Stumble it!
Newsday -Barry Bonds is not a victim, and he’s not caught up in some expertly coordinated, widespread conspiracy to keep him out of baseball. That discussion needs to stop before it picks up any more steam now that the Diamondbacks, like the Mets and Tigers before them, have decided Bonds isn’t the answer to their problems, even if the all-time home run king is still sitting out there, unemployed, as the All-Star break approaches and the division races heat up.
When it comes to Bonds, some people also would have you believe that the lack of interest in him is a mystery. But it’s not. They ask how a guy with a career on-base percentage of .444 who’s coming off a season in which he had 28 homers and 66 RBIs in only 340 at-bats could be unable to find work. But the answer is easy.
Bonds has a right to work. And that right should be defended to the last. But look: He’s facing perjury and obstruction-of-justice raps. He’s a guy with cranky knees who turns 44 in 13 days, is supposedly off the juice and hasn’t faced a live fastball since last fall — all facts that raise legitimate performance issues about what a team could expect from him, especially in the National League, where he’d have to play in the field.
It’s not even especially hypocritical that some teams (OK, a lot of teams) don’t want to sign Bonds simply because he’s an unlikable guy. That happens all the time to talented people in all sorts of professions. They can’t relate to co-workers. They torture management and bring down the workplace atmosphere. Maybe they do something that causes embarrassment and they’re not welcome anymore.
Article continued here > Barry Bonds
Loading ...
