While the rest of us watch from the sidelines, baseball continues to wrestle with whether to reinstate Pete Rose. Among the spectators awaiting a decision is the family of former commissioner, the late Bart Giamatti. Giamatti issued Rose's banishment from baseball, and his family doesn't want that decision to be in vain.

A 13-year-old lie can't be rectified simply by fessing up.

While the Giamatti family doesn't hold a grudge against Rose (at least none that I detected from a recent conversation with the former commissioner's son, Marcus Giamatti), they believe he should have to do more than a "mea culpa" news conference to head to Cooperstown.

Rose needs to do more than just admit that he gambled -- especially after denying it for so long. A 13-year-old lie can't be rectified simply by fessing up. He needs to be fully rehabilitated, and he needs to give back to the game in a meaningful way before reinstatement should be even be considered.

Once he comes to terms with his his gambling addiction, Rose should volunteer to talk to teams about the effects of gambling and how wagering has no place in baseball. He can certainly attest to the severity of it's aftermath.

After evaluating evidence from John Dowd's report, Giamatti worked out a deal in which Rose accepted a lifetime ban from baseball. Giamatti's decision was based on solid foundations: the preservation of the integrity of baseball and the legitimacy of the games.

However, since the agreement does not preclude Rose from petitioning another MLB commissioner for reinstatement, current commissioner Bud Selig is now in a precarious position. To allow Rose to return to the game based soley on his batting performance, in spite of the previous decision, would be a disservice to the game and to Giamatti's memory.

Clearly, the reinstatement of Rose is not something Selig takes lightly. It's more than a mere annoyance that he longs to dispatch from his to-do list. In addition to his role as commissioner, he is also a friend to the Giamatti family. In fact, the last errand Bart performed was sending a wedding gift to Selig's daughter. Selig stays in touch and the families remain relatively close. So, he knows what the terms of this decision means to them.

Ironically, Marcus Giamatti, an actor, works on the television show "Judging Amy," which is filmed near the set of Fox's "Best Damn Sports Show Period," a show on which Rose appears occasionally. Though they have never met, Marcus told me that he wouldn't know what to say should their paths cross anyway.

If by chance, the do meet, I hope it's after Rose is rehabilitated and has adequately amended his mistakes. That way, Marcus can congratulate Rose earnestly, knowing his father's decision was preserved.