BONDS WATCH - 714 and 715

[Frayed Knot]

Actually the Gints are coming here (we've been out there already).
Not that Barry going for #715 in NYC would have caused anything resembling a media circus.

I was actually hoping he'd do it on the road to the deafening applause of dozens. BB2N only devoted about 1/3 of their show tonight to this HR while ignoring the results and/or highlights of 6 or 7 other games - including our contest. Look, it's news whether we want it to be or not and it deserves some coverage ... but they've turned that show and the whole network into the 'All-Barry' channel.

[DocTee]

]they've turned that show and the whole network into the 'All-Barry' channel.

But they have cancelled the insipid "BONDS ON BONDS"

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

DocTee wrote: Actually, the series is at Shea this weekend.

D'Oh! That's right. Then they're off to LA, Arizona and Philly.

[Elster88]

Seriously though, a thread on Bonds?

[Willets Point]

They're a fairly conservative investment.

But here's my beef ... you loan the government some cash ... they pay you back with interest ... then they tax you on the interest of the money they paid you back that you lent them. What's the deal with that.

Oh, wait this is the BARRY Bonds thread.

[Guest cooby]

Well, not if you use the money for college tuition (not books, room and board, food service) Always consult your financial advisor for... oh wait, BARRY Bonds.....

[Elster88]

About 9 hours late cooby ;-)

[Zvon]

I like the way the guy that got the ball wasnt even watching the action -
was on line gettin a hot dog for his gal.

Bonds is gonna get so boooooed in NY its gonna be something to hear.

Man, the Post trashed him-

[DocTee]

A quick read of the headline: "El Duque Bags Marlins" raised my eyebrows.

[Willets Point]

Zvon wrote: What motivated me to start it was this deal where Bonds was hit by a pitch tonight. The opposing pitcher was tossed with no warning (as far as I know). WTF? Ill have to see this again on Sportcenter or Baseball 2night, cuz i dont understand why this pitcher was tossed. What?-Are you not allowed to make mistakes? or pitch inside? No warning? Is this because it was Bonds at bat?

Springer fined

[Vic Sage]

i'm not incensed by Bonds, unlike most of youse, the media, congress and Jeff Kent.

here are some random thoughts related to why it just doesn't bother me that much:

- he was a multiple MVP and the best player in baseball BEFORE he bulked up. Its not like he was a mild mannered reporter from a great metropolitan newspaper who suddenly stepped out of a phone booth with a cape and a big red "B" on his chest, nor was he a guy whose whole career was predicated on steroids;

- He didn't necessarily "cheat", since none of the substances he's accused of taking were against the rules of baseball at the time he's accused of taking them;

- To the extent he did cheat, so did Gaylord Perry, who became a folk hero and a HOFer for doing so, and other HOFers who stole signs, faked catches that were trapped, stepped into HBPs, used corked bats, or whatever. We call those guys "competitive", with a wink and smile;

- To the extent he has taken illegal drugs, so has every ballplayer eating a fistful of greenies before every game, and nobody has cared about that. Ruth drank during Prohibition and became a national treasure.

- As illegal drugs go, i find the taking of peformance-ENHANCING drugs less reprehensible than use of performance-REDUCING drugs, which prevent players from living up to their obligations to owners, teammates and fans to play as well as they can. Why should I get outraged that Bonds has passed the #2 career HR hitter... a guy who probably cost himself years off his career from being a carousing, gluttonous drunk during the Prohibition era? Because the Babe was a national hero and Bonds a national disgrace?

- That Bonds is an asshole seems clear, from a distance. But i think the media uses that, and his lack of appropriate shame, to villify him out of all proportion.

- Ruth is the greatest player of all time. Until somebody puts up comparable numbers as a hitter AND a pitcher, i don't think its a subject up for serious debate. Nobody thinks Aaron is the greatest player of all time. He happens to hold a particular record. Its not Ruth's record, and it hasn't been his record for over 30 years. Bonds passing Ruth on the "Career HR" list does not diminish Ruth's greatness, and it is not a record-breaking accomplishment, so all this fuss seems artificially induced to continue fanning "the steroids outrage" phenomenon.

- the "purity of statistics" is bullshit. there are factors in every era that skew the numbers, one way or another. The fact that Ruth, etal, put up his numbers in an era that prevented blacks from competing with him doesn't mean he should have an *asterisk; it simply puts his era into context, like the "dead ball era", the pitching era of the 60s, etc. So this will be the "steroids era" and statisticians will adjust accordingly.

[Centerfield]

That was a great post Vic. I wish I could have summarized my thoughts so succinctly. The only thing I would add is that it is unbelievable the extent Bonds is vilified while others, who have a much stronger link to steroids (Caminiti, Canseco, Palmeiro, Giambi, Sheffield) are given much less blame in comparison. It is shameful that the Post would refer to Bonds as the "Shambino" while glorifying Giambi and Shef.