Bonds, 'Roids, and other Baseball Pontifications
So, Barry Bonds is a cheat...dear me, how shocking.
Well, not really. That's "not really" as in not really shocking not that Bonds is not really a cheat. For those of you who are not up to date on the recent goings-on in the baseball world, an incredibly well researched and documented expose on Barry "I don't work and play well with others" Bonds' steroid usage was published last week by two well known sports reporters/journalists for the San Fransisco Chronicle.
I have not yet figured out why this comes as a shock to anyone. This is really a simple deduction, Watson. Barry Bonds hit a monstrous 73 home runs in 2001, having never hit more than 49 in any other season before or since. This might have seemed reasonable when he was, say, 29 or so, but Bonds was in his late 30's at the time. Secondly, look at pictures of Bonds when he first came into the majors and then later. His muscle mass almost triples, again as he got older. Even with modern physical exercise routines, your physical skills begin to decrease as you get closer to 40, not increase. There had to have been a little something extra helping him do that.
The sad thing is that Barry Bonds never really needed to use steroids. If he had never touched them, he had the natural talent to get into the Hall of Fame. He would probably not have won the single season home run record nor be in the running to go past Ruth and Aaron on the all time list, but he would still have been a Hall of Famer most likely. Bonds never was popular with the media or fans (frankly, because he was a jerk both on and off the field). Now his records are so tainted, I do not even know if or when he will make it into Cooperstown. I do not think I will ever understand whether it was greed or arrogance or what that made him think 1.) that he needed steroids and 2.) honestly think he could use them on such a massive scale and never get caught. The problem is he will likely turn into Pete Rose and deny that anything ever happened, further insulting the intelligence of virtually everyone this side of the family dog.
Some people are saying they won't believe it until he is convicted in a court of law. That is sort of a red herring of an argument because I do not believe there are state or federal laws that forbid usage of performance enhancing drugs, only possession of them without a prescription. Unless someone wants to try to charge Bonds with conspiracy or fraud or perjury charges in previous testimony trials, I do not see any of these steroid folks going to court. I mean what would be the point? Send him to prison? That wouldn't do any good. Punitive damages? That means nothing to a man who has made well over $100 million in his career excluding endorsements. This is just a jolly mess that baseball has gotten itself into. I'll be interested to see if Commissioner Bud Selig will do anything about it.
Say it ain't so, Joe!
Well, not really. That's "not really" as in not really shocking not that Bonds is not really a cheat. For those of you who are not up to date on the recent goings-on in the baseball world, an incredibly well researched and documented expose on Barry "I don't work and play well with others" Bonds' steroid usage was published last week by two well known sports reporters/journalists for the San Fransisco Chronicle.
I have not yet figured out why this comes as a shock to anyone. This is really a simple deduction, Watson. Barry Bonds hit a monstrous 73 home runs in 2001, having never hit more than 49 in any other season before or since. This might have seemed reasonable when he was, say, 29 or so, but Bonds was in his late 30's at the time. Secondly, look at pictures of Bonds when he first came into the majors and then later. His muscle mass almost triples, again as he got older. Even with modern physical exercise routines, your physical skills begin to decrease as you get closer to 40, not increase. There had to have been a little something extra helping him do that.
The sad thing is that Barry Bonds never really needed to use steroids. If he had never touched them, he had the natural talent to get into the Hall of Fame. He would probably not have won the single season home run record nor be in the running to go past Ruth and Aaron on the all time list, but he would still have been a Hall of Famer most likely. Bonds never was popular with the media or fans (frankly, because he was a jerk both on and off the field). Now his records are so tainted, I do not even know if or when he will make it into Cooperstown. I do not think I will ever understand whether it was greed or arrogance or what that made him think 1.) that he needed steroids and 2.) honestly think he could use them on such a massive scale and never get caught. The problem is he will likely turn into Pete Rose and deny that anything ever happened, further insulting the intelligence of virtually everyone this side of the family dog.
Some people are saying they won't believe it until he is convicted in a court of law. That is sort of a red herring of an argument because I do not believe there are state or federal laws that forbid usage of performance enhancing drugs, only possession of them without a prescription. Unless someone wants to try to charge Bonds with conspiracy or fraud or perjury charges in previous testimony trials, I do not see any of these steroid folks going to court. I mean what would be the point? Send him to prison? That wouldn't do any good. Punitive damages? That means nothing to a man who has made well over $100 million in his career excluding endorsements. This is just a jolly mess that baseball has gotten itself into. I'll be interested to see if Commissioner Bud Selig will do anything about it.
Say it ain't so, Joe!
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