BONDS 756

[pk500]

'Nuff said.

Take care,
PK

[thebigcaptain]

Baseball knows it. America knows it. Only the fawning idiots in San Francisco and Bonds don't know it.


PK

oh, barry knows it.....and i'll wager that is just part of what is eating him up from the inside no matter how much he tries to ignore it. his stewardship of the record will fall by the wayside soon enough.

[MizzouRah]

I think to a lot of baseball fans, 756 is more than a number. It's an ideal, it's symbolic, and it embodies what a lot of us dreaming about as kids.

For me, Barry does not meet this ideal. He's selfish, and he's a cheater. You know what I take from 756? Him, standing on home plate, as his son waits to hug him. It never came. HE hugged Barry, as Barry pointed to the sky.

What a nice guy.

Thought the EXACT same thing watching ESPN this morning on vacation. What a complete ass!

[jondiehl]

Sure, Arod might very well break the record and Bonds' mark won't last nearly as long as Aaron's, but who's to say that Arod isn't completely clean?

Seriously, I would wager that a large majority of these guys are taking HGH. There's no test for it, easy to take, and doesn't have the same stigma as steroids do (I remember being able to buy it OTC or mail order just a few years ago as a "miracle youth supplement" type of product) and not nearly the same caveman type of side effects with the swollen head, b*tch tits, roid rage, etc...

No different than Big Mac and his andro, just a basic bodybuilding supplement that he openly used before MLB decided to ban that too. Now that HGH is "banned", these guys have to go in the closet to take it and if it means being able to hit more homers, not get as tired or worn out, etc... and potentially make millions more in salary and endorsements, you've got to think that there are tons of guys using this stuff and plenty of other cutting edge supplements that we don't even know about yet.

Anyway, the point is that even though Barry has said that he used the clear (which means he used steroids, I'm not sure why the media always throws "alleged" in there, it's a FACT), there's no sure way to tell the A-rod, and some of these other phenoms aren't taking a little something. A-rod was much skinnier in his rookie year and has bulked up alot since then. He's not sooo big with a swollen head like Bonds, so he's probably did it legit, but who can say with 100% fact that he's pure and clean. Noone.

The only slugger I can think of that is the same size now as when he started as a rookie, is Albert Pujols (and I'm NOT being a homer). He's listed at 230 lbs right now by MLB, and he was all of that, if not more, when he started in 2001. Of course, Pujols probably isn't actually 27 either, more like 32. He's on a quicker pace than the 32yr old A-rod was in his 7th season in MLB, but given that they're probably the same age, A-rod has 226 more HR's. Assuming that they likely entered this world in the same calendar year, and not 5yrs apart, they'll likely break down and get old at the same time.

While I hate Barry, I can't really fault him for using steroids or other supplements when MLB hadn't "officially" banned it. Most of the pitchers he was competing against were probably on this stuff too. One of my clients, a former Cardinal's everyday player in the 70's, talked to me about this stuff when he was in my office yesterday to discuss his finances. I asked him (now in his 60's) if he would be trying different supplements, HGH, etc if he played in today's game, and without hesitation he said "hell yes". This, from a 12yr veteran getting a nice 5-figure monthly MLBPA pension check. The money to be made now is so astronomical that most of these guys are going to try and get an edge any way possible if the chance of getting caught is slim to none.

[brendanrfoley]

Jondiehl, I'm not that pessimistic. For one, I think Rodriguez is clean.

Yes, he is bigger. But he's in proportion. Those legs are like tree trunks! Bonds, in comparison, has a massive head on top of a gigantic torso... with average sized legs. He really does look like Mr. Potato Head.

As for Bonds' defenders? I hate when they say 'baseball never had a rule against steroids.' No, baseball may not. But the federal government did. Steroids were, and are, ILLEGAL.

To defend a guy using illegal drugs, just because his sport had not gotten more specific in its rulebook, is a joke.

