Barry Bonds is leading the NL in home runs, did steroids really matter that much after all?

He's got six already and should have Aaron's record by mid-June. If he pumps out sixty bombs this year, steroid free, will the whole steroid fiasco still matter?
Should they put an asterisk by his name in the record books?

Regardless of steroids he's still the best hitter ever.

Peace

This is a subject that I only expect baseball people to understand, and I expect to be flamed for this. None the less, here we go.

Bond was already in the hall-of-fame before the 1998 season (arguably). This I think many people can understand.

Anyways, about his hitting. People outside of baseball dont relise that Bond's may have the best vision & hand-eye coordination of anyone playing the game before him. I heard once that Bonds used to train as a younger hitter by hitting marbles with a broom stick.... Can you hit marbles with a broom stick for average? Bonds can.

If, bonds did the juice, if. All it would have done is add a couple more feet to his long ball, thats about it. The juice doesnt make your vision better, or make your hand-eye better (Bulking up could actually hurt your swing by loosing range of motion). Like I said, it would help him get those home runs to the off field fence a little more often and such...

But like your topic here points to, hes definatly (surly he doesnt have enough balls to be on the juice now, if he was before) not on the juice now. So how can you explain him still hitting home runs? Well I already answered that above.

Bonds Eye's & Vision is just a level better than all others.
Bonds Hand-eye-coordination is superior to most.

I hope he puts out a good 40-50+ this year just to shut all those jackasses who dont know anything about Baseball up once and for all.

Because he's still on something. Maybe its not illegal, but he's on something right now. I hate that guy too, maybe that helps that he a friggen

Originally posted by Royal76
Because he's still on something. Maybe its not illegal, but he's on something right now. I hate that guy too, maybe that helps that he a friggen

See, this is the type of person I was talking about.

Cant bring any stats, facts or anything to the table other than... "I hate guy too" and "Hes still on drugs".

This will be a good way to find out who knows something about baseball, and who is just posting for the BTS points. Like the above guy.

Bonds...

The guy is one of the greatest athletes who ever killed. One of the biggest jerks as well, but that is irrelevant. I don't like the guy for several reasons, and steroids is the least of which. Baseball is a team sport. I don't care if you hit 75 home runs a year, 400+ average, and 50+ stolen bases, you can not win by yourself. You can have have a .1000 fielding percentage, none of it matters. You need eight other guys with you to ever succeed. This is something that Bonds has failed to understand.

Stories of Bonds surrounding himself in the Club House with a "clique" that had nothing to do with the team, in order to avoid talking to coaches, teammates, etc., is ridiculous. I'd take a David Eckstein over Bonds any day. Talent wins ball games, heart wins championships.

I don't want to see this record fall, but it will. And guess what, seems like the only people to notice are going to be outside of the baseball world.

Selig won't attend, Aaron won't attend, and the same can be said for other "Baseball Gods". It's a shame really, because this is the greatest record in all of sports. The sanctity of the home run record in a season has been spoiled, and Bonds is about to do the same to the all-time record.

Remember Aaron passing Ruth? Stadium going crazy, people storming the field, absolute pandemonium.

How funny would it be if Bonds broke the record in Atlanta? Ahhh that would be worth watching.

As for the six bombs this year proving anything, they prove nothing. Proves that Bonds is an amazing ball player, which we already knew. Just shows that people don't care anymore and are actually pitching to him.

You want impressive? How about that E-Rod, I mean A-Fraud.. no I mean A-Rod belting twelve already? Or the Bo-Sox going back-to-back-to-back-to-back. That's Impressive!

It astonishes me that some people don't think Bonds' juicing matters, or that they say, "If he cheated"--tantamout to saying, "If the sun will rise in the east tomorrow...."

I have written over 10,000 words on this subject at 2 other sites, replete with factual/statistical discussions. At 3:30 a.m. and counting, I won't do so again right now. But here are 3 facts:

(1) Bonds NEVER hit a home run over 450 feet before June of 2000, except 3 seriously wind-blown balls. Then, 2 months before his 36th birthday, he magically found a fountain of youth and started hitting them by the dozen (over 3 dozen now, I understand). NOBODY could be gullible enough to believe that's legit. Every player except knuckleballers goes into decline at about that age, give or take a few years, unless he's cheating with PED's (performance enhancing drugs). It's ludicrous to think that at that age, Bonds legitimately changed from being: (1) the best combination of power and speed since Willie Mays, which he was prior to 2000; to (2) Babe Ruth, Jr. Nobody who understands baseball or athletics in general could believe in such a huge quantitative AND qualitative metamorphasis.

