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Bush

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Gibb

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You guys crack me up!

As Kurt Vonnegut famously said in his classic book, Breakfast of Champions:

This is a picture of an asshole:

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755. Well, not really, but in this era of pharmathletics, we are apparently supposed to forget Hammerin' Hank was the greatest of all time. In my book, he will always be the home run king.

Hey Barry, your team lost again. Remember them?

Pehaps he's playing for "Team PhRMA".

Awww c'mon Littlesongs, when has Barry been a team player? EVER? Even when the Giants were relevant as a franchise, winning division titles and their one lone trip to the World Series with Barry on the roster ... it wasn't because Barry led the charge in the clubhouse and on the field, that's for sure.

That said, it's really hard for me to put that asterisk by this. Barry DID play in an era of some 15-20 years where steroid use went completely unchecked in the major leagues. We will NEVER know who for sure was and was not on the juice ... and while it's obvious that Barry WAS (*cough*allegedly*cough*), how are we supposed to hold up his numbers compared to everyone else in this generation of ballplayers? What about them and their alleged feats?

And I am not just talking hitters here, there is some pretty damning evidence against a lot of pitchers that juiced too. Nobody was tested, and baseball buried its head in the sand until Congress forced the issue ... so to me it isn't that cut-and-dry.

We can take solace that Hank Aaron did it the RIGHT way ... and that in about six years, Alex Rodriguez will blow by Barry (if his health stays intact, and at his current rate of production) the RIGHT way. In the meantime, it's really hard for me to put an asterisk by this not knowing who else cheated to get there. We'd pretty much have to put an asterisk by everyone in this generation of players, and that certainly is not fair to those who DID do it fair and square.

Brian, you make some good points. My classic "Barry moment" was in the World Series against the Angels. There was a foul ball hit very near him, but he did not leg it out and it dropped untouched. The next pitch went over the fence and turned out to be the winning run. Yeah, he is a real team guy.

I think that separating the "real" stats from the "juice" stats is an easier proposition than it seems. Get a team of SABR geeks together and grok the numbers of all players between the 80s and today. Given the cyclical nature of baseball, patterns will clearly emerge.

You can easily spot a majority of the fellows who cheated without checking their hat size. For batters, sudden spikes in production show up glaringly in the stats. For pitchers, it is velocity, and often, strikeout totals.

Let me pick three random, but questionable hitters. Take a look at Brady Anderson, Bret Boone or Morgan Ensberg. What you will find is a stellar power year, followed quickly by a drop off and injuries. The most obvious and earliest examples of juicing pitchers and batters are probably the Oakland teams of the late 80s.

Fast-ballers never ever throw faster after they are 40 years old. Even Satchel Paige had to get crafty. So, when one compares a jowly funny Dad like Greg Maddux to say, an aggrestive and still built Roger Clemens, one ought to take careful note of the differences. The "buff" one never takes the ball every 5 days for a full season anymore. Hmmmm. Granted, Greg -- along with Moyer -- is a king of salad. Still, why so angry Rog? You are making millions for a couple of months.

From what I understand, this is a good formula to out any given user: Steroids are taken in cycles. A week on followed by a week off is the usual pattern. This pattern is detectable in statistics for all baseball players regardless of position. It would be easy enough to crunch the numbers and ask direct, but private questions of athletes who are suspected of use. Selig is an idiot for not figuring all this out. Instead, he keeps sending Mitchell on a fruitless whistle stop tour of hushed clubhouses.

The mysterious "season enders" and season starting "nagging injuries" also seem odd. I hate to disparage any player who is actually hurt, but isn't it curious that some really big stars have spent as much time on the DL as they would have for a banned substance suspension? In some cases, I have wondered if it is a "safety net" created by the teams to shelter superstar abusers that are caught. That is just my own theory.

Today, I watched Glavine win his 300th game. Tom is a guy who has stayed fit, but he really doesn't really look that much different than he did as a rookie. Craig Biggio set some marks this past year too. Hell, he still looks like a rookie. These fellows obviously played by the rules. I hope they both go to the Hall. They've earned it.

The feeble Nats are in the City by the Bay tomorrow. Selling out a game with inflated ticket prices between two struggling last place teams could only happen with steroids.

You can hit 755+.
You can hit 70+ in one year.
But you can't help your team out of the cellar!!!

I'd rather be in 1st place than hit 756 anyday.

So would the most of us Trixter ... nut Barry is in it for Barry.

The good news is ... 5 years from now, Alex Rodriguez will break Barry Bonds' record, and that asterisk will pass into history.

C'mon, A-Rod!

"and that asterisk will pass into history."

Or at least appear in USA Today as one of the Top 25 Sporting Asterisks.

In passing by the B.H.O.F. the other day I wondered how long before they start construction of the Substance Usage Wing

LOL @ Roger & Skep!

