Yesterday, Andy Pettitte sat in front of a sea of press and many of his teammates and apologized for his use of HGH.

Pettitte, sitting in between Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman, apologized to the Yankees organization, his teammates, and his fans; and he should be commended for that.

Over the past two weeks, Pettitte has had to testify, along with his wife, and under oath, has had to turn on his best friend and endure a barrage of media coverage.

The only possible way that Pettitte could have put all of this behind him and move on was to do exactly what he did yesterday.

Printing names in the Mitchell Report based on flimsy, hearsay evidence was downright irresponsible and government has no business intervening in professional sports leagues. But, the situation is what it is, and Andy Pettitte is one of the few who can walk away from this ridiculous ordeal with some form of dignity.

Pettitte’s decision to take steroids was wrong, plain and simple. Most baseball fans will never fully forget the fact that Andy Pettitte used illegal steroids.

But based on Pettitte’s actions, not only yesterday, but in the previous weeks, he should begin spring training with his head held high and put all of this behind him forever.

And we should let him.

As the three-ring circus surrounding the Mitchell Report and the Congressional Hearings finally begins to conclude, we should not forget the problems Major League Baseball has had with steroids, but we should also begin to move on embrace the excitement that inevitably surrounds spring training.