(2) Before 2000, Bonds never had a season which could be compared with Ruth's many great ones. Before 2001, he never had a season slugging average of .690 or higher. Babe Ruth's CAREER slugging average was .690--over .700 if you don't count the Dead Ball years. Then PRESTO, he breaks Ruth's single-season slugging record--one of the most untouchable in sports--and later has another .800+ slugging season. They are, of course, the only two guys in the .800 slugging club, and Bonds tossed in a .799 and .749, for good measure. He's not close to Ruth's # of .700 seasons, and his career slugging average is 80 points behind Ruth's (not crediting Ruth for what the dead ball did to him), but he's suddenly shot up at a geriatric age into one of MLB's most exclusive clubs: The Career .600 Slugging Club--Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, Bonds (Pujols' career is too short); Foxx (.609); and Greenberg (.605). If you think he accomplished that sea change at that age, without cheating his brains out, I have swampland for sale and my nephew would like to discuss the Easter Bunny with you.

(3) I agree Bonds was a legit Hall of Famer--and then some--before he began cheating. By great fortune, Bill James wrote after the 1999 season that Bonds was the 14th greatest MLB player of all-time... assuming his career was over and he would never play again. Everyone else I know thinks that's an overstatement, but I don't. Of the 13 MLB players James has listed ahead of Bonds-thru-1999, there are 3 you could make an unbiased, rational case for putting behind him: Walter Johnson, Morgan and the overrated Wagner. Of those, I have only Johnson behind Bonds-thru-1999, but you can make a case with the other 2, also. Of those James has behind Bonds-thru-1999, I can see making cases for putting ahead Lefty Grove (plus credit for 5 stolen seasons from 1920-1924), Schmidt, Hornsby and Frank Robinson ahead of Bonds-thru-1999. But Grove is the only one of them I rate ahead of Bonds-thru-1999, and despite Grove's phenomenal 9 ERA titles in 17 years spent in hitters' parks, and ludicrous W-L figures, I would have Bonds ahead of him if I weren't giving him credit for seasons Dunn stole from him.

So I understand how great Bonds was. He belongs in the Hall, slam dunk--unlike guys whose "greatness" rests on b.s. stats (McGwire, Sosa). And he was a LATEcomer to cheating, which many have forgotten. But with his blatant PED use--and please, nobody say he might not be on HGH now; they ALL are, and it's blatant in his case--you shouldn't take his post-1999 stats seriously. I sure don't.

I rate him higher than any baseball fan I know in real life. He was a great player thru '99, and I don't think he cheated until then. But better than Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Williams, Mantle, Musial, Gehrig, etc.? Ha ha ha.

Big Papi joins me...

In being a Barry Bonds apologist.

Count David Ortiz among those who isn't convinced Barry Bonds used illegal performance-enhancing drugs -- or if they really helped the San Francisco Giants outfielder make his run at Hank Aaron's home run record.

"To hit the ball, the guy makes it look easy, but it ain't. I don't know how you can have that swing, consistently. I don't know how steroids can do that," Ortiz told the Boston Herald. "There are supposed to be guys using steroids in the game, and there's nobody close to Barry Bonds. What's that mean? He was using the best [stuff]? Know what I'm saying?"

sports.espn.go.com...

I'd say David Ortiz knows a thing or two about hitting home runs. I just don't believe there's any drug, or supplement that can help you hit home runs. What drug lets you see the ball better, or define the strike zone? There isn't one, nor is there one that will help you anticipate a pitch type in a certain count.

As for Bond's size increase, I'm two months older than him, and I gained over 50 pounds since 1999 (I weighed in at 226 this morning, with a 33 inch waist at 5' 11") and no one has said to me that I must be juicing (I am though, a least one bottle of wine a night ).

If there was something I could take to hit big league pitching, or to beat an NFL OT to the QB, or hit 40% beyond the arc I would have done it, but it's just a dream. The players that do it have something the rest of us don't... Talent.

Roid Monkeys, not just for the all time ban record anymore...

