Jackass or Not, You Gotta Respect Him

Nah, because if he hits 80 then the Yankess will get to buy him.

Anyhow, the thread title is wrong. You don't have to respect him. You have to respect his talent. Or maybe you shouldn't even do that much seeing how Larry Dierker did that last year and got the hell booed out of him for it by his own fans... and eventually was canned.

As for Bonds... I know it's popular to have a conspiracy theory these days, that he's really a terrific lad and the media just is out to get him. Hell, word is a plane never even crashed in to the Pentagon. But recognizing his wondrous talent doesn't suddenly make people forget what an ass he's been throughout his career.


<a href="http://www.msnbc.com/news/637816.asp">Bonds doesn't deserve record</a>
<font face="Arial" size="4">Bonds doesn't deserve record</font>
Even teammates not happy that Giant has set HR mark

Barry Bonds broke the Babe’s record for bases on balls Wednesday night, which is just what Bonds deserved. Bonds is a first-class jerk, even by the standards set by other major-league ballplayers. Frankly, that’s saying something, because beating them out for the title is harder than breaking the major league home run record because the competition is steeper. And more ample.

SO WHEN THE Houston Astros walked him three times Wednesday night, including once intentionally with two runners on and the Giants already holding a one-run lead, he reaped what he long ago sowed. They acted like jerks to a jerk.

Those terrible pitches allowed Bonds to break Ruth’s record for walks in a season but they didn’t allow him a chance to tie Mark McGwire’s single-season home run record of 70. Unfortunately, Bonds broke McGwire’s record Friday night, hitting two home runs. Darn.

The beauty of rooting against Barry Bonds is that even though he tied McGwire’s record Thursday and broke it Friday, his teammates will still dislike him. Just like most clear thinking people do. Hence, we still keep alive the very distinct possibility that he could make major league baseball history by receiving not so much as a handshake from most of his teammates after setting an all-time record for home runs.

That’s almost worth rooting for in itself. But as embarrassing as that would be, it’s better he doesn’t get the record for a simple reason. He really wants it.

Normally you would have rooted wildly for Bonds because everyone likes to see history made. America is about greatness, and any time an athlete comes close to accomplishing that, we pull for him.

We pull for the opposing pitcher close to a perfect game, even if it means our team loses.

We pull for the opposing hitter who needs one more hit to set a record or reach a noble plateau.

Not in this case, folks.

Not only did people not want to see Bonds break McGwire’s record, they haven’t even wanted to read about it. Barry Bonds has been seen on fewer magazine covers than The Shadow.

His run toward immortality was ignored by nearly everyone but ESPN, which has to televise something, so it keeps showing his games in the hopes someone cares. They don’t.

In this day and age of celebrity worship, it was not easy for Bonds to reach such a level of loathing, but he has managed to do it. He did it by being so greedy that he once went to court to try to get his child support payments reduced during the last baseball strike even though he was making millions a year. He won that case, by the way, and if you think you would have gotten the same consideration in family court, then you aren’t smart enough to have read this far in the first place.

He is almost universally disliked by his teammates, primarily because he doesn’t know the definition of being a teammate. Some sports philosopher long ago said “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” To that Bonds says, “There’s no team in Me.”

All you need to know about having Bonds as your teammate is to realize he didn’t have time to show up for the team picture. For the last two years. Too busy to make it, but thanks for asking.

Bonds has had a great season, especially because he broke McGwire’s record. He has a great chance to break Babe Ruth’s slugging percentage record of .847. Bonds is hitting well over .300 with those 72 homers. He is having a great season in the midst of a Hall of Fame career.

He may even be the National League’s Most Valuable Player, although enough votes may go to Albert Pujols, Randy Johnson or Luis Gonzalez to deny him that award just out of spite. I’m not too big on spite, but in this case, hey, why not?

Bonds probably deserves the MVP, especially if the Giants reach the postseason. But what he doesn’t deserve is the kind of following McGwire and Sammy Sosa got when two good guys with the right attitude toward each other, their teammates, the game and life battled it out in 1998 to be the first to break Roger Maris’ home run record.

Their epic struggle brought joy to baseball and honor to themselves. Bonds’ quest makes me sick to my stomach.

Astros fans at Enron Field were booing their own pitchers when they walked Bonds intentionally, but the idea is to win the game first, and if he’s so dangerous, why pitch to him?

The guy behind Bonds, Jeff Kent, is hitting dismally with runners in scoring position. Bonds is hitting about double that. If you’re the Astros and in the middle of a pennant race, it’s pretty obvious who you pitch to and who you pitch around, right?

Of course it is, but secretly I hope they haven’t been pitching to him for the best reason I can think of.

Because they know he’s a jerk too. Been a jerk all his career. Not even 72 home runs can change that.

So I say give Barry Bonds what he deserves.

Nothing.


<a href="http://www.sptimes.com/News/100701/Columns/Bonds_could_be_one_of.shtml">Bonds could be one of the best, but he lacks in class</a>
<font face="arial" size="4">Bonds could be one of the best, but he lacks in class</font>

Forty years ago, I was a mesmerized kid as Roger Maris hit 61 homers, out-Babeing George Herman Ruth, in his house. Who wasn't captivated in 1998 when Mark McGwire, a Bunyan with a soft heart, achieved a startling 70. And, while he's yet to be king, 3x60 slugger Sammy Sosa is warmly embraced in Americas north and south.

But now, as the ultimate home run number flies deeper into baseball's stratosphere, why am I not so romanced and agog over the wall-to-wall greatness of Barry Bonds?

Blame it on him.

For years, the sting of anti-Bonds sentiment has been evident, especially from San Francisco, where his ballpark performance has been so constant, but also from Pittsburgh, where there is muddy residue from Barry's years with the Pirates.

He is the gifted son of Bobby Bonds, himself an extraordinary but moody ballplayer, but Barry has worked at outdoing Dad in ways both good and bad, choosing to leave a lot of disgusting tracks as one of the game's long-running jerks.

Lately, to his credit, the new Sultan of Smash has toned down the nastiness, upgrading at least to his father's career level of sweet-and-sour behavior. Forgiveness for Barry is absolutely reachable, but it will take a while and even more effort. You do not erase a lifetime of shin kicks with a few belated cheek kisses.

I've seen Bonds in his ugly mode. He is the personality antithesis of Luis Gonzalez and Cal Ripken. Stories of the Barry attitude could fill volumes. One especially nagging comment came from a woman who was Pirates treasurer during his Three Rivers Stadium tenure. She told me about a millionaire athlete's nauseating and relentless greed, soaked with nonstop Bonds arrogance, plus an even more disturbing habit of degrading "little people" in the franchise's office.

Nah, this Barry is no Babe, Roger, Mark or Sammy. Bonds could be one of finest dozen players, a three-time MVP, now the eye-popping champ of HRs, as well as being a superb defensive outfielder. But he still needs a lot of work on being a good guy.