[spooky157]

I don't respect him for cheating and I also think the record is tainted but I can't totally blame him for it. MLB and specifically the players union created an atmosphere where it was much more difficult to compete cleanly and still be on top of the game, except for Griffey. In the early 90's it was either Bonds or Griffey as the best players in the game. Then all of a sudden the steroids era took over and you had guys like Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, etc. There is no way that Brady Anderson should have more HRs in a season than Bonds but that was the landscape of the game. When you're the best at what you do but others are passing you by in terms of money and recognition by cheating, I don't like the fact that he cheated but like I said - I don't completely blame him for doing so either.

[dbdynsty25]

Are you guys really basing your opinions on how a guy looks? Sure, guys get bigger...but come on. The evidence against Bonds goes A LOT deeper than just looks. Other guys are in the clear (so to speak) until they have books and indictments written and levied against them.

[tjung0831]

Canseco has a new book coming out where he says that he's got stuff on ARod so we'll have to wait and see but so far Canseco appears to be the only one telling the truth.
Nobody will admit it but if Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron or any of the old timers knew they could get an edge with the cream and the clear or whatever Bonds was taking....they would have taken it too provided it was available.

[jondiehl]

I hate when they say 'baseball never had a rule against steroids.' No, baseball may not. But the federal government did. Steroids were, and are, ILLEGAL.

To defend a guy using illegal drugs, just because his sport had not gotten more specific in its rulebook, is a joke.

I don't defend Bonds, I hate the guy, and I think his record is a joke. I'm just saying that I can't blame him for wanting to take illegal substances as it wasn't against the rules of MLB.

Sure, it's against the law to take them and will likely destroy your body, but it's also illegal to drive drunk, beat your wife, smoke pot, snort cocaine, pop "uppers"... all of which countless MLB players have done. While most of those illegal things aren't going to help a player's performance, some might (like the "speed" drugs that alot of players too many decades ago, or maybe beating their wife gets them in the mental "zone" before the game. LOL, just kidding ).

[Zlax45]

Canseco has an ax to grind because they (MLB teams) blackballed him and would not allow him back in the league.

I got to give Canseco credit for blowing the coverage off of this steroid issue. Canseco told WEEI in Boston that AROD is not as clean as he seems and will blow the cover off the game again when his next book comes out.

[XXXIV]

This is Bud Seligs record. He turned his back when these clowns started this s***. That whole MGiwre Sosa thing is was a f***in disgrace. It was supported by aseball and ESPN.

Bud just cares about the attendance and the $$$$$$$. Doesnt give a f*** about baseball records,history lore or any of that.

So to Bud Selig congratulations you sack of s***.

[Zlax45]

This is Bud Seligs record. He turned his back when these clowns started this s***. That whole MGiwre Sosa thing is was a f***in disgrace. It was supported by aseball and ESPN.

Bud just cares about the attendance and the $$$$$$$. Doesnt give a f*** about baseball records,history lore or any of that.

So to Bud Selig congratulations you sack of s***.

BTW You have got to love how the umpires in Baseball don't get background checks because Selig has no balls to tell the umpires union that it is necessary and fight for background checks. Next we are going to see a Tim Donaghy umpire.

[pk500]

The Post strikes again:



Classic.

Take care,
PK

[Rodster]

That NY Post Front Page sums it all up.

Was Barry's dog at the park last night?

[dbdynsty25]

Ahhh...Barry's dog posted for the 3rd time now. The joke is old.

[JRod]

756*

[Inuyasha]

2 things of interest from his press conference :

1.He pleaded with the other ballplayers how they're a fraternity and he would support any one of them. sounded to me like he's saying Don't anybody here rat me out, because I can point the finger at you as well.

2.He totally avoided the question about his Friend Greg Anderson who's in the clink bec. he won't testify about Bonds doing drugs. No surprise, but the way he responded was weird.

[ScoopBrady]

Maybe it wasn't steroids after all. After seeing this picture I'm starting to think it was Jello Pudding Pops.

[dbdynsty25]

Good attempt Scoop...just missed.

[RobVarak]

Maybe it wasn't steroids after all. After seeing this picture I'm starting to think it was Jello Pudding Pops.

"I would like to talk to youuuuuuuu about the all-time home run record."

