12/21/24
August 04, 2007
755.:
posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 11:49 PM - 56 comments
The first giant game I've missed since he hit the last one and he does it. My luck.
posted by justgary at 01:03 AM on August 05, 2007
I know it's not the same as seeing it live, but at least in this era you'll have seen it multiple times.
posted by Drood at 01:05 AM on August 05, 2007
The first giant game I've missed since he hit the last one and he does it. My luck. the one yankee game i don't have tickets for this week, A-Rod hits #500.
posted by goddam at 01:07 AM on August 05, 2007
Yawn
posted by commander cody at 01:47 AM on August 05, 2007
Actually my post above should been: Yawn*
posted by commander cody at 01:56 AM on August 05, 2007
Yawn* Now that's funny. GOOOOOOOOOO ARod!
posted by budman13 at 02:10 AM on August 05, 2007
From the AP story* Bonds hit the tying homer off a former* Giants* draft* pick* **who** was suspended* in 2005* for violating baseball's minor league *steroids* policy*. I wonder how many pitchers he has faced who were currently on steroids at the time he hit each home run*.
posted by Aces Full at 03:46 AM on August 05, 2007
So what. Isn't it CLEAR we know how it was done? Bonds hopefully will have to face the music for what he has done for the game of baseball. This is a record that just got cheapened for Hank. A Rod I can only hope will break the record by doing it the right way. What a message it sends to the youth of today. If you can't be good enough by your gifted talent, just take the right STUFF; and then you can truely be all you can be. Sad, sad, sad!
posted by robi8259 at 05:48 AM on August 05, 2007
Congrats. Pass the flaxseed oil.
posted by wingnut4life at 05:49 AM on August 05, 2007
No positive tests. Innocent until proven guilty. Blah blah blah. Good for Barry. He's still an a-hole. DiMaggio still holds my favorite baseball record.
posted by apoch at 05:52 AM on August 05, 2007
apoch, I got an error message off of your link.
posted by FonGu at 06:14 AM on August 05, 2007
Congrats to Barry Bonds. One of the greatest players to play the game, regardless of steroid allegations.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:36 AM on August 05, 2007
robi is correct.Here in Big D,Slammin'Sammy Sosa has been essentially benched from his DH/outfielder slot so that new talent up from the farm can get a look see.Sammy is having a decent year. However he was snubbed for the All Star game completely and he was put on the block before the trade deadline and NOBODY was the least interested. You would think SOMEBODY still in the pennant race would bite.I believe Sammy,Barry and others might be humiliated ala Mark McGuire 5 years after they retire when they don't enter the HOF on the first ballot.
posted by sickleguy at 07:09 AM on August 05, 2007
Here's the correct link for DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. Incidentally, that record isn't without its own controversy, considering there were allegedly a few questionable calls from the official scorers during that streak -- of course, the same could be said for any record involving judgment calls, such as most records involving hits, walks or strikeouts. Congrats to Barry. I'm guessing he sits out todays game (day game after night game) and breaks the record on the upcoming 7-game home stand starting Tuesday. Here's an article discussing which current players might have the best chance of catching Bonds.
posted by holden at 08:01 AM on August 05, 2007
I have been among the Bonds bashers in the past. I think I have softened my stance a bit- until he is actually charged with a major crime or tests positive for drug use I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Since he has never failed drug tests, we can not go back through time and test all former players. It may look like a duck, sound like a duck, but maybe it is a goose instead. I am sure A-Rod will have the record in about six or seven years. I can manage just fine until then as long as Bonds doesn't kill any dogs or fix any games.
