Alex Rodriguez, who is about to hit the 600-home run mark, is in no mood to talk about steroids these days. Some former baseball players and fans have already stopped counting A-Rod’s home runs after the 553rd when he admitted to use of steroids.

It is not clear whether ESPN will flash a graphic of the all time home run leaders when the 600th run happens.

From NYdailynews.com:

Any discussion of A-Rod’s ascent should include a refresher course on performance enhancing drugs. In case anyone forgot, Rodriguez admitted he juiced (duh). That doesn’t make him a bad guy. It just makes him a cheater.

The fellow sitting ahead of him in the seventh spot, Sammy Sosa (609) is widely suspected of using steroids (he’s alleged to be on the 2003 list of players who tested positive) but has never copped to it.

A realistic discussion from the broadcast booth would have to include all this stuff. And you wonder if anyone - whether it be ESPN voices or Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on Fox - wants to devote extensive air time to reality.

When Bonds was heading down the stretch, approaching Hank Aaron, Fox would go to live cut-ins of his at-bats during its Saturday regional telecasts. Then, and now, the Giants were not getting the kind of national TV play the Yankees do. So, back then, the voices didn’t have to often dwell on the validity of Bonds HR chase.

A blueprint was set. Guys like Miller and Buck believe fans tune in to watch a baseball game. Any lengthy discussion of steroids, they say, would be a distraction. That doesn’t mean they ignored it, but they didn’t get into a two inning chats with their analysts.

Locally, on the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, the subject of A-Rod and steroids is mostly ignored. The all-time HR graphic appears after every Rodriguez homer, but there’s no talk about you know what or anyone on the list who is suspected of doing you know who.

It is believed by loyalists of Rodriguez that he has the talent to break the all-time record of 762 home runs by Barry Bonds.