[edit on 8/5/2007 by Mirthful Me]

You know MM, it's funny you bing up David Ortiz. Let's take a look at the back of his baseball card:

sports.yahoo.com...

Now let's look at the back of Bonds' baseball card:

sports.yahoo.com...

Notice a similarity? I would say that Ortiz's offensive jump as his career progressed was more glaring. No, I'm not saying Ortiz was on the juice, I'm just attributing it to maturity. Now, there is the matter of that number "73", do I think Bonds was juicing that year, most definitely, juicing just like McGwire before him. That's as far as I'm willing to go as far as the steroid issue goes.

Peace

Originally posted by Mirthful Me
The players that do it have something the rest of us don't... Talent.

One of the reasons I love this site is that it allows me to voice an opinion on any number of topics about which I know little.

And on that note- no, whatever substance Barry was/is using, didn't help him make contact more often. But I believe (knowing nothing) that what the juicing did do at minimum was increase his strengh to add significant power onto his hits. A long fly out suddenly becomes a splashdown in McCovey Cove.

MM, those are some impressive stats you've compiled. Can I assume your hat size didn't go up appreciably? 'Cause Barry's noggin has approached the size where we should be expecting satellites to orbit it.

I don't think anyone (maybe the Billy Meier believer types) could actually honestly suggest Barry's been clean. The question is, has it helped his hitting stats? And I think the statistics bear out that it in fact, has.

Read BHN's well-researched point #2 above

Yes, he's as talented a hitter as this era's had, which is all the more reason to be sad at his need to dope up.

Baseball, more than any other sport, is about the statistics. And while I don't share the desire or ability to wax as poetically or with the religious fervor as a George Will about the sanctity of baseball, I do think it's a damn shame and a blemish.

I believe Bonds has juiced, just as McGuire, Sosa, Palmeiro, etc., all did as well.

However, I have no respect for McGuire whatsoever. When confronted with the question, you have two options. Fess up, or lie through your teeth. Bonds has repeatedly denied any connections to any illegal substance, Sosa has publicly denied his, and well, Raffy really stuck his foot in his mouth. Since he was the only one who has been caught, and has denied his involvement, it looks bad.

Bonds and Sosa have denied it, bu they've not tested positive, so one is left to speculate.

So while I do not like either of them, I do respect them for having the beans to make a stand.

Of the four, I suspect Bonds may be the only one to ever reach the hall. And that is a maybe. McGuire will not make it, and he's already been passed up. Sosa, even without a positive test, should never make it. Amid all of these doping allegations, we already know he is a cheater. He was caught red handed with a corked bat. If he's using a corked bat, he obviously has no respect for the game.

And, poor Raffy. Better all around ball player than McGuire & Sosa, and one of the best of all time, but probably never even considered the best on his team. Always underrated, and finally had a moment of glory with his achievements, only to have then immediately tainted with a positive test.

He'll never make his way to Cooperstown either.

Originally posted by Mirthful Me
I'd say David Ortiz knows a thing or two about hitting home runs. I just don't believe there's any drug, or supplement that can help you hit home runs. What drug lets you see the ball better, or define the strike zone? There isn't one, nor is there one that will help you anticipate a pitch type in a certain count.

My father and I love baseball. The two of us coach it and compete for a national title with fifteen and sixteen year old kids every year. Very competitive ball, and we analyze it to death. He has repeatedly made this stance. Steroids is only making them stronger, it doesn't help them hit the ball.

And let's face it. Trying to hit a round ball, traveling at 100 mph, with a round object, 'tis no easy feat. However, the guy on the end of the bench who never see's the field, and serves drinks for the "regulars" during the seventh inning stretch, he can hit the ball 500 feet and turn on a Roger Clemens 100mph inside fastball. Every major leaguer has the raw talent to hit a home run. They all have the talent to perform at a level that some of us dream, on a regular basis.

But this substance does give them the strength that is required to hit the ball even farther. Combine the talent that they already have, with the strength that the steroids give them, well that is the formula for a year of 70+ home runs.

Strength is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to batting. Hand Eye coordination, swing, shifting your weight, etc., are all major factors. But these guys have all that already. With Bonds, he would hit 50 homeruns a year, but probably fly out on the warning track 30 times a year. Suddenly those "warning track" shots are all flying over the fence.

They are suddenly flying way, way, way the hell over the fences. And that's an even bigger giveaway than the twice-as-big head, the heart palpitations, etc.

