A-Rod got back into the Yankee lineup tonight (Friday, May 8), hit a 3-run HR in the first inning of a 4-0 win at Baltimore.

Why hasn't there been more flak from the report in Salena Roberts' book that he was tipping pitches to opposing batters in blowout games?

Telling a batter what pitch is coming ranks right up there with point shaving, throwing games and gambling. I think it's much worse than the steroid scandal that is grabbing all the headlines.

The source who told Roberts about the tipping of pitches was unnamed. Maybe it didn't happen. But if I'm the commissioner, I'd surely be aggressively looking into it.

Say you tip a pitch and the batter homers, or gets a hit that starts a big inning. That could devastate that pitcher's ERA and could lead to a demotion to the minor leagues. And A-Rod supposedly did this so he would benefit from tipping pitches himself, sort of a reciprocal type of deal.

You can't help the opponent, under any circumstances in professional sports.

If it happen and it's proven, I'd ban A-Rod permanently from the game. It's right up there with Pete Rose gambling on his own team when he was manager of the Reds (you don't think that could have had an impact on who he played and how he used his pitching staff?) and the "Eight Men Out" from the Chicago White Sox (known as the Black Sox) who threw the 1919 World Series.

Manny Ramirez, the man-child hero to so many Dodger fans, starts his 50-game suspension today after a blood test showed a banned substance.

Here's a prediction: When Manny plays his first game in Dodger Stadium after his 50-game suspension (on July 16, vs. Houston), the Dodger faithful will shower him with a standing ovation.

I've believed this from the start of baseball's steroids era: If the "offender" is on a team you hate, you want to ban him for life; if he's on a team you don't care about, ban him for life or give him a long suspension.

If he plays for YOUR team, it's OK, because HE'S HELPING US WIN.

The Giants fans were criticized for their love of Barry Bonds, and much of that criticism came from L.A. media and Dodger fans. But watch: the Dodger fans will do the same with Manny. Recently, Jason Giambi, now with Oakland, had a hero's welcome to new Yankee Stadium when the A's visited there.

A friend of mine who is a Yankee fan told me years ago that all drug test failures should lead to permanent bans from baseball. Giambi was then a Yankee having a poor year.

One year later, Giambi was on his way to a 30-plus home run season with New York. I asked that same fan about what should be done with Giambi. "He's having a pretty good year, isn't he?" was the response.

A longtime Cubs fan I knew thought that Bonds should have been banned for life. This was years ago, when Sammy Sosa was in the midst of three straight 60-plus home run seasons. "If Bonds goes, what about Sosa?" I asked.

"Oh, Sammy's clean," was the response. And he was serious.

I say again: If a failed drug test happens to a player on your team, the vast majority will look the other way.

Bank on it. And look for the reaction when Manny takes the field on July 16.