Here Comes Barry
Don’t look now but there’s an elephant on the field at Shea Stadium. The San Francisco Giants’ circus comes to town with Barry Bonds in the center ring. What kind of reception will he get? Not a good one you can bet. But without proof, what can you do? Should Bonds be thrown out of the game and have his records nullified if he used steroids? How is it that OJ Simpson can walk away from double homicide with almost incontrovertible evidence yet Barry Bonds is guilty without a trial. The point is in this country you are innocent until proven guilty and for that we should all be thankful. There is an old saying that says better a guilty man goes free than an innocent one go to jail.
Look, I know we are not talking about a capital crime and perhaps it’s a bit unfair to compare to the Simpson trial. I’m merely trying to make a point. And I also want to point out that I personally believe Bonds took steroids. I only defend him in the same light I would defend our right of free speech even when that speech might be considered offensive. The inconclusive evidence against Bonds is still startling. How else does a man’s performance so drastically improve at a time in life when skills should be diminishing? He did admit to taking “substances” but didn’t realize they were performance enhancing—that’s believable (sarcasm intended).
All of baseball is at fault in regards to steroids. How is it that no one in baseball, front office people, managers, coaches, and other players, noticed how over a winter, ball players showed up to camp built like the Incredible Hulk. Baseball turned their back as players set all kinds of homerun records bringing the fans back to the game after the season ending strike of 1994.
The problem for baseball is that the all time home run record, perhaps the most cherished record in all sports, is about to be broken by a man who cheated. Until someone, maybe Alex Rodriguez, passes Bonds, the homerun record will be tarnished. The record that was set by Babe Ruth who saved the game of baseball after the 1919 White Sox scandal, the record that was then broken by Hank Aaron who had to endure threats on his life and needed FBI protection, is about to be broken by a spoiled brat who very likely took performance enhancing drugs to make him stronger and to hit the ball harder. We all know it; we just can’t prove it—at least not yet.
David Hits a Homerun
Did anyone catch this? David Wright, the Mets 24 year old All Star third baseman has been promoting VitaminWater drinks. Instead of taking cash for the gig, David received 0.5 percent of ownership in the
Yankees Win—at least in the Papers
The Mets are 4 games ahead of the Braves with the best record in the National League (32-17). Their record in baseball is only eclipsed by the Red Sox. Yet, yesterday I had to turn 5 pages into the sports section of the Daily News to find an article on the Amazin’s. What was on the first four pages? Articles about the failing Yankees, what else?