posted by urall cloolis at 08:03 AM on August 05, 2007
,
posted by skydivedad at 08:21 AM on August 05, 2007
Mitch Albom from the Detroit Free Press has some strong opinions about Barry's record.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 08:33 AM on August 05, 2007
I'm having a really hard time deciding who is more to blame for the joylessness of this record -- Bonds himself or the self-righteous, relentlessly destructive nature of sports reporting as it currently exists. Evidently I can't accept and enjoy the record for what it is without exposing some kind of character flaw in myself. Screw you, Mitch Albom.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 09:44 AM on August 05, 2007
Congrats to Barry Bonds. One of the greatest players to play the game, regardless of steroid allegations. My feelings exactly. Well said. I just don't have the energy or desire to keep up with all the hatred towards Bonds. Maybe if Bud Selig and the rest of baseball hadn't either had their heads in the sand or up their asses I would have been a bit pissed off at this record too, but they wanted to ignore the issue. This is what they get. Screw you, Mitch Albom. Yeah, that too. Albom is a self-righteous ass. He was probably one of the ones leading the cheers and thumping his carrot a few years back when pumped-up McGwire and Sosa were having their steroid-induced home run-barrage lovefest.
posted by dyams at 09:45 AM on August 05, 2007
I don't know if I'm thinking clearly, but he certainly seemed to cream that pitch last night. I'm sure Barry is San Francisco's "flaxen -haired" fellow today.
posted by tommybiden at 10:30 AM on August 05, 2007
I with you ,dyams about Mitch Albom. He's basically still just newspaper hack for the Freep who got lucky when he wrote a couple of touchy-feely girly Oprah type of bestsellers.Has anyone else read these books? They arer so sweet you want to Ralph.
posted by sickleguy at 10:34 AM on August 05, 2007
You are correct, sickleguy. Mitch Albom is just a newspaper hack. I believe he's only had 2 or 3 books on the New York Times bestseller list. I'm sure everyone knows quantity beats quality every time in writing. We all know Harper Lee was a bum. She only had one major work in her entire life. Mitch certainly could use some of your linguistic skills to make words, or combinations of letters that are almost words (arer?) to improve his prose. Your magical use of the English language almost paints pictures for those of us blessed to be able to read it. I have read 3 of Mitch's books, and am anxiously awaiting the opportunity to read something that you've had published. Please keep me abreast of when a book of yours has been released and I promise I willl give it my full attention.
posted by tommybiden at 11:08 AM on August 05, 2007
Good for Bonds, as I have noted before; steriods or not Bonds still has the swing and the eye to make contact 755 times. I don't care what steriod you're on; if don't have the swing and the eye you're not going to may contact. Across the board people do things to get the edge, some become superstars and some don't.
posted by fourthreeforty at 11:26 AM on August 05, 2007
Mitch Albom is just a newspaper hack. I believe he's only had 2 or 3 books on the New York Times bestseller list. I'm sure everyone knows quantity beats quality every time in writing. Just because someone can write books that people like to read, doesn't mean they still aren't crap. That said, he's written many good articles. The problem I have is that he's heaping scorn upon Bonds and his fans, while trying to pretend that he's above all that. In fact, just like Mike Lupica, he was a cheerleader during the 1998 home run record chase. He's now trying to distance himself from the (potential) embarrassment of being (possibly) fooled by those he now criticizes. As for #755 by Bonds, it was interesting to read the different accounts and listen to the different broadcasts of the event. In some written accounts, you'd swear that half the stadium was booing him. In others, they admitted there was some booing, but it was mostly cheering. Given that it was a home run hit by an opposing player, and the (supposed) animosity that everyone BUT San Francisco fans have for Bonds, it was a hell of lot of cheering (much more than the booing). Also interesting was how much booing the pitchers got in the next plate appearances when he was walked. Finally, the video image of Selig looking slack-jawed and surprised when Bonds hit it out is another one I can add to my mental collection for him (which includes his moronic "I dunno!" shoulder-shrug when calling the All-Star Game a tie).
posted by grum@work at 12:18 PM on August 05, 2007
The moment, captured in time. (from this first-hand account)
posted by grum@work at 12:43 PM on August 05, 2007
Just because someone can write books that people like to read, doesn't mean they still aren't crap. It doesn't automatically mean they are crap either.
