So, John Rocker's suspension has been trimmed in half, and his fine cut from a whopping $20,000 to a paltry $500. But just because Rocker's official penalty has been lightened, doesn't mean his road to respectability is any easier.

I was going to say "road BACK TO respectability," but let's face it, Rocker was not a respectable character before this. If he was, then he wouldn't have been in the situation of having batteries and harsh words thrown at him by New York fans. The question now is, can Rocker survive without his "bad boy" image? Was the pumped-up snorting bull act necessary for those 95 mph fastballs? Or can Rocker still deliver the goods on the field even while changing his attitude off it? Just imagine Rocker as an elder statesman of baseball, able to look back on a long and storied career and maybe even comment intelligently on the "mistakes" of his youth. Think it will happen? Only if John Rocker can change "in his heart"--and in the minds of those watching.

If Rocker wants to gain respectability now, there are three places he needs to repair relations.

1) With his teammates, who have supposedly asked for a meeting to air their views and who, I would guess, are expecting Rocker to take his lumps like a man, eat crow, and apologize.

2) With Braves fans, not all of whom are white. Perhaps the only real way for him to prove himself to the fans will be to keep his mouth shut and pitch 200% every day. It's easier to forgive an athlete his human failings if he contiually commits superhuman feats (see Darryl Strawberry...).

3) With the community at large. If Rocker wants to make a gesture that would carry some actual meaning, how about putting the $20,000 he was supposed to pay in the fine and donating it to an inner city Little League team?

Let's raise the stakes even higher, how about founding a scholarship program to help minority athletes reach the major leagues? That would really be something, wouldn't it? It would be more than a gesture, it would be helping to remake baseball. Even while helping John Rocker to remake himself.

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