So, yeah, everyone's heard about it by now. And plenty of people, both inside and outside of Cardinal Nation have put in their two cents on the matter. But I implore you, the loyal readers of The Birdwatch: what do you think?

My opinion: hell yeah, he made a mistake. Should he be punished? Yes, and the state of Florida will take care of that. Should we judge him for this mistake? No. Why? He's human. People make mistakes - and celebrity or not, the decent thing to do is to forgive. It's obvious Tony is an upstanding guy. He has a clean record into his 60s, for God's sakes - what percentage of the population can say that? He knows he screwed up. I'd be willing to wager just about anything that he doesn't do it again, because he's just that kind of guy. He hates to fail his team on the field, and when he does he works his ass off to make up for it. What makes you think he wouldn't do the same in a situation like this? I say don't worry, Tony - here at The Birdwatch, we've (or at least I've) got your back.

UPDATE: Bill McClellan has a nice article on the topic as well.

And amazingly enough, that isn't the only Cardinal-related controversy of the week. Yikes. It's tough being on top.

Program note: Reyes and Wainwright projections to come... this weekend!