posted by tommybiden at 12:53 PM on August 05, 2007
Have you read anything by Albom? Are you suggesting Tuesdays with Morrie is great literature? Best I can tell, he has a handful of cliches he bases all his articles around, whether he's writing sports or something else.
posted by yerfatma at 01:01 PM on August 05, 2007
Tommy,how are you going to compare Harper Lee to Albom?One wrote a masterpiece that became part of the canon taught in our high schools and colleges.Albom writes fluff that no scholarly high school English teacher takes seriously.Believe me,I know.As far as my magical use of the language, this is a sports blog,not the Atlantic Monthly.(Oh,and by the way, I publish every day. You're reading it as I speak).
posted by sickleguy at 01:13 PM on August 05, 2007
I have to go with fourthreefortyabout the hand/eye coordination thing. But records are broken all the time. I hated it when Emmit Smith broke Walter Payton's record. Bond's record won't stand as long as Aaron's did, in my opinion. As someone who is a casual baseball fan, I think A-Rod will be the one to do it. Off topic, I have read Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie" it was ok, but the interviews (that were on TV) with Morrie were better. My favorite is "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" Classic liturature? No. But sometimes fluff is good, kinda like some junk food for the mind. Can't be serious all the time.
posted by steelergirl at 01:27 PM on August 05, 2007
Three points about Barry Bonds. Third, if indeed he used steroids, of which we don't know with any certainty, steroids until recently were not illegal in baseball. Second, I thought everyone in America was innocent until proven guilty. No one has ever proven Barry Bonds guilty of wnything. Even the grand jury is asking for more time (after a year or so of investigating) so that they can come up with something, anything with which to charge him. First, I challenge all the sports writers who are pooh-poohing Bonds' feat to match it. Many of them couldn't hit the ball out of the infield. Even playing 12-inch or 16-inch softbatt they will nto come close to half as many home runs. Just enjoy the feat and marvel at the talent it takes to hit 755 home runs when most managers are having their pitchers walk you two or three times a game.
posted by sportsdeacon at 01:36 PM on August 05, 2007
Have you read anything by Albom? Yes, tuesdays with Morrie, for one more day, the five people you meet in heaven. Are you suggesting Tuesdays with Morrie is great literature? No.
posted by tommybiden at 01:46 PM on August 05, 2007
It's hard for me to believe that Hank Aaron never took anything to enhance his performance. As I understand it, amphetamines were a common fact of baseball life for a long time (and perhaps still are). So, as before he tied the record, I'm conflicted.
posted by swerve at 01:48 PM on August 05, 2007
Tommy,how are you going to compare Harper Lee to Albom? You'll have to excuse me. I thought you meant because he'd gotten lucky with a couple of touchy-feely girly Oprah type of bestsellers .... just newspaper hack that he wasn't capable of more books. I took that to mean that you had to produce copious volumes to be taken seriously as an author. Please excuse my misunderstanding of what you were trying to say. steelergirl expressed it about as well as anyone could. I don't think Albom is a literary giant, but I have found his works enjoyable. sickleguy, I suppose I should have been more specific. Let me know when you have something published that you have been paid for, and I promise I'll give it a good read, fair enough? Please make sure you reprise your use of the word Ralph. That was poetic.