But the idea PED's only make you a better HR hitter is obviously false. How many balls does a team hit, in the course of a season, which would have been singles, doubles or triples if only they were hit harder, but which instead were cut off by an infielder or outfielder? I don't know the answer, but I know it's a very big number. And just as a cheat who gets under balls will hit a lot more HR's than before, he'll also get a lot more non-HR hits on balls he hits on the nose or slightly above it. That's too clear to require elaboration, which is why Bonds' batting average went through the roof. Hell, the other night I saw him hit a rocket through a lopsided infield, and they could have had SIX infielders over there without changing a thing, unless one was right where he hit the ball.

But I agree PED's can't make a baseball player out of a normal person. They take pre-existing MLB-quality talent and make it better. With the arguable exception of Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas during his first 8 years, Barry Bonds was the best offensive player in MLB before he jumped on the fetid ship with the other cheating rats. Since he was much better than them when all were clean, it's only natural that he's better than the rest of them now that they all (or very nearly all) cheat with HGH and who-knows-what-else.

All of this is why I think Bonds is a slam-dunk first-round HOF'er. No, he probably won't be, but he should. Big Quack, Sosa, Jeff Kent and a ton of others weren't within miles of being HOF'ers until they got their magical mid-career surges, but Bonds was a full-fledged, first-round HOF'er through 1998, and through that point in his career, it's clear to me he was legit. Only in 2000 did it become obvious he had mystically transformed himself from a great power-speed player into another Ruth.

As much as I have always hated Bonds and his punk attitude toward the game, the concept of hustling, teammates, the media and fans, I think he's one of the greatest players ever... WITHOUT regard to his phony stats. And as detestible as he is, it must be remembered he is a choirboy compared to Rogers Hornsby and Ty Cobb, a fact which gets little ink. They all hated Cobb, but Hornsby was long thought of as a hero. Bill James calls Hornsby "the biggest horse's @ss" in baseball history, and if I hadn't recently read Al Stump's great 1994 bio of Cobb, I'd agree.

Bonds is both one of the greatest 20 players ever and one of the saddest, most tragic baseball stories ever. That he is a despicable jerk really doesn't change those facts. The Hall of Fame has dozens of profoundly despicable jerks--and I don't mean guys who were merely drunks.

BHN

Ive said it before and Ill say it again here. "If" he did them, I feel that they would provide way less of a impact than what has been said here. People DO bulk up at certain ages. My own father went from being a 170lbs man at about 31, to the next year struggleing to keep a 200lbs body and it wasnt fat. Im sure Barry and my Father are not freaks.

I guess my main problem with this trash talk to Barry stems from that FACT that more Pitchers get caught for using drugs than players or batters combined. (I looked for more info and a link, but couldnt find anything. Still I have heard from baseball people that this is the truth). Yet, we are still talking like Barry Bonds is the only one doing these drugs (Alegedly).

It has been said that Pitchers can get more impact from these drugs than Fielders or Batters. The extra preforance allows pitchers to go longer, throw faster, and recover faster and then more strong than before.

I think we need to stop putting this all on Barry Bonds, and throw this back into Baseballs face. Cause Barry is not the only one. Batters are not the only ones.

Its just that Barry is going after records that the elites high up in baseball wanted to preserve for marketing reasons.... Its like watching the movie 61*, but with a different subject. I envision the Commish and crew in an office trying to figuer out ways to get rid of Barry before he beats the record. I wouldn't bet against an "*" being put infront of Barrys HR title to tell you the truth.

"If" Barry Bonds did those drugs. Hes not the only one. Thats why I argue for him and with him. I dont think he should have to be the guy who takes all the blame for what Baseball allowed in the first place.

On to this point:

I rate him higher than any baseball fan I know in real life. He was a great player thru '99, and I don't think he cheated until then. But better than Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Williams, Mantle, Musial, Gehrig, etc.? Ha ha ha.

I have to ask this, why do you laugh???

Did any of those guys play against pitchers that were on the juice??? Nope, so in other words. Bonds is hitting against pitchers that are far better quality, and maybe on the juice too. Of course, you would have to belive that ptichers get as much of a advantage from it as I do. So, Ill leave you to judge that one. But for me, Bonds is right there with Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Williams, Mantle, Musial, Gehrig just because hes been successfull against juiced pitching (allegedly, right).

