There are degrees of cheating. Steroids allowed players to do things unseen in 150 years of baseball. I don't think it's silly to not discount that. For example - Bonds was hitting so well in 2004 that he was intentionally walked 120 times that year. The next highest non-Bonds number of intentional walks in a season is 45. That is what I mean when I say he was making a mockery of the sport. Doing that is not the same as extra pine tar on a bat or spitting on a ball before throwing a pitch.
In my mind at least, cheating is cheating. Any form of it makes a mockery of the game. To say certain levels of cheating are acceptable and others aren't is ridiculous. Also keep in mind that the vast majority of players were using PEDs during this time period and still no one came close to what Bonds did.
Regarding the 7 MVPs - there is no rule that says 7 MVPs or 700 home runs gets you in. And more importantly, additional information has come to light since those 7 MPVs were voted on and that needs to be taken into account.
I don't buy this. Most of these writers were up close and personal with these guys. Even if they didn't see it happening personally they would have heard rumors and other strange happenings. They endorsed the behavior because it helped their careers.