posted by tommybiden at 02:11 PM on August 05, 2007
Albom is also the critically-acclaimed writer who penned this column about the Michigan State-North Carolina Final Four game a few years back: In the audience Saturday at the Final Four, among the 46,000 hoop junkies, sales executives, movie producers, parents, contest winners, beer guzzlers, hip-hop stars and lucky locals who knew somebody who knew somebody, there were two former stars for Michigan State, Mateen Cleaves and Jason Richardson. They sat in the stands, in their MSU clothing, and rooted on their alma mater. They were teammates in the magical 2000 season, when the Spartans won it all. Both now play in the NBA, Richardson for Golden State, Cleaves for Seattle. And both made it a point to fly in from wherever they were in their professional schedule just to sit together Saturday. Richardson, who earns millions, flew by private plane. Cleaves, who’s on his fourth team in five years, bought a ticket and flew commercial. It was loyalty, sure. And it was exciting, no doubt. But in talking to both players, it was more than that. It was a chance to do something almost all of us would love to do: recapture, for a few hours, the best time of their lives. “In the pros, you don’t hang out with your teammates; everybody has their own life, their wife or their kids or their girlfriends,” Richardson said. “And anyhow, you’re together on the plane, at the arena, on the bus, 82 games a season. When you have time, you’re just looking to get away.” “You gotta miss those college days,” Cleaves said. “We were a family at Michigan State. In the NBA, you’re just not as close.” Fine, fine writing, but with one minor glitch: Neither Cleaves or Richardson even went to the game they were, according to Mitch, sitting at together, dressed in Michigan State colors. That fabrication should have cost him his job, seeing as how most dimwits (like myself, too often) believe everything he pens to be based on fact. You see, Mitch, "cheating" goes on in every profession. It is unfortunate, but you're no better than those you choose to attack with your pen.
posted by dyams at 03:04 PM on August 05, 2007
Hey Tommy,sure,fair enough!
posted by sickleguy at 03:56 PM on August 05, 2007
Fine, fine writing, but with one minor glitch: Neither Cleaves or Richardson even went to the game they were, according to Mitch, sitting at together, dressed in Michigan State colors. That fabrication should have cost him his job, seeing as how most dimwits (like myself, too often) believe everything he pens to be based on fact. This did happen. However, dyams, you don't bother to explain why. The short version of what happened is that Albom filed the coloumn on a Friday for a section that was to be printed Saturday morning, , several hours before the game took place. He indeed wrote the column, his copy editors did not change anything. He wrote the column based on interviews with Cleaves and Richardson in which both players said they were going to the game, but then scheduling conflicts prevented their attendance. Mitch Albom was wrong. He made a mistake. He was suspended from his job at The Detroit Free Press and issued an apology. There is a difference between a mistake and cheating.
posted by tommybiden at 04:20 PM on August 05, 2007
Nice job! Well done on a feat the other 99.9 % of us will never see, nonetheless imagine coming close to. As a 49er fan, if all these allegations pour sour on this great feat, maybe too, then we should discredit all of Bill Romanowski's achievements. 75 supplements 3 times a day?!!?! And when taken together gave him a coke high?! He had so many, they just called him RX. 756, Here he comes!!
posted by bavarianmotorworker at 04:29 PM on August 05, 2007
*
posted by GoBirds at 04:41 PM on August 05, 2007
You see, Mitch, "cheating" goes on in every profession. How right you are. I can't help but notice how everyone over looks the fact that he tied the record by hitting a HR off of someone who used steroids and was suspended for actually testing positive in the minors. How ironic is that. I wonder if that will get an *. I doubt anyone will really make an issue about that because then it may actually appear that IF Bonds used steroids, all he did for the most part was level the playing field. I also can't help but wonder, if steroids had anything to do with Bonds record, how come they didn't help Hensley strike Bonds out? He used steroids, he got caught, he got suspended, that makes him a proven cheater right? So if he is a proven cheater, and the steroids he did increased his abilities beyond measure, why did he get stretched for 380 some odd feet last night? I mean if steroids make you superman and Clay Hensley did steroids why are people hitting home runs off of him? Steroids helped him go a whopping 11-12 in 06'. If steroids made Barry Bonds into Hank Aaron, I wonder why they didn't make Hensley into Cy Young.
posted by Aces Full at 06:56 PM on August 05, 2007
There is a difference between a mistake and cheating. In writing, doing an article about something that hasn't happened, which winds up being printed, and then the event doesn't even happen, IS wrong, as you said, but in that field of work, everyone knows it's wrong. You don't write about something that hasn't happened, because there's a chance it may not happen! It is a shortcut to writing a good column that is unfair to all columnists that actually base their writings on things that actually happened. Kind of like what Barry Bonds is being accused of; gaining an unfair advantage over players who do things the right way. Maybe that's why he's so good at writing fiction. So I do understand how the mistake happened, but in his field, it's unacceptable. It deceives people. The fact he was consequenced for his actions doesn't really make any difference to me. Too bad Bonds couldn't have written a story slamming Albom after this happened.
