Of course that also has something to do with the fact I can’t wait to see Lind once he gets rolling.

I honestly think eventually they’ll go on a ridiculous tear, and then everyone will be going on and on about how they’ve “gelled” as a team, and are riding the momentum and gained character from their April struggles, blah blah blah…And it will really just be the RISP and 1-run fortunes swinging back the other way. Unless someone (*knock on A.J.*) blows out their arm, it’s just not possible to throw this rotation out there and not win 90 games. Of course the final 5 or so to make it into the playoffs is another question…

I’m not positive that Accardo said it was steak, but I am positive Accardo said that Bonds took him out for dinner early in his rookie season. Either way, that’s an awesome coincidence.

It might just be me, but I’m guessing they didn’t go to a sushi restaurant…

I think, what makes this team so damn frustrating, is that you can see it every time they play - they are a team that should be winning a lot more games. You don’t assemble a pitching staff this good very often. It hasn’t been since 1998/1999 that the Jays had 5 guys you actually believed would give them a good chance to win every time out, and I’d still rather have this rotation then the 1998 staff.

… for fun, that 1998 staff was Clemens, Williams, Hengten, Carpenter, Guzman. Escobar and Hanson got 18 starts that year, along with two guys who started 5 games total who were at opposite points in their careers and who are pretty much undoubtedly the two best pitchers the Jays have ever had for a significant length of time. / end digression

This 2008 team SHOULD be good!

Either way: I’ll just put this out there. Would you for the league minimum, sign Bonds for the remainder of this year?

Yes or no. There’s a lot to consider, but if someone put that on your plate, and you had to decide now, what would you say?

I’d say yes, then go down and find an empty confessional booth, and hope for the best…

Tell me about it! Even in my head, it’s a pretty decent debate…

Are you serious about that Accardo steak thing?? I said as a joke that Bonds must have bought him a steak when he was a rookie or something because I saw him on TV say that he had nothing bad to say about Bonds as a teammate. That’s amazing.

Yah, I’m sure he’d be a tolerable teammate. Wilner says he would probably just stick to himself and do his job. None of the players seemed to have a problem with him as a person (maybe Vernon). And it’s amazing what a few bombs can do for a man’s charisma…

Accardo said in an interview last week when he was a new player on the Giants, that Bonds took him out for a steak dinner to talk to him about getting into the bigs and that he thought he was a great teammate.

Clearly, Accardo isn’t going to say “man, I can’t EFFING STAND that guy”. But I’m willing to bet Barry is a decent enough guy to be around as a teammate. He’s so good, you’re constantly giving him a high five (for driving you in). And who doesn’t like high fives?

And you’re absolutely right. This is a team we cheer for, and do we really want to be forced to cheer for him? It’s a major grey area.

It’s not a cut and dry argument.

If Lind, Overbay, and Wells started swinging the bats again, we wouldn’t need to have this conversation.

Well, that’s one way of looking at it. My point was that maybe that’s not the only way of looking at it for everyone.

“So the only reason teams that could use his services aren’t signing him is because they think he is done.”

I highly doubt it…teams aren’t that stupid. They have scouting reports from last year that say his eye and batspeed are still fine. It’s a combination of the hassle and bad P/R and maybe a tad of implied collusion thrown in.

“You can hate the man that he is, but you could still choose to cheer for the player that he is.”

Well, evidently everyone else is capable of doing that with no qualms. But don’t you get even the slightest bit of repulsion at the idea? Mental game:

-Take Joe Carter’s heartwarming shot to win world series.
-Replace Joe with Albert Belle.
-Reevaluate how warm and fuzzy a memory this is.

“And buddy makes another good point: the things Bonds has done, aren’t as bad as some of the things other players have done and haven’t been vilified to the same degree that Bonds has, not by a long shot.”

Verrrrry good point. Steroids have been taken hugely seriously and then there are other real crimes (like beating/threatening your wife) that people just shake their heads at, and the guy is starting the next day. I don’t think that “other players are just as bad” totally invalidates the jerk angle, though.

The agruement should be as follows: Would signing Barry Bonds make your team better?

If the answer is yes and you don’t have a better option in place then you need to really ask yourself, why are we not going after Bonds?

Is it because we think he’s done? He’s old, no doubt. But keep in mind - he’s Barry FREAKING BONDS! Before steroids he was one of the games greatest players ever. In the previous 3 seasons he’s posted OPS of 1.000 or better (I’m adding 1 to his .999 two years ago). So the only reason teams that could use his services aren’t signing him is because they think he is done.

Right?

