Homers more important than integrity
Barry Bonds returned to the lineup Monday after being activated from the DL earlier in the day. Giants fans gave him a massive standing ovation. The headline on MLB.com read, “Bonds’ return worth the wait.” Even ESPN’s Peter Gammons said, “It’s a great thing to see him back.”
Um…did I miss something? Didn’t this guy admit to taking steroids? Hasn’t he blamed everyone but himself for the mistakes he’s made? Last time I checked, Barry Bonds was a liar, a cheater and a prick. Last time I checked, liars, cheaters and pricks didn’t deserve praise, support and adulation. The fact that several members of the media have repositioned their noses squarely up Bonds’ tight ass despite everything that’s happened is deplorable.
I suppose none of this should surprise me. After all, sports fans are notorious for their selective memory and tunnel vision, and as long as Barry comes back and jacks a few (like he nearly did Monday night), most fans and writers, especially those in San Francisco, will forgive and forget.
Meanwhile, Rafael Palmeiro is in exile as he “rehabs” his knee and ankle injuries after going 2-for-26 upon his return from a 10-game suspension. Why have fans and the media been so much tougher on Raffy? Because Palmeiro tested positive? Bonds admitted to a grand jury that he took steroids during the 2003 season, and if you believe that he did so “unknowingly” (as he claimed), you’re either naive, foolish or stoned.
Maybe fans have been harder on Palmeiro because he lied to Congress and to sports fans worldwide. Then again, Bonds has been lying to us for years, but for whatever reason he was spared the congressional appearance. Make no mistake — Bonds would’ve pulled a Big Mac had he been up there with Raffy, Schilling, Sosa and McGwire, refusing to answer any questions about his steroid use and looking just as guilty as McGwire looked then and Palmeiro looks now.
Instead, we’ll be subjected to a public love-fest for Bonds over the remainder of the season. Why not just reinstate Steve Howe or welcome Pete Rose back with open arms? Bonds cheated the game and spit in the face of its fans. But judging by what I’ve seen the past couple of days, most people don’t care about any of that.
Shhhh! Bonds is a national treasure, you racist.
Oh crap, I forgot — I’m not allowed to say anything bad about Bonds.
Expect to see Scoop Jackson calling me out on ESPN in the next day or two.
The thing is, not everyone in the press wants to see Bonds return. A lot of them would like to see him walk away for good, just like we do. And ironically, those people are called out for it, as if they’re not allowed to dislike Bonds, which I think is preposterous. No one is taking any heat for dogging Sosa, and he’s never once tested positive. So why is it okay to badmouth McGwire and Sosa (never tested positive), Palmeiro and Giambi (tested positive, confessed in a supposedly sealed trial), but not Bonds?
The thing is, despite whatever junk he’s put in his body, you have to admire the way Bonds singlehandedly changes the face of a ball game. Dude can still hit, and not just for power, but for average. The reason we don’t like him is not because he’s juiced; the reason we don’t like him is because he’s a jerk, a jerk that doesn’t know how good he’s got it.
I didn’t like him before all the steroid stuff, true, but now I HATE because of it. He’s always been an ass so he’s always had his detractors, but the steroid issue has made it that much harder to like the guy. Or, maybe more accurately, that much easier to hate him.
And yeah, you’ve got to admire Bonds’ skills, no doubt. But in many ways, that makes everything even worse. He was already a great player so why did he have to risk it all by taking steroids? In my mind, the risk (tarnishing a Hall-of-Fame legacy) outweighed the potential rewards.
He’s a cheater, and he’s a punk. Yes, he’s an awesome player, but Ben Johnson was an awesome sprinter when he was juiced.
I have no respect for Bonds. It will be a disgrace to see him break Aaron’s record.
The headline on MLB.com read, “Bonds’ return worth the wait.” Even ESPN’s Peter Gammons said, “It’s a great thing to see him back.”
I’m embarassed to be a baseball fan.
I find it hard to believe that someone as distinguished and respected as Gammons can so easily overlook Bonds’ recent history. What Bonds did was wrong and the way he’s handled it has been even worse. The fact that someone like Gammons would say “It’s a great thing to see him back” about Bonds is disgraceful and, you’re right, embarrassing.
It would be great to see him retire and never touch Aaron’s record.
We might as well let them all roid up and kill every record there is in baseball. Wouldn’t it be sweet to see 20 players beat Hank Aaron’s record in the next 10 years while at the same time pitchers are throwing 120 mph fastballs just before their tendons break and their arm falls off and is laying on the infield grass. Maybe they could even improve on human growth hormone and come out with GGH (gorilla growth hormone). I’m sure that won’t be detected in those weak ass piss tests they take.
Yeah… maybe someday we could be so lucky.
Honestly though, Gammons has received a lot of heat over the years as being a huge Boston homer and I’ve always looked the other way. Comments like his sicken me and make me wonder where his and most of the sportswriters priorities are. Do they care about the integrity of the game anymore? I guess the real question is; is there any integrity in the game anymore?