Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Booooo!

I've read many a stupid thing in my 53 years on this planet. This might be the stupidest.

It was an exciting moment, even if the overall event leaves me dead inside. Barry Bonds is a no-doubt great player. He's also a cheat, and a drug abuser. He probably doesn't deserve to be singled out, but as the best player with one of the largest contracts, that just comes with the territory.

I don't celebrate what he did. The feeling I have inside is akin to the tone that the always classy Hank Aaron spoke with. Just matter of fact. Cordial, but not warm. It is (to use the overused cliche) what it is.

The record book is not holy writ. It's not a book of morals. It's just a listing of facts and events. We tend to ascribe too much value to it, elevating those mortals into heroes. Yet time after time we're burned. Still, we do it.

We shouldn't look to the baseball record book for moral guidance, or to rekindle those grainy memories of childhood that fill us with a warm (if usually inaccurate) nostalgia. It says what happened. When it happened. Who it happened to. Facts. Just cold, hard facts.

Fact is, he's a hell of a player. Or was, I should say. It'd be better if we could vanquish the post-'98 monstrosity from our collective memories and remember the greatness that preceded it. That's the true Barry Bonds, the one who really was an all-time great.

The record book shows that he's put up some incredible numbers over since. You can't ignore them. They did happen, even as many of us wish they hadn't, and even if it creates a complicated 'moral' picture.

But the book says that Barry Bonds is the all-time leader. That's true. Nobody has hit more. But he's a jerk. And he's a steroid abuser. Those are facts too. Very cold, very hard facts.

  • Oh, and it's hard for me to type this, but Carpenter's call of the homer was excellent.

  • 19 Comments:

    • 53?!?!!

      Really? No way. Really?

      Oh, and fark Bonds. That is all.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 12:54 AM  

    • Is anyone else a little upset they decided to interview Bacsik during Batista's AB? The one where he tied the game? Why?!

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 2:07 AM  

    • Well said that it is simply a number in a record book and we glorify these records a little too much.

      I think we should all appreciate the magnitude of how amazing this record is but hate that one of the most miserable people in the world obtained it (read "Love Me, Hate
      Me" to fully understand Bonds' a-holiness)If Griffey had broken this record it would have been heralded as one of the greatest moments in sports...ever. I just wish a better person had the talent and luck to break this record to help better promote baseball around the world.

      But hey at least Bacsik is famous now, and what a great interview with Erin Andrews on ESPN2...

      "Hey Mike, What will your relationship be with Barry now"

      "Oh, Me and Barry will be best friends now, we are going to barbecue together all the time"

      That's a very rough paraphrase but it was a hilarious response.

      By Blogger Doug, at 8/08/2007 2:13 AM  

    • Anything involving Erin Andrews is truly a wonderful and amazing thing!

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 2:53 AM  

    • I run a blog at my newspaper and I often post about Nats baseball...here were my feelings on what went down today

      Tonight I’m happy to be a Nats fan…

      Unfortunately not many will remember Schneider's role in tonight's game...but for player you couldn't ask for a better teammate. And me as a fan I will remember, when I show the tape of the game to my kids is how Brian Schneider and the Nats lineup came together as a true team and won that game.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 4:50 AM  

    • Thanks YChromphil. I really don't care about Bonds, I wanted to know how the Nats won. Wish the Post had some coverage of the GAME.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 7:00 AM  

    • This comment has been removed by the author.

      By Blogger DCPowerGator, at 8/08/2007 8:42 AM  

    • As much as I don't like listening to Bob Carpenter talk, his call was very very good, and because ESPN was 5 (or so) seconds ahead of MASN, I got to hear Dave O'Brian's call too...and his was a little awkward. Way to be Bob. Oh and way to be FLop.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 8:46 AM  

    • chris - this post is, so far, the best thing i have read in any media source concerning the mixed feelings we have (and probably should have) re: barry balco.

      we do, collectively, ascribe too much importance to records, especially these baseball career records. why? i dunno, we'd need to call in the psychologists and/or cultural anthropologists to figure that out. but we do.

      i also agree that remembering barry's pre-laboratory greatness is a good thing to do as i feel that it somehow assuages our psyches over the mixed feelings we have regarding him setting the all-time HR record.

      we have these mixed feelings not because he is a lout and a boor and just not very likable but simply because we know him to be a steroid cheat and liar, and those facts should not be in dispute.

      if anything, barry symbolizes the "win at any cost" mentality that pervades so much of our society, whether sporting, business, social or political. maybe we're most bummed about barry because, sadly, we probably deserve each other! :-/

      By Blogger DCPowerGator, at 8/08/2007 9:01 AM  

    • Thanks!

      Bill, the check's in the mail. Or did you want hard currency?

      mrm0to, yeah, that was frustrating. MASN has a terrible habit of cutting away. Even during the key AB, did you see how often they missed a fraction of the pitch because they were busy "scene setting" instead of showing the fecking game?

