Baseball got through the Black Sox scandal, the drug trials of the 1980s, and the killer strike of the mid-'90s, and it will get through this steroids mess, the same way it always has — on the field.

Oh, the damage already is immense, and the crisis almost certainly hasn't peaked. But it's always worse when the games are idle, and all that fans (and media) can do is pick away at the scab.

Eventually, the season will start, and compelling story lines and captivating players will emerge, just as Babe Ruth burst forth in the 1920s, just as Cal Ripken Jr. and his consecutive-games record helped baseball break through the post-strike malaise. And just as the Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home-run duel brought the game to new levels of popularity — back before the days of steroids disillusionment.

This season, of course, baseball will get the spectacle of Barry Bonds closing in on Ruth's total of 714 home runs, en route to Hank Aaron's hallowed total of 755. But that's not quite what we have in mind, for quite obvious reasons.

So what can happen this year to make the steroids noise tone down to a manageable hum, instead of a deafening roar? Here are a few things:

• Great, fingernail-biting pennant races, about six of them, involving not just the Red Sox and Yankees, whose insane rivalry is undeniably great for the game, but smaller-market teams like the Reds and Brewers and Tigers, whose fans have waited too long for meaningful Septembers.

• A long, riveting playoff run by the Chicago Cubs, who can build the same sort of national intrigue that the Red Sox did last year. Don't forget, the Cubs' World Series drought goes back to 1908 — 10 years earlier than Boston's did.

• A legitimate pursuit of a .400 average, a milestone not achieved since Ted Williams in 1941. It's a feat that should be immune from steroids innuendo, especially if it's achieved by the likeliest candidate, the Mariners' Ichiro.

• What the heck — how about a legitimate pursuit of the seemingly unassailable 56-game hitting streak of Joe DiMaggio. And, yes, Ichiro seems the likeliest man for this job, as well. Just imagine the nightly drama that would build as he reached the 40s, and beyond.

• An honest run at 62 home runs from a player who is not attached to the steroids scandal — and how about making it Ken Griffey Jr., who was once the joyful face of baseball, and could be again, at a ballpark designed for him, if he only stays healthy.

• A rookie phenom with both charisma and ability, along the lines of a Mark Fidyrich or Joe Charbonneau or Fernando Valenzuela, to inject new vitality in the sport.

• It wouldn't be so bad if a smattering of high-profile players tested positive for steroids, earning 10-game suspensions and public outing as cheaters.

As perverse as this sounds, it would show fans that the much-maligned testing program actually has some teeth, and maybe scare off players who think they can circumvent the system.

But what baseball really needs, as quickly as possible, to fully restore the fans' faith, is implementation of an even tougher testing plan that closes all the loopholes in the current program, with stricter penalties down the line.

Then the game itself can truly be the story — always the greatest healer for baseball.

The money dump

Several players could get traded before Opening Day, including Colorado catcher Charles Johnson, Texas infielder Alfonso Soriano, Tampa Bay infielder/outfielder Aubrey Huff and Oakland outfielder Eric Byrnes.

The unifying theme of the group: Their team's desire to shed their contract, though in Johnson's case, the Rockies are willing to pay virtually all of the 33-year-old catcher's $9 million salary, having committed the job to rookie J.D. Closser, with Todd Greene as the backup.

Huff, who makes $4.75 million this season and $6.75 million next year, has been linked to the Cubs and Braves, among other teams.

As for Soriano, who signed a one-year deal worth $7.5 million to avoid arbitration, he must show this spring that he is recovered from a torn tendon in his hamstring before teams will seriously consider trading for him.

Their final swings

It's also worth keeping an eye on several big-name players entering the final year of their contract, who stand to be free agents next winter depending on the progress of negotiations on an extension.

That list includes:

• San Diego outfielder Brian Giles, whose brother, Braves second baseman Marcus Giles, floated the rumor that Brian would like to join him in Atlanta next year if the Padres don't sign him beyond 2005.

• Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who is using the five-year, $64 million contract the Mariners gave Adrian Beltre as his measuring stick. Ramirez says he'll explore free agency if the Cubs don't sign him to an extension by Opening Day.

• Braves right-handed pitcher Tim Hudson, who has given Atlanta a Tuesday deadline to reach agreement on an extension, after which he plans to cut off negotiations.

According to reports yesterday, Hudson and the Braves are close to reaching agreement on a three-year extension averaging a reported $11 million a year. The Braves traded three players, including top pitching prospect Dan Meyer, to the A's for Hudson, who makes $6.75 million this year in the final year of his contract.

• White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, who could also use a Mariners signing as a guideline — Richie Sexson's four-year, $50 million deal. Konerko will be Chicago's highest-paid player at $8.75 million this year, and the team did little in the offseason to sign him to an extension.

Notes and quotes

• The Padres believe that Snohomish's Adam Eaton is a future ace — and he's not bad with the aces, either. Eaton won a charity poker tournament that will be televised on Fox in early April. Among those he defeated was San Diego general manager Kevin Towers.

• Brewers coach Ned Yost, whose team has not had a winning season since 1992, on the rainstorms in Arizona:

"I'm really sorry for their drought," Yost said. "But we've been in a 12-year drought. We have work to do."

• Atlanta first baseman Julio Franco is talking seriously about playing until he's 50. Franco, 46, batted .309 with six homers and 57 RBI last year, including a .347 average with men in scoring position.

• Jack McKeon, the Marlins' 74-year-old manager, has brought in a youngster to be his bench coach — 71-year-old Harry Dunlop, who also coached under McKeon in Kansas City, San Diego and Cincinnati. The two met in 1952 when they were teammates on the Pirates, and will live in the same Miami-area condo and commute to work together during the season.

• Nationals manager Frank Robinson, a Hall of Famer with 586 home runs, criticized baseball's new drug-testing policy, which requires a player to test positive five times before he can get a year's suspension from the commissioner. A first-time offender will be suspended for 10 games.

"The penalties are not strong enough," Robinson said. "First offense, 10 days? Five times? You'd have to be awful stupid. I would like to have seen Major League Baseball and the players association really take a stand on the severity of the penalties the first time around. I guess they figured something would be better than nothing at this time."

• Steve Finley was dazzled by Beltre last year after being traded to the Dodgers from San Diego. Finley couldn't believe the Dodgers allowed the Mariners to sign him.

"He gobbles up everything at third, drives in big runs and was just coming into his own," Finley told the Los Angeles Times. "Football puts a 'franchise player' tag on some guys. Adrian was a franchise player."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com