Lie #756 left the yard tonight in a loss to the visiting Nationals. Mike Bacsik challenged him and got burnt on a full count fastball, but he was really classy about it. He became the 446th pitcher to give up a roundtripper to Bonds.

It was surreal seeing Hammerin' Hank congratulating Barry. He looked like 'Big Brother' on the JumboTron in center field.

Barry is not the first Giant fraud to be enshrined in Cooperstown. Before steroids, America was duped by the Cardiff Giant:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/NYCOOgiant.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Giant

I saw this classic hoax when I was a kid. That trip was capped with a tour of the hallowed Hall. I remember hoping Pete Rose would break Ty Cobb's record and be inducted someday. Some things never change -- even when the sport changes.

Take away the games he played while taking steroids and he ain't nothing....Hank Aaron is the all-time home run king. And....Hank was a team player and not a glory hound! Ever see the movie Mr. Baseball.....I can see the movie already...

Bonds...Barry Bonds in "The Bat that Kracked"

While I strongly suspect Bonds used illegal drugs, to enable his ability, I dont know for a fact thats true. And just like I know Whity Ford threw spitters, he was never caught in a game.

They are both great athletes, who thrived in a "Just win baby" environment.

Oh for godsakes Nookie, HAVe you seen pics of Bonds a few years back, and then current pics of him today!! There is NO way he could get that big, even if he worked out twice a day, 7 days a week. Its completely obvious that he is taking Roids.

Beano, have you looked at pictures of anyone when they were 22 and then 42? Men and especially athletes get bigger as they age. Now, I'm not saying Barry did not use roids, but at this point, it has not been proven to be true, so all it is at this time is speculation. Speculation often ends up being wrong. If he did use roids, he'd be better off to just admit it now rather than continue to dodge the question.

To quote someone I heard on the Dennis Miller show, "I swear on my shrunken testicles that I never took steroids..."

The equipment manager from the Pirates compared notes with the equipment manager for the Giants a few years back. From my understanding, Barry went from tucking an Afro under his helmet to a bald dome, yet somehow his head increased two full sizes. Hmmmm.

Curious about abuse in the game? This report from ESPN ought to erase any doubts:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=steroids&num=1

Bud Selig sucks!

In reaction to new Federal laws, Fay Vincent banned steroids in a memo in 1991. This was before Bud Selig brought undue influence to the plantation bosses by being both a commish and owner at the same time, before the non-season of 1994 and before Sosa, McGwire and Bonds broke the record held by Maris. Selig has screwed things up so bad that we now have the Boys of November, unchecked speed freaks like Randy Johnson, and a record book full of doubts.

Oh, just to make the suckage complete, Selig was the fellow who took the Pilots away from Seattle and moved them to Milwaukee. There is only one silver lining to that story: A young sportscaster named Bill called that first -- and only -- season of games. Unfortunately, he was out of a job when the team left town. Bill was really good, so he signed on with another expansion team, the Portland Trailblazers. In a really roundabout way, we can thank Bud for The Schonz.

Whitey Ford is included as an honorable mention in Rob Neyer's top ten suspected cheaters in baseball. The only Hall of Fame member to wear a Mariners uniform, Gaylord Perry, ranked seventh:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/cheat/columns/story?columnist=neyer_rob&id=296504 6

I remember a few years back that a few of the Mariners from 1982 were joking about Gaylord Perry during a broadcast. One of them -- Julio Cruz? -- said that the ball from Perry's 300th win was so slippery, that when he fielded it and stepped on second for the final out, he continued in a sprint to the clubhouse. After a quick swaperoo, the Hall of Fame got the "gameball" and Gaylord kept the real one.

As I understand it, Perry was fond of using KY jelly. Later M's pitchers were helped out on balls hit to outfielder, Jay Buhner. Bone used to keep a nice gob of pine tar on his pants, and goop the ball up a little before he tossed it back to the infield.

Yes, this stuff is cheating, but in a traditional way. Burleigh Grimes -- the last pitcher authorized to hurl spitters -- was not buddy buddy with a high tech lab run by wealthy mad scientists. Calling steroids a part of the tradition of rule-bending is just plain silly.

Barry is slowly turning his brain into pine tar. Steriods have a nasty habit of making somebody go bezerk! Just ask the owner of a feedstore who was disabled by a Clackamas Co Sheriff Deputy pumped up on steriods.

Have a clear day!

"Have a clear day!"

What if I want a CREAM day?!?

******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ************and going. For all homeruns hit after 1999.

Barry Bonds takes it in the A$$:

http://www.tshirthell.com/store/product.php?productid=678

LOL Mrs Merkin....Thanks for the link I actually think I will try to buy one. Barry couldn't hold Henry Aarons' jock strap....