH and steroids, reportedly providing some to players on the Carolina Panthers. Maybe everyone would stop picking on baseball.

Then the commissioner’s office read in the newspaper that the NFL got its information on Harrison from prosecutors in Albany, N.Y. -- you know, the ones whose investigation into Internet drug trafficking also reportedly tripped up Gary Matthews Jr., Troy Glaus and Rick Ankiel.

A mighty fine mess we find ourselves in

Baseball has gotten nothing from Albany -- no names, no documents, spokesman Rich Levin said. The NFL got information in exchange for setting up a meeting with Harrison, so prosecutors could see what information he might provide to help the ongoing investigation.

Albany is targeting suppliers, not athletes. Investigators could subpoena athletes, grant them immunity from prosecution and compel them to testify. But baseball would not necessarily be entitled to that testimony, and it’s easier and cheaper for Albany to ask leagues to deliver players for an interview. No interview for us, no information for you.

If a player agrees to an interview, the union would almost certainly demand a promise he won’t be suspended by baseball for anything he might say. That puts Commissioner Bud Selig in this bind: forget it, ask to talk directly with players, or grant amnesty in exchange for meeting with Albany investigators.

With amnesty, there would be no suspension. Without it, baseball might never see the evidence. Yet, if the NFL suspends Harrison and Selig grants amnesty in the face of similar evidence, well, people would not stop picking on baseball. Good luck with this one.

Barry and Sammy: Looking for work

Selig couldn’t shoo Barry Bonds off the national stage fast enough, to get the focus onto the pennant races and away from asterisks and steroids.

So he must have been really thrilled last week, when entrepreneurs revived debate over the legitimacy of Bonds’ ownership of the all-time record. At endthedebate.com, the guy who bought No. 755 -- the home run that tied Hank Aaron’s record -- asks fans to vote on the fate of the ball: save it, or smash it?

At vote756.com, the guy who bought the record-breaking ball offers three choices: send the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand an asterisk on the ball and then send it to Cooperstown, or destroy the ball.

The all-time list now reads Bonds, Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Can you guess who ranks fifth?

He’s Sammy Sosa, at 608. The Texas Rangers have cut his playing time in recent weeks, but he still has a team-high 90 runs batted in, and he’s tied for the team lead with 20 home runs. He’s hitting .325 against left-handers, with an on-base plus slugging percentage of .994.

Texas GM Jon Daniels said he would not hesitate to recommend Sosa to any team considering signing him for next season, even as a platoon player.

“He’s been a positive influence on our club,” Daniels said. “You’re talking about a future Hall of Famer. He’s willingly accepted a different role. Some guys would be a negative in that situation. He’s been a positive.”

Not so sure on the Hall of Fame. Let’s see what George Mitchell tells us.

Not so sure where Bonds plays next season, to get his 3,000th hit. He’d love to play at home, in L.A., but neither the Dodgers nor Angels want anything to do with him.

If Giants owner Peter Magowan is a man of his word, Bonds will play his final home game in San Francisco this week. In Bonds’ first home at-bat for the Giants, in 1993 at Candlestick Park, he homered.

-- Bill Shaikin