[My Favorite Headache]

What amazes me is if you watch Costas Now this past week with a roundtable of former players...they ALL said including Mike Schmidt that if steroids were popular and around when they played...they would have taken them as well.

All defenders of Barry.

I for one think he probably did roid up...but what he is accomplishing in the last 2-3 years under so much scrutiny...I am giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he is passing Ruth's record on legit power and talent.

[Ruth A.]

There are times when recognizing our humanity is good. This is not an example to me. If Bonds used steroids en route to the home run title, then I can't take his efforts seriously.

[Cyclopean Squid]

I for one think he probably did roid up...but what he is accomplishing in the last 2-3 years under so much scrutiny...I am giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he is passing Ruth's record on legit power and talent.

Bonds isn't exactly having a stellar year. And he isn't really passing Ruth's record on legit power and talent. Say I am participating in a marathon. I ride in a car for the first 25 miles, then hop out and do the last one on my own. I win easily. You can't say that I won it legitimately. If Bonds cheated in the past, his current accomplishments cannot stand.

The sad part is that if he didn't cheat, he would still have been one of the greats. Aaron's record would have been safe (at least until A-Rod and Pujols), but he would have been the best all-around player of his generation. Now he's just a tainted joke.

[Trust but Verify]

So it won't matter to you if hundreds of the HR were due to steroid use as long as the last 50 were 'legit'. That's a crappy argument.

[Mr. Jeeves]

What amazes me is if you watch Costas Now this past week with a roundtable of former players...they ALL said including Mike Schmidt that if steroids were popular and around when they played...they would have taken them as well.

Everybody wants to forget that part - that a sizable number of pitchers Bonds got those homeruns off of were also using performance-enhancing drugs.

The level playing field - and no MLB rule against steroid usage at the time mean that any talk of an asterisk is just ludicrous envy. Bonds' HR numbers are 100% legitimate given the environment he operated in. Steroids didn't help him hit more or longer home runs, they just kept him off of the DL...which is why he isn't likely to catch Aaron at this point. He's got too many nagging injuries and permanent knee problems.

[BlackRazor]

they ALL said including Mike Schmidt that if steroids were popular and around when they played...they would have taken them as well.

Well, Mike Schmidt admitted in his recent book that he took amphetamines early in his career, and said that they did help reduce fatigue, especially late in the season. Former pitcher Jeff Brantley said that when he played (1988-2001) he estimated about 75% of players used "greenies". In 1985, Dale Berra and Dave Parker testified in court that they got amphetamines from Willie Stargell, and John Milner testified that Willie Mays used amphetamines. The bottom line is that athletes have always looked for an edge, and always will.