It wasn't the biggest story of the day yesterday. Not by a long shot. Not with the tragedy involving two NFL players off the coast of Florida. Not with Kurt Warner basically begging the Arizona Cardinals to take him back (that should tell you how much he doesn't want to play for San Francisco). But it was a story that deserves more attention than it wound up getting.
Baseball's all-time Home Run leader (I can't call him King), Barry Bonds, wants to play for a team in 2009. His agent is calling each and every team hoping he can get his client a job for the coming season. Since his perjury trial has been delayed (and who knows if it will ever get underway), he is available to play. Since he hasn't been convicted on any charges by a jury of his peers (forget about public opinion), there is really no reason that he couldn't play.
Will Bonds find a home? He didn't last year, and I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't find one this season. But there might be one or two teams out there that would consider adding the slugger to their lineup. One of those teams might even make him an offer. And, who knows? Maybe Bonds accepts and plays at a park near you starting in April.
But, if it's me, I wouldn't touch Bonds with a ten-foot pole. If it's my team, the one I'm putting together, then I am staying as far away from Bonds as I possibly can.
The only reason (in my mind) to sign Bonds is for the circus side show that he brings with him. At this point, the only thing we know he'll be able to do is put fans in the seats. People will want to watch to see if he has anything left. Fans will come to the park just to boo him. Other than that, I can't see why any GM would even consider it.
I know it's difficult to believe, considering Bonds did hit 28 homers in his last full season (2007). But that was two years ago. He is going to turn forty-five years old in July. Think about it, forty-five years old. If he truly is off performance enhancing drugs, there is no way you could expect him to put up the kind of numbers that he did even two short years ago. Sammy Sosa was younger than Bonds, took a year off, came back, and hit some homers but was clearly not the same player. Bonds, at his advanced age, might suffer a dropoff in production. And I don't think you'd want Bonds on your club if he wound up giving you between fifteen and twenty homers.
There is also the question of how many games Bonds will be able to play. You might be able to get more out of him if you're an American League team (let's face it you cannot put him in the field anymore), but it's a gamble at this point. Can anyone, with any confidence at all, tell me that Bonds would be able to play in 140 games after a year off? Even if he was a full time DH? I didn't think so.
I would stay away from Bonds because he will kill a clubhouse. He wasn't exactly Mr. Popular with his teammates in San Francisco. I distinctly remember Jeff Kent, a notorious red ass if there ever was one, go after Bonds in the Giants dugout a dew years ago. if you have a manager who is trying to preach an 'all for one' mentality, Bonds is not the guy you bring in. He isn't a guy you want teaching younger players the ropes. He never was that kind of guy when he had the chance to be.
Again, it's only my opinion. But if it were me, I'd take a pass on Bonds.
Actually, Bonds should take a pass on Bonds. I think MLB was trying to send him a message a year ago when no team made a serious attempt to sign him. The message was pretty simple. It's time to take your bat and glove and go home.
What's motivating Bonds to attempt a comeback is beyond me. He has the record that most thought would never be broken in their lifetime. Steroids or no steroids, he has that record. It's actually pretty sad.
Here we have an athlete who hasn't gotten the message that he is no longer wanted. In a different way, we saw Brett Favre go through the same thing last summer. The Packers told him they didn't want him. When Favre went public with his anger, the packers relented and dealt him to the Jets. It was, by all accounts, a season that Favre would probably like to have back.
Make no mistake. Baseball has - without saying it publicly - told Bonds he isn't wanted anymore. The best thing that Bonds could do is stay away. Keep a low profile, and hope that the Hall of Fame voters will have a change of heart by the time he is up for election in five years.
But then again Barry Bonds and a low profile have never been on speaking terms, have they?
Listen to today's podcast for a poll on the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers!
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