C.J.: Selig does a little hemming and hawing on Pete Rose

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig delighted a few fans by signing autographs on the way to his van — not a limo, not even a fancy black SUV — after wrapping up an appearance Monday on ESPN's "Mike & Mike."

And it wasn't even a particularly fancy van, based on the outside.

Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, the ballpark announcers at the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby, set up shop outside Kieran's Irish Pub near Target Field. They'll be back out there Tuesday.

They were chatting away when they came upon a commercial break. When asked if he would sit through the commercial, Selig said, "As long as you got me up this early, I might as well stay."

After the break, Golic asked whether Selig was inclined to start being as forgiving as fans toward players who've been caught using performance-enhancing drugs. "Nelson Cruz served a 50-game suspension last year and he was voted in [as an All Star]. A high vote-getter and there seemed to be no issue for the fans at all. Were you keeping an eye on that?" Golic asked.

Selig said, "I've moved past that. For those who have been suspended, Mike, the way I look at it, they were penalized; in the end it made our [drug] program stronger; we have a tough program."

The Mikes said they were inclined to allow Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others into the Hall of Fame and let history tell the whole story.

As for lifting the ban on Pete Rose, kicked out of baseball in 1989 for betting on the game, that is a decision within Selig's power to change. "It's a matter under advisement, and I just really don't have anything to say," he said. Although he said this in April, it's significant he's repeating it in a city crawling with Hall of Famers and media enthralled by baseball's biggest single-day event.

While I wouldn't say Mike & Mike were bundled up outside Kieran's, they were wearing black zippered hoodie sweatshirts with the pub's logo.

"We were not packed for this," Greeny said as he asked a colleague to see about getting them warm gear to wear at the Home Run Derby. Probably not a good idea for the ESPN guys to call the derby in Kieran's hoodies.

This is the second consecutive year Mike & Mike have been the derby's in-house announcers. This year, they ordered up a better position, not blocked by large bodies, from which to watch the balls soar.

Erica Scherzer, wife of 2013 Cy Young winner and Detroit Tiger Max Scherzer, looked like somebody else to me on the red carpet at the MLB.com All-Star Bash. Lindsey Vonn?

While I would never confuse the two — they have completely different body types — there are facial similarities.

Nelly hit home runs to left and right field at Sunday's Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. Later at the MLB.com All-Star Bash, the rapper arrived in his signature gi-normous diamond earrings. Assuming he wore them for the game, I said those diamonds didn't slow him on the diamond.

"No, ma'am," he said.

Bravo's Andy Cohen can be such a fashion plate.

For the MLB.com All-Star Bash, he was sort of, uh, dressed down in golf shirt, casual pants and some sneakers I now covet. So were many others, but I decided to tweak Cohen a little anyhow.

See, when I put that question to James Denton, he threw his head back, laughed and said, "How ya doin', CJ? I'm wearing straight from the softball game! I didn't even take a shower."

If I played softball as well as Denton, I'd never shower.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.