Tejada Charged With Lying to Congress

First, this week brought down Alex Rodriguez.  Well, now Rodriguez has some company.  Miguel Tejada was charged earlier today with lying to Congress.  If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail.

Speculation about Tejada is not new.  He's been caught in a string of lies in the last few years about everything from his actual age to his relationship to players who were juicing.  Now it appears as if one of those lies may cost him the rest of what once was a great career.

Tejada has been the subject of steroids investigators ever since a positive test brought down Rafael Palmiero, who's now epic statements in front of Congress stand as a stark example of players trying to lie their way out of trouble.

Baseball has been on a witch hunt of sorts ever since the Mitchell Report, in which Tejada was named and two checks written by him were published, debuted last year. While Roger Clemens was the biggest name to be entirely tarnished in the aftermath, several other stars have fallen from grace.  Tejada certainly won't be the last, but for the Houston Astros, this has to be getting hard.

The Astros have played host to Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and now Tejada.  All three are blacklisted by fans now for their alleged activities.  The question now is about the next step.  What does Houston do with Tejada?

The Astros certainly can't stand pat and hope it goes away.  If Tejada is convicted, and early indications are he will plead guilty, he will face some prison time and possible suspensions from baseball by the commissioner. 

They do not have a viable replacement for him.  Geoff Blum would likely slot in as his replacement, but he is not an everyday player and is already being asked to fill in at third. 

GM Ed Wade has to be close to losing it.  Now he has to go out and spend money on a shortstop or at least a middle infielder who can fill in.  Houston should find a way to dump Tejada even if it means eating salary in the process.  They do not need an aging player in trouble.  Even without a viable replacement, they need to cut ties now.

The only question we can now ask is: who's next?

One thing is for sure.  This mess is very far from over.  Tejada will likely be forced to testify truthfully about his knowledge, which could reveal more names of past or present players.

All I can say as a baseball fan is: What a mess.