Q: How is the Barry Bonds case different from Mark McGwire or Rafael Palmeiro? Can you explain why the ‘witch hunt’ against Bonds has taken place while others appear to be ignored? — Hirsch, New York

A: You raise some legitimate questions, Hirsch. Bonds has come under more scrutiny than other current and former players. And maybe in that respect, it isn’t fair that he is getting punished while others who did the same thing face no repercussions.

That’s part of my problem with the ongoing Mitchell investigation ordered by Commissioner Bud Selig, the results of which should be revealed very soon. Some will get caught in the web, but so many others who are guilty are going to go undiscovered or unpunished.

To me, dredging up the past isn’t really going to accomplish much, and will just create new problems. The best the game can do now is to police things as best it can going forward — including testing for human growth hormone — and what’s happened in the past should remain there. (I guess I just sounded like McGwire, didn’t I?).

But the one crucially important distinction between Bonds and the two players you mention is that Bonds, Marion Jones and others in the BALCO scandal just so happen to be part of a federal investigation. That investigation brought Bonds in front of a grand jury, where he allegedly committed perjury. We’ll see if the charges hold up in a trial, but there is little doubt that there is a mountain of evidence against Bonds.

Major League Baseball likely will just let things play out in the courts, and rule only after a verdict has been reached. Bonds could be suspended at that point, but that may be moot, since it’s unlikely any team will sign him. As for McGwire and Palmeiro, one is in exile and the other lost perhaps a year or two off the end of his career, and both had their reputations tarnished forever. So they have suffered, if not in a legal sense.

Q: What are the chances that Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder will be healthy and give the Cardinals the starting pitching they need to make the playoff in 2008? — Stephen Shoemaker, Tulsa, Okla.

A: Those two certainly are key figures for the Cardinals’ 2008 hopes, and it doesn’t look all that great, especially for Carpenter. He underwent Tommy John surgery last July, and is expected to miss the first half of this season, as recovery time for that procedure usually is about a year. That obviously will be a crucial loss.

Mulder is expected to be healthy next spring, but did have to undergo additional surgery in September, when some damaged tissue in his rotator cuff was removed. This followed a more-involved shoulder surgery in 2006. Given the two surgeries, it isn’t feasible to foresee Mulder as a front-end-of-the-rotation starter in 2008, and perhaps not ever again. But if healthy, he should be a No. 3-4 type.

The Cards did re-sign Joel Pineiro, who was impressive late last season, and still have Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, Anthony Reyes and Brad Thompson in their projected rotation at this point. So I’m expecting them to add at least one more starting pitcher through trade or free agency. I think Scott Rolen is the likeliest to go for a quality starter, and the Cards also could take a shot at one of the second-tier free agents.

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