Like Barry Bonds, my birthday is this week.  Each year my family goes through this ritual complaining because they say that they don’t know what dad wants for his birthday.  No matter how many times I tell them, “I like fishing rods, power tools, and camping equipment,” my wife insists that she has no clue about what I like.  In fact, every year she waits until the last day before she goes out and buys me clothes or some other thing that I have to smile and pretend to like.  I suppose I am like most dads and it really doesn’t matter what they get me because in the end I can always go out and buy my own rod, but if my wife would really just listen she could have bought the right gift weeks ago.  That got me to thinking about what Barry really wants for his birthday.  Here are just a few suggestions I would give to the important people in Barry’s life.

Kimberly Bell:  An autographed copy of her Playboy.  It’s not like Bell hasn’t already given Bonds enough trouble.  After she broke up his first marriage, she continued to be his mistress throughout his second marriage, only to turn against him once she was spurned.   In it she could say, “Thanks for the hooters, they really have come in handy lately!”

Gary Sheffield:  Former friend and work out partner of Bonds should continue to say stupid things to the press in order to deflect any criticism Barry may get.  Funny how Sheffield trained with Bonds and was also a Balco client, but steroid allegations with him just sort of waft away like a puff of smoke.  Yet, I can’t help but feel sorry for Gary because he appears to be one of the most bitter athletes I have ever seen play the game.  No one has ever treated him right.  Not the Dodger, the Braves, the Yankkees, and in a year or two the Tigers.  He never has anything good to say about anyone.  Maybe the best gift Barry can receive from Gary is to just not say anything.

 

MLB Writers:  Enough votes to get into the HOF.  After all, the HOF has other known cheats in it.  ####lord Perry immediately comes to mind.  He routinely used Vaseline to throw his famous pitch and even bragged about it often, yet he is still in those hallowed halls.

 

Roger Clemens:  He could test positive for steroids thereby further proving that pitchers take steroids just as much as hitters.  It would also show the double standard when Clemens would immediately be ignored while Barry is still persecuted. 

 

Hank Aaron:  Aaron should try to be in attendance for the big game.  He alone could go along way in helping people to accept the new record.  After all, Aaron had some help when he started taking “greenies” in a down HR year.

 

Bud Selig:  An admission to being at least partly culpable in the whole steroids debacle.  It was on Selig’s watch that baseball players ballooned over night, but as long as they were hitting the long ball and brought fans back to the game, Bud turned a blind eye.  Now he wants Barry to take all the blame.  It would be such a nice present if Bud just accepted part of the blame. (Selig, pictured at right,  doing his best imitation of Homer Simpson)

 

There you have it.  Just a few of the gifts that would make Barry smile on his 43rd birthday.  For me, turning 44, I would just enjoy that fishing rod and a chance to use it with my two boys. 

 

SoCalSportsFan

One of my all time favorite television series is The X Files.  While most of it was pure fiction, it always left you thinking there was a possibility that more was happening behind the scenes than what we really knew.  This is the first installment of a series of posts on players that I think have had much more happen behind the scenes than what we have been led to believe. 

Much speculation abounds about Barry Bonds and most of it has been derived by the Balco scandal.  The thing that gets me is not that people hate Barry because they believe he cheated, but that somehow they do not express the same hate towards other players whose numbers are unbelievable for their age.  Take Hank Aaron for example.  People do not want to even explore the possibility that Hammerin Hank’s numbers are inflated by steroids or other chemical enhancers, but the reality is that they probably are.  For those whose minds are not closed to those possibilities, let’s delve into the evidence.

 

Testimony by Tom House implicates Aaron:

The San Francisco Chronicle, in a May 3rd 2005 article quoted former Major League pitcher Tom House of the Atlanta Braves as saying that steroids were rampant in the game in the late '60s and throughout the '70s.

House, perhaps best known for catching Hank Aaron's 715th home run ball in 1974 in the Atlanta Braves bullpen, said he and several teammates used amphetamines, human growth hormone and 'whatever steroid' they could find in order to keep up with the competition.

"I pretty much popped everything cold turkey', House said. "We were doing steroids they wouldn't give to horses. That was the '60s when nobody knew. The good thing is, we know now. There's a lot more research and understanding." 

 "I actually think that the game is cleaner today than when I was playing,'' says former major league pitcher Tom House, who pitched in the 1970s and was later Nolan Ryan's pitching coach. House says that he used steroids because "In my case, I was doing everything I could just to survive, but the steroid use ended up backfiring on him....Every generation of players -- the '20s, '30s, '40s on up -- everybody was looking for a way to get the most out of their bodies, and they took whatever they possibly could. It was almost expected. . . " 

Testimony from Representative Henry Waxman

In 1973, the year I first ran for Congress, the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce concluded a year-long investigation that found--and I quote--"drug use exists...in all sports and levels of competition...In some instances, the danger of improper drug use--primarily amphetamines and anabolic steroids--can only be described as alarming". Bowie Kuhn, and the powers that be at the time, quietly squashed the entire tawdry episode and with good reason: it would cast su####ions on an African-American slugger who was challenging one of baseball's most cherished records: The career record for home runs.

