A few thoughts on the Hall of Fame balloting

The Hall of Fame inductions are fuel for discussion and debate. The ballots from the Baseball Writers' Association were due on Dec. 31. The new inductees will be announced Jan. 18.

Early vote totals say that Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are going to make huge jumps in voter percentage this year, and each could finish with more than 70 percent of the vote. It takes 75 percent to get into Cooperstown.

Both Clemens and Bonds are connected to steroids, so I don't see the logic in a huge upturn in votes for each. Some BBWAA voters say if the Today's Game Era Committee selected former commissioner Bud Selig for the Hall of Fame, then players who took steroids should be voted in, as well. That doesn't make any sense. Selig may have been late in his fight to get steroids out of the game, but Bonds and Clemens are still responsible for their own actions.

Early voting shows that Trevor Hoffman, Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero and Tim Raines have the best chance to reach Cooperstown this year.

If you like saves, then Hoffman, who pitched his entire career for San Diego, is the guy. He had 601 saves. Closers are difficult to judge - there was once a belief that 300 saves was the benchmark for a Hall of Fame closer - but anyone with Hoffman's saves total deserves to be in.

Raines, who on the ballot for the final time, was the second-best leadoff hitter of his time behind another Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson. Raines' induction is long overdue. Guerrero, a first-timer on the ballot, had 449 home runs, was a nine-time All-Star and played intimidating defense with his strong arm.

Both Raines and Guerrero played in Montreal and could end up in the Hall wearing Expos uniforms.

Ivan Rodriguez is one of the best all-around catchers in history. How can anyone argue with 2,844 career hits for a catcher?

Bagwell, a first baseman, played his 15 seasons with Houston. He defined the Astros while hitting 449 home runs with 1,529 RBIs. He was a Rookie of the Year and an MVP.

Speaking of catchers, the Yankees' Jorge Posada deserves to be in. He was one of the Core Four - along with Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera - that helped the Yankees dominate in the 1990s.

If Raines gets in, then former Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina will be the biggest snub on the ballot. His vote total will soar this year, but he should already be in. He had 270 wins, and although he never won a Cy Young or an ERA title, he finished in the top six for AL Cy Young voting nine times.

Another snub is designated hitter Edgar Martinez of the Mariners. He's one of the top DHs, along with Frank Thomas, Paul Molitor and David Ortiz. It's time to stop holding players back because they were DHs and considered part-time players. The DH has been around for decades. It's a legit position.

Pitcher Curt Schilling and second baseman Jeff Kent are borderline candidates. Kent has better numbers than Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, but voters aren't impressed with Kent's defense. Kent made five All-Star teams and was an NL MVP with San Francisco.

Sandberg hit .285 with 282 home runs, 1,061 RBIs and 2,386 hits. His defense was the best. Kent hit .290 with 377 home runs and 1,518 RBIs. Kent had 2,461 hits.

Schilling had 216 wins during his 20 seasons. When he was good, he was really good, one of the best. But he had a lot of bad seasons, as well. The question: Does Schilling's brilliance in postseason - 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason starts and three World Series championships - make up for inconsistent career numbers?

Schilling has lost 20-plus votes for voicing his political beliefs. That shouldn't be a reason not to vote for him.