Q: People talk about steroids users' records needing an asterisk; what about Tony La Russa's win total? He had both Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire on his teams, along with other discovered steroids/HGH users. He has benefited greatly from their cheating, while turning a blind eye. Does the same need to be said of many of the era's managers?
— Jack, Fort Collins, Colo.

A: Your thought definitely opens a whole new can of worms, Jack. But I think you answered your own question with your last question. And in that case, we can't just talk about managers. General managers, owners, players union officials, league officials all share culpability in the Steroids Era.

You could be naïve about what was occurring only for so long. But certainly by the mid-1990s, everybody was aware of the situation — although without really knowing the true extent to which performance-enhancing drug use had spread.

Yet, it took almost another decade before a testing program with any teeth was enacted. MLB officials dragged their feet as the home-run craze caught on with fans, and players union officials wouldn't back off their anti-testing stance until enough of their own members were angered by the percentage of players who were cheating.

So bottom line, in my opinion, you can't take away victories from managers, who were just managing their rosters — all of which had a percentage of cheating players. And when the time comes, I'm fairly certain you'll see the generation's top three managers — La Russa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox — go into the Hall of Fame.

Players from the generation, on the other hand, are going to be paying a steep price — as we've already seen with McGwire's candidacy.

Q: Why does Trey Hillman leave those Royals pitchers in until there's no hope?
— R. Jensen, Kansas City, Mo.

A: It's always a balancing act, when you're talking about a manager's decision to change pitchers. But in general, starting pitchers need to go as far into games as possible, or relievers will get worn out because of over-use. And when you’re talking about changing relievers, it’s usually because of a matchup decision.

Without knowing exactly which type of Hillman’s pitching-change decisions you’re referring to, I can tell you that the breakdown of innings pitched on the Royals staff — starters vs. bullpen — is very revealing.

Through Wednesday, the Royals were 11th overall in team ERA. Starters were fifth overall at 4.32 (with Zack Greinke having a lot to do with that ranking). The relievers were 12th at 4.87. Royals starters also have pitched more innings than every other AL rotation except Boston's, while Royals relievers are last in innings pitched.

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That tells me Hillman probably doesn't trust his bullpen as much as his starters, and prefers to stick with starting pitchers longer than the league norm. That could result in the phenomenon you're seeing, if I understand your question correctly.

Considering how disappointing this Royals season is becoming — and a recent 1-9 stretch really has brought it to a crisis point — it’s understandable that the manager and his decision-making is coming under great scrutiny.

But when a team fails on the field and in the standings, it's always more than just the manager's fault. Hillman has received a vote of confidence from general manager Dayton Moore and has a contract through 2010, so I expect Hillman to stick around for awhile.

Q: Is MLB thinking about addressing the disparity in teams between the two leagues — NL 16, AL 14? Would it also improve scheduling?
— Don, Brentwood, Calif.

A: Short of adding or subtracting two teams, there really isn't anything that can be done, Don. You have to have an even number of teams in each league to enable teams to be playing every day — unless, of course — you want to have at least one interleague game played daily.

There was a real possibility of contracting at least two teams several years ago, with the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos possibly going away. But that possibility disappeared as the game's financial picture improved.

I don’t think — and certainly wouldn’t want to see — expansion by two teams any time in the near future. So I think we’re stuck with the current setup for awhile.