Building on Dusty's post below, Roy Oswalt now says that any player who is proven to or admitted to using steroids should have all of their statistics stricken from the record books.

"A-Rod's numbers shouldn't count for anything," Oswalt said in a phone interview with MLB.com. "I feel like he cheated me out of the game."

Seems reasonable, but let's focus on the "numbers shouldn't count for anything" statement.

Therefore, in Oswaltland, none of Alex Rodriguez's 553 career home runs, 1,605 runs or 1,606 "count for anything." Seems reasonable - and I can't imagine this would have any impact on baseball at all. Right? Well ...

2005 AL East Race: Let's pick a date at random. September 28, 2005. Yankees at Orioles. The Yankees entered the game tied with the Red Sox for first place in the American League East.

In the sixth inning with the Yankees trailing 1-0, Rodriguez hit a solo home run off Daniel Cabrera to tie the game. An inning later, Derek Jeter drove in the eventual winning run.

In Oswaltland, however, A-Rod's homer would be wiped from the books. The game would be 1-1. They'll have to go back, reassemble rosters and play the game anew to reach resolution. I'm not clear on whether Joe Torre would have to come back from Los Angeles or not.

But wait! How did the Orioles score their run that day? One Javy Lopez hit a solo home run in the second. Lopez has not admitted to or proven to use steroids, but he is widely suspected to have done so.

This is all very difficult and confusing. Do we wait til Javy fesses up? Do we launch an inquiry? Or do the Orioles get a pass because Lopez hasn't confessed or been proved to have juiced?

I'm sure Oswalt will release full details of his Baseball Purification Plan very soon. He'd better hurry, because the 2005 American League East race depends on resolution to this very pressing issue.

Then again, this random game can't be the only one A-Rod played a role in determining, can it?

Oswalt's Career: While Oswalt apparently didn't juice (though his sanctimony is suspect), did steroids in any way benefit his career?

Let's again pick a year at random - say, 2008, when Oswalt won 17 games. On June 20 of that year, Oswalt won his sixth game, giving up two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. A key place of the game occurred in the very first inning when Carlos Lee drove in two runs with a double.

One of those runs was scored by Miguel Tejada, who has admitted to buying human growth hormone and is now in trouble for lying to Congress in connection with that purchase.

Take away that run and we have a 3-3 tie with the Rays. No win for Oswalt.

I'm sure that was the only instance, though. Under the Oswalt Doctrine, these minor discrepancies will be cleared up very easily.

And, luckily, none of the other pitchers that Oswalt pitched with during the Astros' playoff runs ever admitted to or were proven to use performance enhancing drugs.

After all, they're just numbers and statistics in a book. None of that has very much at all to do with baseball history.

(h/t to ACB.)