[Inuyasha]

http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews. ... _hero.html

BARRY BONDS IS MY PERSONAL HERO

by Dick Grabowsky



He's a selfish, vile, tempermental, churlish asshole. He's f***ed around on his wife in her face, started fights with his teammates in the dugout, dodged his taxes, probably pumped more gorilla testosterone into his system than Mark McGwire, and vainly tries to use his vastly inferior intellect to try and belittle people left and right. He's been told he's special from the time he was in the cradle and was raised by his alcoholic failure of a father to be a snotty pain in the ass who cares about no one but himself. He ignores childhood friends, has pissed off just about anyone who has ever been associated with him, and expects unswerving loyalty no matter how shitty he treats a "friend." As a teammate, he's abusive, vain, full of himself, completely unable to swallow his pride, and the absolute center of the universe in the locker room.
He's also my personal hero.

Not because he's an asshole, mind you. Most professional athletes are raging pricks no matter what their public persona is. It's not because he puts up the numbers he does. They are outstanding and admirable, but they really only tell part of the story. I love Barry Lamar Bonds because he is baseball's worst nightmare come to life and the perfect synthesis of what the game is about today: narcisism, selfishness, blatant denial, finger-pointing, hypocrisy, greed and pompous self-congratulation.

Considering the culture we live in, one that embraces flaming assholes for their empty athletic achievements, it's only fitting we have Bonds on the cusp of breaking the most hallowed record in the history of the game -- one that is held by one of its greatest ambassadors and historical figures. Whereas baseball never deserved someone with the quiet dignity and professionalism of Henry Aaron, baseball deserves in spades everything that is Barry Bonds.

Without a doubt, Bonds is on the short list of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. Showing a rare combination of speed, power, fielding ability, base running and hitting for average, Bonds has been a prototypical baseball player in one form another since he came up with the Pirates in 1986. Whether it was as a young, lithe outfielder with a lightning-quick doubles stroke to the gaps who played sterling defense, or a steroid-fueled mongoloid who hit 500-foot home runs, Bonds has always been a reflection of the game in all of its incarnations over the last 20-plus years.

I don't root for Barry Bonds because I like him; I root for him because I admire him. While mouth breathers like Rafael Palmeiro wave a finger in the face of Congress while his urine samples are coming up positive, Barry shrugs in front of a grand jury and says, "Hey, I thought it was flaxseed oil," before going home to rub some more of "The Cream" on his aching knees.

While Mark McGwire smartly avoids addressing the topic, Bonds, by his mere presence, reminds everyone every day about baseball's involvement in steroids. Who and what he is prominently on display with his larger-than-life bald pate and outsized physique. When fans throw syringes on the field, he calmly walks over, picks them up and tosses them into foul territory before he goes back to the batter's box to whack another tape measure home run. While Bud Selig sits in his office rubbing his face and dreading the impending doom of 756, Bonds slowly saunters out for batting practice to hit alone in silence. While he is trailed by a phalanx of cameramen and reporters who openly loathe him and write hate-filled rants about how he has ruined the great game, Bonds shrugs it off and lounges in his recliner in the clubhouse taking a nap.

Not that Bonds does not deserve the treatment he's getting -- he's a prick. But save for a brief moment in 2005 when he was hobbled by multiple knee surgeries and admitted that he felt beat up, Bonds has defiantly spat in everyone's eye. If nothing else, I admire and respect the prick for his consistency. He's not cuddly, he's not friendly, and he sure as s*** ain't gonna be doing instructional videos for kids. Rather, he does one thing in life very well -- he hits a baseball better than anyone else in history, save for maybe five to 10 men.

However, all that aside, the reality is that we are not talking about a personal acquaintance or friend; we're talking about a ballplayer. He is someone we watch from afar, an entertainer we pay to see hit prodigious home runs and do one of the most difficult things in all of sport: hitting a small round object with a thin, round bat. And in the game's history, few have done that better than Barry Bonds.

