Will Carroll and Derek Zumsteg’s Pete Rose story got some big league support Thursday from Allen Barra in The Wall Street Journal. Both Marvin Miller and Bill James are quoted in the piece; Carroll delineated the origins of the scoop to Barra (if anybody needed clarification).

Bill James put it well when he told Barra:

“I hope it is true. We can’t argue forever about what Rose did or didn’t do, and it isn’t doing baseball any good to allow a perception to fester that the game has dealt unfairly with one of its greatest stars. At some point, you just have to move on.”

It’s good to have friends in high places, and Barra’s column is a credibility-boost to the Zumsteg-Carroll piece. Good for them.