posted by dyams at 07:44 PM on August 05, 2007
until he is actually charged with a major crime or tests positive for drug use I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I hate the fact that our choices are often presented as believing he did steroids or putting our heads in the sand and giving him the "benefit of the doubt". I firmly believe bonds knowingly used some form of steroids. I don't need a positive on a test that he would have been trying to beat anyway. That said, I've softened my stance on Bonds quite a bit and have no problem with him breaking the record for a couple of reasons. It was the steroid era. The fact that the pitcher he hit 755 against had been busted in the past for doing steroids speaks volumes. Bonds wasn't the only steroid user, not by a long shot. He was simply a better player to begin with. And as much as we like to believe that different times in baseball can be compared, they can't. But I have no doubt that if players in the 20s and 30s would have the chance to use steroids and get away with it many would have done the same thing. If you condemn Bonds without condemning the entire era, you are a hypocrite. If you're a tigers fan and cheer when sheffield hits a home run and condemn Bonds, you are a hypocrite. If you're a Padres fan and booed Bonds while your own pitcher actually failed a steroids test, you are a hypocrite. As much as I've denied it in the past, I now really believe most fans are blinded by their hate for Bonds. And personally, I think the guys probably an ass. But Cobb was an ass, the greatest pitcher of our times is an ass and still people cheer him. But Bonds, well, I have no idea why so much time is spent hating the guy. I simply don't understand anyone who thinks bonds hurt the game, who loves baseball, but enjoys a scenario where bonds rounds the bases with 756 to a chorus of boos. During the LA series the camera would pan to the stands and you'd see kids, too young to understand the situation, 7 and 8 years old booing and giving a thumbs down to bonds. Learning that kind of hate at that age, and I'm suppose to worry about what bonds is doing to the "youth" of today?
posted by justgary at 11:18 PM on August 05, 2007
Second, I thought everyone in America was innocent until proven guilty. I am so sick of this backwards-ass line of thought. This applies in the American legal system, and nowhere else, especially not the treacherous terrain of the Court of Public Opinion. To attempt to apply this legal standard to what people think and feel is misguided and naive at best.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:20 AM on August 06, 2007
Would it then be better if all were guilty until proven innocent? The Court of Public Opinion is just that, though, Opinion. Sometimes facts are involved, but most times, feeling overrides fact in that Court. I'll stay with truth and facts.
posted by bavarianmotorworker at 06:41 AM on August 06, 2007
I'll personally never forgive Barry Bonds for breaking the hallowed, all-time Base On Balls record. It's kind of ridiculous, though, how everyone is so up-in-arms about a home run record, and how actual winning baseball is never even figured into the equation.