 

Statistical Analysis

Hank Aaron’s homerun totals may not arouse su####ion to the casual observer, but when you look at the rate he hit his homeruns, and at what age he hit them,  they suddenly become very dubious.  At age 40 in his 23rd season, Aaron had his highest HR percentage of his entire career.  He also led the majors in HR percentage for three years straight as a 38, 39, and 40 year old.  This is quite the accomplishment for someone who should be declining in power rather than increasing in performance as they age.  Coincidentally, two of Aaron’s team mates had huge spikes in power that year as well.  Davy Johnson and Darrell Evans both went from hitting HR totals in the teens to 41 and 43 respectively only to drop in 1974.  (For a more detailed analysis of his HR percentages follow this link to the article on Steroid Nation)

While you may not want to believe that Aaron used steroids or amphetamines, one can not argue with Aaron’s own admission that he tried greenies.  In his book, I Had a Hammer, Aaron states,

 

"Actually the 1968 season wasn't the best time to present my case. It was the first time since my rookie year that I didn't drive in or scored 100 runs. I was so frustrated that at one point I tried using a greenie that one of my teamates gave me."

 

Some will say that Aaron's own admission to using one greenie does not prove he used amphetamines or anything else, but the fact is that as early as 1968 Aaron was experimenting.  Experience tells me that people who admit to doing something once probably did it alot more.  Do you really think he would come out and say that he used steroids or greenies now and ruin his entire reputation?  This statement begins to sound more and more like Rafael Palmeiro to me.  For those who seek the truth, they can find solace in the immortal words of Agent Fox Mulder,

 

 “The truth is out there.”

 What you do with it is entirely up to you!

 

SoCalSportsFan

 

*All information is linked to the articles that I used to research this post.*

Lucky for me, I just picked up Barry for my fantasy league.  One of the other guys who had him said he could not stand that Barry plays every other day and dropped him.  That was my queue to snap him up.  Barry helps with your on base percentage and HR's.  He has hit two this week for me. 

This is Barry's line from yesterday.  One of the walks was intentional.  Of course on Friday they walked him intentionally with the bases loaded.  He still draws more walks than any other player and only plays in half the games.

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	RBI	TB	BB	K	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG
B Bonds LF	2	2	2	1	0	1	0	0	3	6	3	0	0	.252	.473	.516

He has the highest OPS on his team and the highest Slugging percentage.  This is from a guy who is not in the lineup for every game.  In fact, he was told he was getting the day off today and he insisted on playing.  I am pretty sure Alou is glad he let him start.  Bonds still has one of the sweetest swings in baseball and he appears to me to be getting healthier every day. 

His knee does not look like it is bothering him that much as he made two spectacular catches this week, (One pictured above) and even stole a base on Wednesday.  Could it be he wants to impress the Oakland A’s so he can DH for them next year?  Maybe that is why he did not want to miss a game in this series.  Who knows for sure, but Aaron better watch out because a new sheriff is coming to town.

SoCalSportsFan

Babe Ruth was a great player in his day.  I say in his day because to deny that it was a different era in baseball is to be ignorant of facts that are indisputable.  Facts like the short porch in Yankee stadium where he hit most of his HR’s or facts like his lack of top quality pitchers to hit against.  I can not say how great he would be today facing middle relievers, setup men, and closers that were non-existent in the 1920’s, but he was one of the best who ever put on cleats and swung a bat.  To deny that would be absurd.  Ruth will always be a legend and in some people’s eyes he is the only player that matters: 714

Henry Aaron was also a great player.  "Hammerin Hank" as he was called was a model of consistency, hitting 20 plus homeruns for 20 of the 23 seasons he played.  Most seasons he had over 30 HR’s.  He also endured the kind of hate from racists that no man should have to encounter.  Aaron had to live and work under the cloud of hate that threatened his very family.  As he approached the record that Babe Ruth had left, the hatred for this man increased exponentially.  755

Barry Bonds is still a great player.   The fact that a RF with a good arm can throw him out on any normal single to that field and yet pitchers still walk him is unbelievable.  He has had 2 hits in his last 22 at bats and yet he was walked 9 times.  He bat is still feared.  Whether you like Barry or not, his numbers prior to the steroids era were HOF and he will enter in as a first ballot hall of famer.  His numbers speak for themselves.  713

So where does “racism” rear its ugly head in this whole debate.  I have seen many people who deny that racism should even be a part of the discussion when it comes to Bonds.  They say things like he is egotistical and his blatant disregard for the fans is why he is disliked.  I am sure that Barry’s actions are responsible for some of the hate that is out there but there is still another component of racism lurking just beneath the surface that many refuse to see.  The fact that as Barry has approached 714 and as he passes it by, which he will, people still regard Babe Ruth as the all time HR leader is an example of covert racism.  People will not acknowledge it and I am sure others will deny it when they read this post, but the fact is that when people say that Babe Ruth will always be the leader they are dismissing the accomplishments of Hank Aaron and not Barry Bonds.  The racism is not directed towards Bonds but toward Aaron.  The mere fact that Bonds is still compared to Ruth with each at bat shows that the world has not accepted the feat that Aaron established back in 1974.  It is time we moved on and put an end to this charade.  Aaron is the real HR champion and who knows if Bonds will ever pass him.    We know he will pass Babe Ruth for the number TWO spot sometime soon, probably this month.  Barry may play one more year as a DH and have a shot at the all time record, but that is not a certainty.  Personally, I would love to see George Steinbrenner fork over 20 million a year and have Barry DH for the Yankees.  Talk about poetic justice! 75?

SoCalSportsFan