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 8/08/2007 9:08 AM  

    • When I was in high school, I waited in the game day line at Busch Stadium to get bleacher seats for an afternoon Cardinals vs. Pirates game in 1991. During batting practice, Bobby Bonilla came over to my group and signed autographs and just talked to us for a while. When Bonds came out near us, we all yelled for him to come over as well. Bonilla looked at all of us and said "That guy won't come over here, he's a f'ing a$$hole." That one statement, by a teammate, almost 20 years ago, has caused me to hate Bonds since that day. The guy, even before steroids, could have gone into the history books as one of the greatest players ever. But, he'll always be one of the biggest jerks to ever play the game, so at least he'll keep that distinction as well.

      By Blogger Unknown, at 8/08/2007 9:50 AM  

    • Watching it on mlb.tv I got the Home Team's Call, which was just what youd expect it to be. It was a homerun call, but with that added twist at the end because of whos homerun it was.

      Does anyone have Bob's call online somewhere?

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 10:31 AM  

    • Chris,
      great point about MASN. They do that shit all the time, and it wasn't just Barry's AB. I feel like it happens during pitches in every game I watch.
      Re: Barry. He is a great individual player, but a horrible teammate. Sutton and Carpenter were speculating that Barry might be moving to another team, but I really hope the Giants don't trade him. I say keep him in SF, and don't let him get a WS ring. Ever. That's one accomplishment he will never deserve; this is still a team sport.

      By Blogger Rob B, at 8/08/2007 11:07 AM  

    • Fuck Bonds in his bloated ass.

      By Blogger Rickey, at 8/08/2007 2:02 PM  

    • i might get skewered for saying this, but alot of what we "know" about Bonds' PED use is from an alleged leaked grand testimony transcript (anyone seen a copy), hearsay, rumors and innuendo from a fired clubhouse attendant (his shoe size grew three sizes), and comments about illegal money from a jilted alleged former lover who is now posing in nude in Playboy for a handsome sum of money.

      i've never met the guy, but from what you can read and see of him on tv, Bonds appears to be a Class A jerk. he was a jerk when he was a skinny 23 year old and now when he's a bloated 40-something too gimpy to play the OF more than five inings. and we all can infer all we want from the "evidence" that has been presented in the media about his use of PEDs. and everyone is entitled to an OPINION of him, his accomplishments and his career.

      but to say we know he did this and we know he did that is simply foolhardy. the only people that truly know are Bonds and whoever did whatever to him. and there is absolutely no hard evidence of that in the public record.

      he has never tested positive under the MLB testing procedure. he hasn't been arrested or indicted for any of the allegations that have been bandied about. no one has come forward for a payday to say "I gave/sold Barry Bonds steroids." nothing.

      so please don't say "we know what he did". because we don't. we can only form opinions based on the evidence available publically.

      for the record, my opinion is he's a cheat, a liar and a jerk. i just don't know that for a fact.

      By Blogger Dave Nichols, at 8/08/2007 2:48 PM  

    • It was one run. We won the game, and will likely take the series. Go Nats!

      My wife asked a very interesting question. She was at the Hank Arron game in Atlanta and recalled it was against the Dodgers.

      Wasn't our MASN buddy Don "scuffing balls is not cheating" Sutton on the team then? Wasn't he at that game? We've been watching fairly closely and haven't noticed him comment. Have any of you? Are we off base here?

      By Blogger Ray Firsching, at 8/08/2007 3:56 PM  

    • It was against the Dodgers and Sutton was on the team.

      I read/heard something recently where he was a team rep attending a funeral for someone affiliated with the Dodgers, since he was a SP and wouldn't be needed for the actual game.

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 8/08/2007 4:00 PM  

    • Dave,

      Hmmm....

      1) Two reputable reporters chronicle Bonds' PHD diet in extreme detail and spanning many years (GOS)

      2) Bonds does not sue the reporters for libel, but rather for illegally obtaining grand-jury testimony -- a suit Bonds later drops. Bonds does not deny the substance of GOS.

      3) Bonds' trainer spends months (years?) in jail because he doesn't want to answer DA questions about Bonds. If he didn't supply Bonds with PED, then why rot in jail? Most likely reason: he will receive a pay-off from Bonds.

      4) Bonds feet and head grow unnaturally, consistent with over-use of PED.

      5) Bonds refuses a congressional order to testify, citing potential legal jeopardy. What would he be in jeopardy for if he didn't take anything or lie to the grand jury?

      Bottom line: You don't have to be in the forest when the tree falls.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8/08/2007 7:47 PM  

    • omg this morining i woke up & looked in the mirror only 2 realise i dont have a mirror anymore, my ugliness broke it a long time ago, 53 years to be exact, when i was a child (grin)
      then i stepped onto the cold ground only to find the bubble people had stolen my shoes again, so i would have to go without.
      breakfast was a fairly grim afair, with all the mcbutter burgers in sight gone (i blame the bubble people's enormous appitites myself) and on my way to school, i found that my only firend (yes, he is imaginary) had ditched me also, so now my life with the bubble people is a black abys. sigh.
      At least those darling bubble people, listen and CARE for me.... In fact... well don't tell anyone this but I'm pregnent with bobo (my secret lover) So my precious (PRECIOUS) bubble baby is due soon..... 1 week to be exact actually...

      Signing offline

      yours truly DSM
      xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9/16/2007 11:21 PM  

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