Posted on 09/16/2005 11:15:51 AM PDT by JZelle
The joylessness of Barry Bonds is immutable now. His return in pursuit of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron is made of radioactive stuff. His undertaking is hard to embrace. It smacks of wrong. The fun is absent amid the clearing of throats. Bonds now lives in his imaginary bunker to ward off the slings and arrows of the BALCO scandal. He is the victim, of course. He is both the victim of BALCO and an unsympathetic national press that sees his exploits through the lens of race. His is an understandable gambit. What else does he have to play? More convoluted dialogue is certain to follow. See the problem? His chase is supposed to be a celebration of the game, a testament of a player's quest to surpass one of the most hallowed marks in sports.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The race argument is very weak.
Bonds is a fraud. No one doubts he was on steroids and as far as I'm concerned his records should all be nullified.
He's a cheater like the rest of them, so who cares how many he hits because we know about 250 of them are fake. You can't go up in hat size after the age of 35 w/out taking roids. It was obvious to anyone who was watching with open eyes.
No, the negative attention he receives is not because of race, but because everyone you ask will tell you he is a Class A Jerk and thus doesn't bring any positive press or attention upon himself.
His teammates hate him, his opponents hate him, and those who he is in contact with on a daily basis hate him.
I agree with you. Hank Aaron hit at leats 20 homers a year, for 20 consecutive years. That is the new standard for greatness. Match that and I'll be impressed.
....but he'll never escape the judgement of the majority of baseball fans.
As a ten year old in 1955, Hank Aaron was my favorite player. He still is!
He had amazing staying power; a relentless, consistant performer who earned his place in baseball history.
That can't be said of Barry Bonds. And here's another thing Barry, you're dad was a better ballplayer.
Bull Streisand! His exploits are seen through the lens of artificially enhanced steriod strength. Race has nothing to do with it.
As Warner Wolf pointed out on WABC this morning, Adruw Jones just became the first player to hit 50 HRs in a season since before MLB started testing for steroids.
I don't care what any player does on steroids. It just does not matter to me, and it never will. They are not human achievements anymore.
I can go into my garage and cobble together a potato gun that can shoot a baseball a half a mile. I am interested in what a man can do with a bat.
If Bonds was a white guy, he'd still be an a**hole.
A lot of previously productive guys have taken a big fall this year. Giambi seems to have found his bearings and his natural ability is carrying him. He's a slimer dude for sure.
Others who are looking mighty suspicious include guys like Mike Lowell. He was cut last year, muscles rippling from jaw to shin. He got a huge contract for his ability to mash. Now he's a soft looking piece of slag, baseball ability-wise. Ditto guys like Gonzo and Boonie and my own boy Baggie. Guys may or may not have been juicing but they are definitely different physically from years past. The difinition in the forearms and jaw is gone. These guys used to be beasts.
And it's all BUSH'S FAULT!
/sarcasm
OK, Eddie Murray of the Orioles then (barf!) Dodgers.
Typo of the Day Award.
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