on bonds and baseball

so, on saturday bonds did it. he tied the homerun record. i imagine that he will break the record in the next few days at home. as a giants fan, i admit that i have a bit of blinders. i like what he has done for the franchise while he has been there. yes, he's a surly character, but he's our surly character. and really, why does anyone care if he's a jerk to reporters?

but, of course, there are those out there that talk about an asterisk. i know these two are ticked about bonds breaking this record due to allegations of steroid use. and i'm sure there are many more.

here's what i think on the issue:
first of all, bonds has never actually failed a test. i realize that not getting caught doesn't equal not cheating. that would be foolish. i also realize that balco was one of the bigger groups using things like human growth hormone (hgh). there is not a reliable test to discover hgh usage. and so, if bonds was using hgh, there's a chance that he would not have been caught. but, here's the kicker on that: marion jones and tim montgomery (track athletes) were also balco clients. they both have been in trouble with the usoc and aiif due to irregularities in their tests. in fact, montgomery has been suspended, had his world record stripped and since retired. i mention these other two because it is possible to be caught. it is possible to face the consequences.

second, baseball is riddled with cheating and has been riddled with cheating for a long time. in some ways, baseball is synonymous with cheating. if you're not cheating, you're not trying. you steal signs, pitchers use things to scuff balls and gain advantage. batters get pine tar outside of the legal area. they use corked bats. people hug the plate and stand as far back as possible, both outside of the legal batter's box. so, you're alleging that bonds cheated, well, welcome to baseball. some would say, "well, those are cheating, but they're not illegal." true. but they're illegal to the game. they are breaking the rules of the game. and, what about greenies? greenies is baseball slang for amphetamines. pretty much everyone (i've seen estimates of 75%) has been using greenies in baseball up until the 2006 season when they were outlawed. not everyone was using illegal amphetamines, but many were. others were getting prescriptions for other problems that they didn't have, like adhd, and using them. because, you know what, steroids, including hgh aren't illegal. you can get prescriptions for them. but, most athletic leagues have outlawed them. if you use them without a prescription, that's illegal.

this brings me to my next point, baseball hasn't always outlawed steroids. steroids have been used and abused athletically for some time now. they were developed inthe 1930's. i'm not sure exactly how long they have been against the rules, but i know that they finally tightened it up in the last round of collective bargaining. i think this was before the 2006 season, when they also outlawed amphetamine use. so, every player in the modern era is tainted. you want to asterisk bonds? well slap that asterisk on every player you've ever watched, because we don't have proof that none of them were using. and, you know what, that includes hank aaron. honestly, i blame baseball for a lot of this mess. the olympics (ioc) [as well as international track & field (iaaf)] have some of the most stringent testing procedures. they catch people all the time. and, since the olympics got serious about steroids and other banned substances in 1972 they've caught about 66 people. so, in the last 35 years (although they're only every 4 years) they've caught that many. and, 24 were caught in connection with the 2004 athens games. they're stepping up their testing with great success, what's baseball doing? hmmm, smells like the money involved may be the problem. baseball can't solve the problem because it would cost them. not cost them to actually test the athlete, but cost them in the revenue as people stopped coming to this farce of a sport. really, bonds has been selling out every stadium that he has played in this season. either so people can cheer him on, or more likely boo and taunt him. but, i guarantee that everyone that was @ petco park the other day will be telling people, "yeah, i was there when it happened." when bonds finally hits 756, people will be telling people about seeing that one, too. when bonds hits his last one, i'm sure people will tell their grandkids about seeing barry's curtain call homer. if baseball actually tested for the these substances they would have to admit that the problem is so widespread that they whole sport is, and has been tainted. you want to discredit bonds' record? then go ahead and throw out every record in the last half-century. pete rose, out. hank aaron, out. cal ripken's consecutive game streak, out. mark maguire, out. a-rod's 500th homer, out. maddux's 300th win, out. or, slap them with the asterisk. where's the clamor for all this?

finally, to completely discredit bonds without proof denies his amazing talent. he has phenomenal bat speed. his hand-eye coordination is off the charts. these aren't power figures, it's just a sick level of ability. honestly, he has to be considered one of the best hitters ever, even without homeruns. he has been intentionally walked more than any other player in history. his career walk total equals over a season's worth of at bats. think about that one, he has been walked for an entire season of at bats? what's that do to your homerun total? sure, he's got a weenie arm (see 3:40-3:51 of this video, it's the sid bream example). hey, why hasn't that improved during his alleged steroid use?

hank aaron played 23 years, breaking ruth's record in his twenty first. it should also be noted that aaron played in the negro leagues for 3 years before that, giving him a total of 26 years of pro-ball. bonds is in his 22nd. he went to college @ arizona state for 4 years, making his career of a very similar length. interestingly enough, bonds was drafted out of college by the giants, but instead went to college over contract issues. perhaps if he had signed directly with them, we could have seen him play in fresno with the likes of will clark, matt williams and other giants players of that era.

so, congratulation barry bonds. you have tied hank aaron's record. you will soon break it. for that, i salute you. and, if a-rod, keeps it up, he'll be breaking your record. i hope that you show up for that. i hope you clap, unlike the classless bungle of a commissioner bud "it's a tie" selig.