Anyways. The guys now 10 HR's away from the record. I watched him lastnight against the mets and man.... it cant just be the juice... The guys has freakishly amazing patience and hand eye-coordination. I mean for one it was Glavine who is one of the best offspeed pitchers, yet Barry still has the presence of mind to wait for exatly what he wants..... NO DRUGS WILL DO THIS FOR YOU. NONE.

IMO, hes got bionic eyes or something, never mind his power.


[edit on 9-5-2007 by JbT]

I wish I still had my original post on this matter from SportzTawk, but I guess I'll just have to re-do this.

Why I think he's clean:

1. My mother's uncle Phil was a bodybuilder in North Carolina, even taking the Mr. North Carolina title. He was a steroid user. Based off of personal experiences with and around him, I can say with confidence that Bonds doesn't have quite the look to be on steroids. I'm not saying he has to be toned and such, as many of his friends were also users and didn't look ripped or anything, but from those I have met, Bonds doesn't quite fit in with them.
   
   
2. My Uncle John played Triple-A baseball for the Fresno Grizzlies, the farm club of the Giants. He says based off guys he played with there, like Jack Clark, etc., he doesn't think Bonds cheated. While he said it's not certain whether he did or not, using his judgement from playing with a couple guys here and there that had taken steroids, Bonds doesn't fit the picture.
   
   
3. No matter the rumor, people always believe it, unless it's absolutely ludicrous. If I was a Giants player, and lied and said that I personally had seen Bonds using steroids... though it was a lie, the media carries it and it becomes fact. This is why I cannot believe what is written and said in the media. All this could hae started by someone saying, "Geez... the guys on fire... it's like he's on steroids!", and next thing you know, the media's advertising it as Bonds on Steroids.
   

And even if the guy took steroids... I don't care. I LOVE baseball. And having an uncle that played Triple-A, and a father who made the last cuts on the Cincinnati Reds, but losing the spot because the other guy had more speed, it makes me aware of how baseball is ran. I'm not some average joe who just pretends to know a lot of baseball. I say what I know, and keep quiet about what I don't, because while I know a lot... I don't know everything. Players have cheated in the past. None likes to bring it up, because they are our legends. Knowing they cheated doesn't make them any less of a legend to me. I just know that there will always be people that cheat. You can't sit there and say you've never cheated at something.. whether it's baseball or checkers. It's human nature to cheat, and people will always find ways to do it. So if these guys are corking, juicing, whatever... I really don't care... I just want to watch some damn baseball!

And I do know that the 450 foot HR stat doesn't matter to me. At age 13 I could already hit the ball about 340. This year in our sole win, I had a game where I had 3 3-Run HR's over the 360 marker in Left with the wind blowing in. Given as many years as he's had to train and build strength, I'm sure I could be capable of hitting something 450 feet. I've seen kids here in HS that are like twigs that can hit the ball a mile. And I have absolutely NO Upper body strength. I've played on a Championship caliber Basketball team the last 3 years, so all I've been concerned with is leg strength to jump. But I don't really use my legs to swing either... I have a wide stance, and don't even step. Which leads me to believe that my power comes from pure technique. I wish I could replicate Bonds' swing, it's perfect. Which leads me to believe that is where he's deriving his power from. And yea he's packed on some pounds over the years. It happens... and that added weight does help your strength.

All professional sports players should be required to take performance enhancing drugs.




[edit on 9-5-2007 by sardion2000]

People seem to think the Baseball players like him and say Reyes for the mets get that kind of Bat-to-Ball Contact naturally.....

In fact they cheated....

Bonds used to train hand eye by throwing up marbles and then hitting them with a broom stick.... Yep.

Reyes used to have his mother toss him beans and hit them with a broom stick.... Yea, try that for average.

Again, my point is that Drugs DO NOT HELP your vision & hand eye coordination.

With Bonds eyes, and that swing.... Its no wonder they are still going out of the park in large fashion.

Originally posted by DarkHelmet
I wish I still had my original post on this matter from SportzTawk, but I guess I'll just have to re-do this.

Why I think he's clean:

1. My mother's uncle Phil was a bodybuilder in North Carolina, even taking the Mr. North Carolina title. He was a steroid user. Based off of personal experiences with and around him, I can say with confidence that Bonds doesn't have quite the look to be on steroids. I'm not saying he has to be toned and such, as many of his friends were also users and didn't look ripped or anything, but from those I have met, Bonds doesn't quite fit in with them.
   