posted by dyams at 07:15 AM on August 06, 2007
"no idea why so much time is spent hating the guy." Could it be because he never played to the media? Called the press names that sometimes suit them so well? Never tried to be the "role model" that people insist our sports figures to be? Never gave the "Well, We...." speech at the end of a lost? Never smiled and played Mr. Nice Guy for the media when inside he was really pissed? In other words, be a fake at times for public just because "we have to think of the children..(insert what arguement you like here)..."? Or just for "appearances" sake? Personally, I don't feel one way or another about the Home Run record, but to think players in the past were perfect and the ones playing now are not is kinda naive (at least to me). It says a lot about sports when the players have to take "enhancements" for performance, be it for the $$$, fame, records, ect. But it also says something about the fans who cheer rabidly in the stands as a player rounds the bases, crosses the goal line, dunks one, or shoots one into the net. When people compare the stadium crowd to the spectators in the Colisium in ancient Rome, it sometimes cuts closer to home than people care to admit. And for the record, if I lived in Cali, and was a Raiders fan, I would fit right in with the people in "The Black Hole". end of rant
posted by steelergirl at 09:45 AM on August 06, 2007
A couple of observations a couple days later: 1. Bonds homer landed among a group of fans many of whom appeared to be holding asterisks. I wonder how many of them dropped those asterisks to dive into the scrum for the ball. And I really wonder if the guy who came out of the scrum so elated to have grabbed the ball was holding an asterisk just moments earlier. Which is worse, selling your conscience or your ethics for a windfall? 2. I missed the Bonds homer because I went to the Stadium to see the A-Rod homer. My first glimpse of Bonds' shot was on SportsCenter. The way they edited him, even as they showed camera angle after camera angle, made it look like he hit the ball, reacted with no joy until he got around the bases, cold-shouldered Klesko in an awkward moment as he grabbed Nikolai and hugged him, then he blew past his teammates to greet his family in the stands. When I saw YouTube clips of the full event, that isn't at all what happened -- yes, he grabbed Nikolai first, but Klesko pretty clearly moved as a gesture to Bonds, not because he felt blown off, and Bonds immediately went over and hugged Klesko once he put Nikolai back down. He spent several minutes receiving hugs and congratulations from his coaches and teammates, who seemed genuinely joyful at the event. None of that appeared on SportsCenter that I saw. Screw you, ESPN.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 10:27 AM on August 06, 2007
I don't care what steriod you're on; if don't have the swing and the eye you're not going to may contact. Bonds didn't break the contact record, he broke the homerun record. It takes contact & POWER to hit a home run. If you think steroids don't help with this then you are just delusional. It was the steroid era. The fact that the pitcher he hit 755 against had been busted in the past for doing steroids speaks volumes. Bonds wasn't the only steroid user, not by a long shot. Since when do two, twenty, or a hundred wrongs make a right? I mean if steroids make you superman and Clay Hensley did steroids why are people hitting home runs off of him? People hit homeruns off the best of pitchers, even that Cy Young guy you mentioned. Being from Pittsburgh, I have hated Bonds since the moment he left town. He only made it easier as his career progressed. In general, it is hard to deny or ignore his use of steroids. But, that being said, I am glad that I got to see him tie the record and I look forward to seeing him break it. Not because I am a fan of Barry Bonds, but because I am a fan of baseball (even in Pittsburgh). I can also say this: I can't wait till A-Rod breaks Barry's record (I can't believe I have to root for a Yankee).
posted by Steel_Town at 11:08 AM on August 06, 2007
(I can't believe I have to root for a Yankee) I'd say chances are pretty good you won't have to.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 11:30 AM on August 06, 2007
JustGary, Thanks for your comments. They really kind of jolted me out of my "Bonds is a jerk, case closed" mentality. Obviously, the steroid era is nothing to be happy about, but if it was so widespread, we either have to a) scrap the last 20 years from the record books, or b) try to put a stop to it, and give grace to those in the situation. Many will hate option b because that will mean giving Bonds some slack. However, unless we all want to be either hypocritical, or pretend no pro ball was played for 20 years, i don't see how we can do any better. Even though it may make us feel better to take all our frustrations out on Bonds, it doesn't solve the problems with PED's in the game. How does an asterisk purge a couple decades of rampant cheating?
posted by brainofdtrain at 12:04 PM on August 06, 2007
JustGary, to see how much you softened on the Bonds stance, has brought a tear to my eye. I certainly can understand why people are in such an uproar about this situation but regardless, Bonds wasn't the only one. The difference with Bonds is, he hasn't been caught or tested positive and he also made it clear that if he used anything, it was unknowingly. Ok, he may not have been the nicest pro athlete towards the media....so what? Is that supposed to make me hate the guy just because he wasn't Mr. Nice Guy to the media? I could care less how Barry Bonds or any other athlete treats the media as long as they go out and perform to their upmost potential and entertain the fans. Isn't that what it's all about anyways? Just take a look after Bonds smacked #754 in San Diego (stay classy), those fans were on their feet clapping at what they just witnessed. Sure, there were a few smatterings of boos but other than that, people were cheering nevermind what Bud Selig was doing. If anyone should be blamed for anything, it should be Mr. Commissioner himself and he should also be ashamed for the way he reacted when Bonds hit 754. Why even show up if your going to act like a jackass and pretend like you don't know what just happened? This was a joyous occasion and when Barry breaks the record, I'll be celebrating his feat like any true fan would.
