Being able to tell your grandkids about the time you saw Barry Bonds hit a home run in Minute Maid Park while in an Astros uniform....priceless. Berkman wants him as a teammate. Cooper apparently doesn't. Hard to believe Cecil actually said that, but maybe he did. Personally, I've always liked Barry. He has played hurt. He has played hard. He had done it all. He's a competitor. He has a fire in him. He's not lazy. And, unless you're over 70 years old a saw Ted Williams play, he's the greatest hitter we have seen in our lifetimes. Unfortuately, Astros brass feels more comfortable it seems moving Ty Wigginton to left for a few games and tossing Reggie Abercrombie into the mix. Great. Woo hoo. Enjoy the rest of the season. Sign Barry? For a month and a half? That's a no-brainer. Yes.
Haha. Well, the reason I said to an extent was relative to Clemens. Bonds, for the most part, has figured out the secret of staying quiet when it comes to steroids and his legal issues. Clemens' ego is so big that he decided he was untouchable, and went on an all-out assault against Brian McNamee, government investigators, etc. that has a decent chance of landing him in prison. I also think Clemens' people skills are a little overrated here. First, you have to consider that until the last eight months, he's had media that basically worship the ground he walks on -- especially in Houston. In San Francisco, he's basically been treated like **** for years. I'm not saying he doesn't bring some of it on himself, but so does Clemens -- the media just does a better job of ignoring it. Second, I can promise based on several off-the-record conversations I was a part of that Clemens isn't as loved by the Astros as a lot of people (justtxyank) think. But winning (2004, '05 and almost '06) cures all ills, and leads players and media to bury those personal feelings in the moment. Like I said, hero worship until the last few months. I can also say that the baseball perception isn't nearly as bad as what the media makes it out to be, and I think the Berkman quote is very telling. Berkman will always tell you what he thinks, and he's always been a big chemistry guy -- see his reaction to the Valverde deal, for one. If Berkman would "love to have him," that tells me a lot. I'll give you that they're close in ego, but I do think Clemens' ego has been understated for years (until the last eight months) while Bonds' ego has been blown up by a media looking to get him. I also think his actions post-Mitchell Report show him to have a bigger ego than anyone I've ever seen -- but like I said, I'll meet you halfway and say they're close.
Cat, I have no idea how the Astros management feels about him. I do know, thanks to conversations I've had, things I've read, and things I've witnessed first had, that he was loved by New York management and his teammates. I also know from the same things listed above, that Barry Bonds is not well liked at all. Take into account that his nearest ally in MLB is Alex Rodriguez, a guy who is also not well thought of in baseball circles as a person.
That doesn't surprise me, given that the Yankees are a 95-100 win team every season. The sentiment from the Astros didn't start to turn until the struggles of '06 and especially after the long, drawn-out affair of '07 that ended with him leaving for New York. I think you'd be surprised at the correlation between winning and the conclusions people draw on personality. For what it's worth (not much, because my sample is admittedly very small), I found Bonds to be much more approachable and nicer in my interaction with him than I did Clemens. I was really surprised, given the reputations.
Does this mean that on Saturday morning you were confident the Astros would make the playoffs this season?
Carlos Lee played every day. I am thinking at this point in the season we could get somewhere between 60-90 plate appearances out of Barry, because he would need a lot of day's off. Sure there is some inconsistency between "trying to be a Champion now" and not taking this step. I agree with the Cat on the idea if we were really going all out to win now our centerfielder for much of the year should have been Kenny Lofton, who has all of Bourn's skills even at 53 years of age. Plus the ability to reach base at a pretty good clip. It is somewhat hypocritical to embrace Clemens and Tejada and not even consider Barry. But I really don't wanna turn my Astros into the baseball version of the Raiders and Cowboys, at least not to turn a 1.5 percent chance of a playoff berth into maybe a 3 percent chance.
Oh, I was lurking back then, I remember. I was just pointing out how long it took the media to really latch onto it. The Chron guys honestly gave him a free pass for a while...
Maybe the chron guys did, but when I need a dose of reality that is the last place I check. Seriously, Cat. Get seasoned in the industry, don't get stuffed full of $*1t as you gain experience, then come home and deliver us from the Daily Dose of Drivel that is our sports section. It's an embarrasment to a great city.
I wasn't really all the hot on signing Bonds before I read this, but now. GET IT Done. Goodbye to one of the worst managers in baseball.
If the company line is "we are in the hunt for the playoffs" then you must explore every option. Unfortunately, Bonds has not played at all this year, can he come up to speed in a few days? If not, how long will he take and would it be worth the media circus? If the front office determines the playoffs are out of the question, then bring up all the kids and start looking at what's really down in the minors...
Our pride and self respect. I could never again look at myself in the mirror wearing an Astros cap or jersey if this goes down.
Overdramatic. Calm down. Are you not going to a Rockets game casue we have Artest? Are you not gonna don Rockets gear the rest of your life?
Man if they sign Bonds, we might as well change the team name to The Houston Steriods. Having Clemens, Tejada, and Bonds in an Astros uniform at some point will really give the team a bad rep I think. I know the Clemens thing came up after he left, but they sure would know about the other 2. The management on this team is a joke, from top to bottom, so nothing would surprise me. I don't like Bonds much, but if he did come here, I would care less really. To me that would be just another way for Uncle Drayton to get more cash in, and not the supposed "we're trying to win now" crap....and you know what we all would be suckered in to going to the ballpark. A circus like this would bring people in. "Step right up folks!"
Herein we have a great example. Drayton McLane is damned if he do and damned if he don't. If he doesn't bring in Bonds, he's "cheap". If he does, he's just trying to sucker people into buying seats. Which is it, oh high-and-mighty, holier-than-thou Houston sports fan? (that question, nigma2000, is pointed at our whiny, b****y culture in general and not specifically at you)
I'll wear it. I never said I wouldn't continue to purchase and wear the said items. However, part of me will sense a deep sense of shame and embarrassment. What happens if you go to a game, say in Chicago, and the Cubs fans start making fun of you because your team made such a desperate move? What kind of response can you make? And if I see my reflection in the mirror, I will look away. Artest is different, no one accused him of cheating the sport. He got into a fight, he made a stupid rap song called "I like my song." He's a headcase, but he's not a criminal yet. And if he does become a criminal, like Vernon, at least he will be OUR criminal, not someone else's castoff.
