I was just thinking to myself, 'Self?  You know what isn't being talked about much these days?  Barry Bonds.  I think I'll write a blog about Barry Bonds.'

If this was 1986, maybe that would be true.  The fact that in 1986 there was no internet, therefore no blogs, and I was 15, make that wholly unlikely.  But after a short discussion I heard on sports show "X", I had to think, 'What would I do if I was at the game when Bonds hits 714 or 715?  Or what will I do in my house/bar/laundromat when it happens?' 

His next two series are on the road, in Milwaukee and Philly.  The consensus in the discussion I heard was that they'll respectfully cheer, mixed with some boos, if it happens in Milwaukee.  If it happens in Philadelphia, the city with some of the rowdiest and most bitter fans in the nation, there'll be more boos and general rudeness than cheers.  I remember how I felt when I saw him hit number 700 -- a creepy mix of awe and disgust.  Sort of like watching a documentary about cockfights; you alternately go, "Wow, that chicken kicks ass!" and "What a freakin' horrible aberration of nature."  And you feel like you need a shower afterward when you realize that you actually enjoyed even five seconds of it.  Again, much the way I feel after watching Barry lift one out of the yard.

But still.... when I watched Bonds hit 5, 6, and 700, and even when I watch him now, I can't help that feeling of awe, just as a fan of the game itself.  'Roids or no 'roids, that man can hit.  Hard.  And often.  And better than everybody else.  This is as far as I'll go as any sort of Bonds apologist:  the more that has come out about how widespread steroid use was during the era, the more you have to realize that Bonds still accomplished what he did when half the league was taking the same substances he was.  What upsets us so much is that we feel that he reached those achievements by having an unfair advantage.  But when you find out that practically everybody else -- even (and especially) pitchers -- was on the same juice, you have to realize that the playing field wasn't quite as uneven as we may have thought.  When it's all said and done, Bonds will be looked at as the hands-and-needles-down best hitter of the steroids era, and one of the greatest of all time.  As soon as Bonds pitches 13 scoreless innings in a World Series game, then he can surpass The Babe as the greatest.

So what will I do when he hits 714 and 715?  Probably not much.  Whether you love Bonds or hate him, you'll still be watching one of the biggest moments in baseball history.  And because baseball is baseball, you'll also be watching a part of American history.  I probably won't boo, or cheer, or denounce Barry Bonds, or praise him.  I'll just sit back and say, "Wow."