posted by BornIcon at 12:25 PM on August 06, 2007
1 more thing is going to lend slack to Bonds (thanks to him hitting 755 off of a past cheat). Hensley cheated and what did it do for him? Nothing. There are players out there that try their best to cheat or get an advantage with PED's and it does absolutely nothing for them. Because they didn't have any advantage to begin with. Is there more proof that Bonds could have broken the record without the help of PED's. Sure there is. Aaron, Ruth, Maris and the current collection of HR's A-rod has. They all did what they did without PED's didn't they?
posted by Aces Full at 12:37 PM on August 06, 2007
They all did what they did without PED's didn't they? Are you sure about that? I mean, were you actually there to know for sure that they didn't use anything? That's the question that remains to be answered but in all honesty, do we really want to know? Some things should just be left alone. BTW, I meant 755
posted by BornIcon at 12:42 PM on August 06, 2007
This was a joyous occasion and when Barry breaks the record, I'll be celebrating his feat like any true fan would. So, from now on, if you don't celebrate what Born Icon celebrates, the way he celebrates it, you're not a true fan. This will undoubtedly come as a shock to those of you who didn't celebrate the "joyous occasion" because you don't like Barry Bonds, for whatever reason. We now return you to your already in-progress "I'm a better fan than you are" nonsense.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 03:19 PM on August 06, 2007
Since when do two, twenty, or a hundred wrongs make a right? posted by Steel_Town I would respond to your question if that's what I actually wrote. It's not. It has nothing to do with right or wrong. It has to do with being fair. The entire era is tainted by steroid use. Bonds is being used as a scapegoat by the league. Nail Bonds and wash their hands of the entire matter. That appears to be the plan. I haven't always believed that, but I do now. Which is why I said singling out bonds is hypocritical. If you believe steroids gave this era's players an unfair advantage which deems the home run record tainted, fine. I'll remember that greenies were popular when Aaron played and Ruth was facing tired starters in the 8th and 9th innings. I fail to see how fans who claim to love baseball believe booing bonds as he rounds the bases breaking baseball's most revered record accomplishes or changes anything except giving baseball another black eye. I can understand fan frustration, and I can understand not cheering, but aiming it all at one player simply because he's the best player of the era is misplaced and unfortunate. Another reason I hope Bonds breaks the record soon is so I can quite reading drivel like this. How many times does that same article have to be written? Bonds thanked the San Diego fans -- never mind that almost as many booed as cheered his 755th home run I heard the call today audio only on Mike and Mike today and there was far more cheering than booing. I have no idea who Phil Rogers is, but with that piece of crap he did far more harm to journalism than Bonds ever did to baseball. Not that I doubt he believes what he wrote. Journalists hacks have been riding on Bonds' coattails for years writing cookie cutter stories demonizing him. To find out that a large percentage of fans don't care and cheer Bonds despite years of being thrown under the bus by journalist with nothing better to write about has to be a blow to their egos.
posted by justgary at 06:52 PM on August 06, 2007
the greatest pitcher of our times is an ass Hey Gary, if Mad Dog finds out you wrote this, you might become another one of his "trophys." Oh, were you referring to someone else? Once again, you're risking "trophy" status.
posted by tahoemoj at 03:12 AM on August 07, 2007
God my day real does run over with crap today. First, after 20 years (and writing a season preview for this very site earlier this year) I have given up on Formula One. (In very large part thanks to Ferrari's obsessions with dragging the sport through the shit. Today's McLaren qualifying debacle was the last straw.) And now this... I'm just gonna go kill myself I think. Isn't there, statistically, a good chance A-Rod will beat it? Never imagined I'd be cheering for A-Rod...