Barry Bonds

Pretty much the players’ union says that teams acted in concert against Barry Bonds by not signing an agreement. Most people know Barry Bonds case: he’s been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs while it was illegal in baseball. He’s denied it, but there seems to be circumstantial evidence that he did it–probably not enough to convict him, but similar to the way a parent knows a child is lying, most people believe Bonds is probably lying, too. There’s just too much that sounds too fishy in his case. Moving on.

From the article:

“There were numerous things that occurred that made me believe that the clubs were acting in concert,” Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, said Thursday. “When I testify as a witness in the case, I will delineate each and every one of them.”
…
“Bonds was indicted last Nov. 15 on charges related to 2003 grand jury testimony during which he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs…Bonds pleaded not guilty to 14 counts of making false declarations to a federal grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice, and his trial is scheduled to start March 2.”
…
Weiner said the section that had been violated was Article XX (e) of the collective bargaining agreement, which states, in part: “Players shall not act in concert with other players and clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs.” Weiner would not say how long the agreement runs to allow the union to file a grievance.

Baseball attorneys repeatedly have denied that teams acted in concert against Bonds.
….
“I am convinced based on MLB’s actions in 2008 that they will never let him wear a major league uniform ever again,” he said.

I’m pretty sure they’ll never let Barry wear a uniform again. Even if he is innocent (and I’m not ruling it out), his reputation has taken such a hit that, in people’s perceptions, he’ll never be clean again. This is something a lot of teams can’t afford. Small-market teams, like the Tampa Bay {Devil} Rays, Kansas City Royals, etc., try to keep a clean and family-friendly atmosphere on their teams. They don’t want to have to force parents to explain to six-year-old Timmy that the “awesome player who hits millions of home runs every game” may have cheated. Timmy will hear it on the news when watching the game, and ask questions. They’ll push Timmy towards less-complex sports, like hockey where the naughty boys who fight get a time-out, of football, where if they’re too mean, they get sent back to where they started and have to do it all over and be nicer (hey, that’s how I’d explain a penalty to a six-year-old).

Larger-market teams, like the New York Yankees have often taken media hits for “buying” the best players, and may not want to take that risk. It’s one thing to lure Roger Clemens out of retirement before his reputation took a hit. It’s another thing to sign Barry Bonds after his reputation has taken a hit. It’s one thing to have Jason Giambi, who admitted taking steroids–honesty goes a long way in fans’ minds–but another to have someone whom everyone “knows” took them, but refuses to admit it.

If you want to know why I suspect that Bonds took steroids, see this article from ESPN in 2004. Bonds personal trainer, Greg Anderson, was the one who supplied Giambi (and his brother Jeremy) with steroids. I just find it beyond believable that Anderson would not also work to convince Bonds to take steroids. If Bonds didn’t want to take steroids, it strikes me that he would’ve worked with a trainer not involved in steroids. Unless they all are, in which case, we have a huge problem.

Just like Giambi said, without implicating Bonds: “You know, I assumed because he’s Barry’s trainer — you know, Barry — but he never said one time, ‘This is what Barry’s taking, this is what Barry’s doing.’ He never gave up another name that he was dealing with or doing anything with.”

Here’s where it gets a little tricky.

Giambi said Anderson described “the cream” and “the clear” as “an alternative to steroids, but it doesn’t show on a steroid test.”

“And he started talking about that it would raise your testosterone levels, you know, which would basically make it a steroid … or maybe he said it’s an alternative of taking an injectable steroid. That might be a better way to put it,” he said.

It could be that Bonds was naïve (stupid?) enough to not realize what Giambi did: these were not an alternative to a steroid, they were a steroid of a different feather. In which case he’s denying taking steroids because he doesn’t want to admit that he was duped.

Anyway, back to the point, I don’t think the owners acted in concert, necessarily. Even if they did, I think it was just a matter of a situation they were all faced with. If they didn’t talk to each other, like they claim, it’s a very reasonable that all 30 owners/owner groups/general managers came up with the same conclusion: they didn’t want to deal with the media frenzy that Barry Bonds would bring to their team.

World Series prediction? Well, here’s the unscientific discussion: The Devil Rays have three former Twins on their roster, including the guy with the best name ever for a pitcher: Grant Balfour. The Phillies have one former Twins, who made 100% of Twins fans cringe in fear when he took the mound. The Rays have Mohawks, which are hideous in general. The Phillies have rubber ducks, which are cute. The Phillies also helped the Grounds Crew with the tarp in ’07, so they’re endeared to me, but they also beat the Mets, whom I’m fond of. Both the Rays and the Phillies mascots are scary. The tie-breaker goes to the Rays, who avearge 6.48 letters per last name, compared to the Phillies 5.84.