   
2. My Uncle John played Triple-A baseball for the Fresno Grizzlies, the farm club of the Giants. He says based off guys he played with there, like Jack Clark, etc., he doesn't think Bonds cheated. While he said it's not certain whether he did or not, using his judgement from playing with a couple guys here and there that had taken steroids, Bonds doesn't fit the picture.
   
   
3. No matter the rumor, people always believe it, unless it's absolutely ludicrous. If I was a Giants player, and lied and said that I personally had seen Bonds using steroids... though it was a lie, the media carries it and it becomes fact. This is why I cannot believe what is written and said in the media. All this could hae started by someone saying, "Geez... the guys on fire... it's like he's on steroids!", and next thing you know, the media's advertising it as Bonds on Steroids.
   

And even if the guy took steroids... I don't care. I LOVE baseball. And having an uncle that played Triple-A, and a father who made the last cuts on the Cincinnati Reds, but losing the spot because the other guy had more speed, it makes me aware of how baseball is ran. I'm not some average joe who just pretends to know a lot of baseball. I say what I know, and keep quiet about what I don't, because while I know a lot... I don't know everything. Players have cheated in the past. None likes to bring it up, because they are our legends. Knowing they cheated doesn't make them any less of a legend to me. I just know that there will always be people that cheat. You can't sit there and say you've never cheated at something.. whether it's baseball or checkers. It's human nature to cheat, and people will always find ways to do it. So if these guys are corking, juicing, whatever... I really don't care... I just want to watch some damn baseball!

And I do know that the 450 foot HR stat doesn't matter to me. At age 13 I could already hit the ball about 340. This year in our sole win, I had a game where I had 3 3-Run HR's over the 360 marker in Left with the wind blowing in. Given as many years as he's had to train and build strength, I'm sure I could be capable of hitting something 450 feet. I've seen kids here in HS that are like twigs that can hit the ball a mile. And I have absolutely NO Upper body strength. I've played on a Championship caliber Basketball team the last 3 years, so all I've been concerned with is leg strength to jump. But I don't really use my legs to swing either... I have a wide stance, and don't even step. Which leads me to believe that my power comes from pure technique. I wish I could replicate Bonds' swing, it's perfect. Which leads me to believe that is where he's deriving his power from. And yea he's packed on some pounds over the years. It happens... and that added weight does help your strength.

It doesn't "happen" at age 36 and beyond. There is no historical precedent for the transformation of Bonds from Mays Lite to Ruth II. Saying "IF" he juiced is like saying "IF a Golden Retriever is a dog." And if the explosion of his stats throughout his gerontological era isn't enough for you--why, I can't imagine--read "Game of Shadows." If it were false, he'd be suing them for their nuts in a defamation claim.

Still, he was one of the greats already.

[edit on 10-5-2007 by BaseballHistoryNut]

let me start off by saying that there are only two things that can make an adult man's head grow. Acromegaly and Human Growth Hormone.

Bonds doesn't have Acromegaly.


Here's the issue at hand. He used something to gain distance. If you remove the juice, you might shave off 100 or more homeruns that would have been warning track or less shots. We'll never know.

Sadly, he is going to break the holy grail of baseball records and he'll be booed for it if it isn't done at home. That's a shame. He'll wind up in the hall of fame and people will always say Bonds is the homerun king but.....


More players juice than we know about. How can they not do it? You have one position available to you on the team you play for and there is one or two other guys competing for the same position. You want to big money, you want the fame, the glory, you need the juice to compete with the rest.

Maybe he's been meditating. According to this link from physorg.com, meditation can increase brain size. He's obviously meditated to the point his skull jelly is swelling his cranium.

Haven't you noticed him solving quadratic equations in the dirt in the on-deck circle?

You say medicate, I say meditate. Let's call the whole thing off.

At this late date...

What is he on now? He's leading the NL in homers, he's been walked 33 times already, and this is a 42 year old guy with tricky knees. No one wants to pitch to him, so how is it happening?

We can argue until we're blue in the face about other years, but what about 2007?

For the record, I don't want to meet Barry Bonds, I wouldn't want him to be my coworker, neighbor, or the guy sitting next to me at the bus stop... he's not a "good guy."

But he is doing something unimaginable.