… Right? Do we really think that? Do all the teams that could use him really think that?

You can hate the man that he is, but you could still choose to cheer for the player that he is. Provided, of course, that he’s batting 4th for YOUR team!

He’s a guy who I think let down the whole world - more talent then agruably anybody, and was on pace to go down as one of the best outfielders in the history of the game (3 MVP’s, 8 GG’s, 9 all star games before pre-steroids. I’m approximating his use of steroids beginning around the age of 34) - and yet he still decided that wasn’t enough for him and he wanted to use steroids. I hate him for doing that and will always hate him for doing that. It’s a shame, it really, really is.

However, he’s not the only guy, not by a long shot, who made these bad decisions. In light of that, I could support him on the Jays.

Just for one year.

And buddy makes another good point: the things Bonds has done, aren’t as bad as some of the things other players have done and haven’t been vilified to the same degree that Bonds has, not by a long shot. It’s time to move on to something else, and let the man finish out his career.

Barry Bonds has been accused of not telling the truth to a grand jury investigating BALCO. Barry Bonds does not own BALCO and does not distribute steroids on behalf of BALCO.

Why was the grand jury investigating Barry Bonds? Weren’t they supposed to be investigating BALCO? How did that “investigation” of BALCO turn into a witch hunt directed against MLB players? Clearly, BALCO wasn’t the real target in the campaign against Barry Bonds.

What “immediate danger” to Major League Baseball does Barry Bonds pose, that requires Barry Bonds’ suspension prior to a decision in Bonds’ upcoming trial?

In fact, wouldn’t the presence of Barry Bonds on a Major League Baseball team roster - the Baltimore Orioles, for instance - be an immediate big boost to that team’s attendance as well as a big boost to their chances of winning?

In effect, MLB teams are willing to lose money rather than hire Barry Bonds. Isn’t that the definition of a “blacklist”? The actors, singers, directors etc. who were “blacklisted” during the McCarthy era witch hunt were money makers for the entertainment industry, yet no owner would hire them! Isn’t that exactly what is happening with Barry Bonds?

Weren’t many of these talented performers indicted and some convicted for refusing to cooperate with grand juries and dragged before government staged hearings in front of hundreds of cameras and reporters?

Years later many of those “blacklisted” were apologized to, but did that apology make up for the destruction of their livelihoods and their personal lives during the McCarthy “blacklisting”? Of course not!

I have a special disgust for the owners of the San Francisco Giants. They made millions off of Barry Bonds. They were able to build a money making stadium based, to a great extent, on Barry Bonds. Where is their gratitude? Nowhere!

He was their star player who was loved by the fans in the Bay area, yet the SF Giants team owners shamefully released Barry Bonds after the 2007 season so as to do their part in the “blacklisting”! They deserve a Hall of Shame of their own!

Years from now, when Major League Baseball is forced to apologize to Barry Bonds for their actions, that apology will never make up for the crime that Major League Baseball is inflicting today on Barry Bonds and on the many fans who admire the athletic greatness that Barry Bonds has been as a player.

I also admire him for his unbending, “in your face” attitude during constant attacks from the big business media, especially the sports talk radio and cable channels that have to fill 24-hour-a-day air time by creating controversy and scandal where there would have been little or none before those media outlets were created.

I appeal to the fans of Major League Baseball to bombard their team owners with letters and emails and petitions demanding that their team hire Barry Bonds.

Imagine, for instance, Barry Bonds added to the roster of the woeful offense of the Baltimore Orioles.

Imagine the magical confrontations in the American League East with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez at Fenway Park and Camden Yards and with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter at Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards.

Wouldn’t that do wonders for attendance for a Baltimore Orioles franchise that has been down in the dumps for so long?

An historic wrong is being committed by the owners. Do we want to have a posthumous apology to Barry Bonds, as was done for Jim Thorpe, or do we correct this wrong NOW? Barry Bonds is this era’s Babe Ruth.

He’s the biggest star in our national pastime.

I appeal to the fans to help us right this wrong. I want to see Barry Bonds playing baseball in 2008!

To all concerned fans: Perhaps you could use the above as a petition circulated at stadiums or handed out at stadium gates. I know that millions of you will still be in attendance at MLB games.

While there, couldn’t you also do your part in fighting against the shameful “blacklisting” of Barry Bonds, the greatest hitter in Major League Baseball history?

But jeez…I don’t think my fan instincts are deceiving me about Barry. He’s said some amazing things to reporters, he went out of his way to call out Hank Aaron - there may be some wolves in sheep’s clothing out there, but Barry doesn’t even try to hide his fangs.