He's an abominable bore in conversation, absolutely virulent to members of the press and dismissive to anyone who dares to engage him in conversation. Like a throwback to 17th century European royalty, Bonds carries himself with a majesterial presence that is as cocky, arrogant and empty as a retarded, inbred prince who thinks he's better than everyone else simply because of who his father is. However, in a game that ruthlessly punishes those with subpar skills, Bonds backs up his pompous act with unreal numbers that are splattered across the record books whether you like it or not. When Bonds behaves as if he's the best player in the game, he backs it up and lets you know it every f***in time he steps into the batter's box.

Remember, in the '90s, when home runs were being hit at a record pace, baseball did not even breathe the word "steroids"; instead, they began spouting horse s*** about the ball being juiced. In prominent displays of cynisism and fallacy, the commissioner's office had scientists cut baseballs open to determine whether or not they were wound too tight. No matter that Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Brady Anderson and the like were hitting home runs at a record clip while looking drastically larger than they had in previous years.

But now, with the cat out of the bag, everyone is praying that the feds bring an indictment on Bonds before he can break Aaron's record, thus saving baseball's, and Bud Selig's, collective asses. Well, sit back, eat a dick and enjoy the show, folks. Barry's going to break that record, and if he flips the bird while he rounds second base, I for one will be standing and applauding. Because for a very brief moment in time, Barry Bonds will be the most honest and real person in the world.

[Zlax45]

Chipper Jones thinks Arod might be on something also....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070809/ap_ ... 49K50LMxIF

[dbdynsty25]

Chipper Jones thinks Arod might be on something also....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070809/ap_ ... 49K50LMxIF

I guess you have trouble reading. Chipper doesn't think that...he just thinks that it will follow Rodriguez because he is going to be the next guy to take down the HR record...and also that Canseco was right with a lot of what he said in the first book, so he's gotta have something on ARod for book #2. It's all speculation. Chipper is not saying "ARod is on something" like you are alluding to.

[wco81]

I'm probably the only Giants fan here.

I'm indifferent about the record. Don't care who breaks it. Same for things like 3000 hits, 300 wins, etc.

Nor do I get pissed that he cheated. But then when Ben Johnson got busted, I thought it was understandable that he grew up poor and saw a chance to improve his lot in life and took it.

I don't get angered about all those cyclists being disqualified in the Tour de France or particularly begrudge Armstrong's success even if he cheated.

But I think however that even if there was absolutely no indication of cheating, Bonds would still have haters as he broke the record because of his persona. Nobody knows for a fact whether he abused it more than McGuire, Sosa or anyone else. But since it's him and he went on to hit more HRs (because he's a better hitter than most of them), the hate is going to intensify.

Someone was saying on the radio that you can't compare eras, even just 30 years ago. Parks were different, pitching was different (no relief specialists). There was even a claim that in Ruth's day, what would be considered ground rule doubles now were counted as HRs?

But it's Bonds and steroids so those are reasons enough for all the anger.

Glad it's over and hopefully the team will move on, not give him another $20 million and try to assemble a real team.

Oh and to add to the litany of asshole behavior, I heard audio where some Japanese reporter asked him about Sadahara Oh's 868 HRs and he just laughed at the reporter, while Oh apparently wished him luck and encouraged him to go for 800 and beyond.

[JackB1]

http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews. ... _hero.html

BARRY BONDS IS MY PERSONAL HERO

by Dick Grabowsky

I love Barry Lamar Bonds because he is baseball's worst nightmare come to life and the perfect synthesis of what the game is about today: narcisism, selfishness, blatant denial, finger-pointing, hypocrisy, greed and pompous self-congratulation.

Considering the culture we live in, one that embraces flaming assholes for their empty athletic achievements, it's only fitting we have Bonds on the cusp of breaking the most hallowed record in the history of the game -- one that is held by one of its greatest ambassadors and historical figures. Whereas baseball never deserved someone with the quiet dignity and professionalism of Henry Aaron, baseball deserves in spades everything that is Barry Bonds.

As much as I don't want to admit it, this guy is right on the money. Bonds does embody what baseball, sports in general and our country is all about these days. Greed, hypocracy, selfishness, cheating, money, etc. He is the perfect symbol what we have become. We complain about Bonds, but we continue to feed into the system that churns out little Barry Bond'es that just want to make as much money as they can, as dishonestly as they can and don't care who they piss off along the way.