Great season coming except for one thing....

[PhantomPain]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Here I thought we had a Great season coming up BECAUSE Bonds hopefully won't be playing anywhere in America. Please please let him not play anywhere in the MLB this year....please

[Blzer]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

If there wasn't any media? Are you serious? Media is as much a part of baseball as pine tar is. That's like saying if there were no curveballs than Rob Deer would be a Hall of Famer.

What I meant by my comment earlier is this: During Bonds' chase toward Ruth (wow... Ruth isn't even the home run leader, and ESPN needs to call it this), Bonds was in a bit of a home run slump, meaning more devotion toward him on Baseball Tonight. In the clubhouse, every day before and after a game is a circus because Bonds still has yet to hit 715. During a Sportscenter interview with some Giants players concerning them being able to witness history soon, players like Sweeney were saying, "I just hope he gets it over with soon, because I'm tired of the attention around him. Our focus needs to be on winning, and it's tough when it's all on him reaching a number."

Did Sweeney say this because every day when Bonds enters the clubhouse he calls a meeting about how he is going to pass Ruth? No. It's because of the focus it's getting by the media. It's something that follows Bonds because of the numbers he was putting up, and it's annoying to everybody. After Bonds hit #715, there was a press conference for him. The one thing I remember him saying was, "I'm just glad it's over. Now [the team] can start focusing on winning." I think he means that now the media can back the hell off.

[PVarck31]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

I heard he may play for the California Penal League.

[rsox]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

He put up a 1.045 OPS last year in 132 games. He got on base at a .480 clip. I can't believe his negatives are so bad that they outweigh what he could bring to a lineup for a single season.

His legal issues are a big reason that no team wants to sign him. You are not just signing Bonds, you're signing Bonds and a federal grand jury.

Plus the fact that he is 43 (will be 44 by mid-season) doesn't help

Oakland - Mike Piazza
Texas - Sammy Sosa

Neither of those players play for those teams anymore.

[Kohlstar20]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Did he do something wrong. I gotta tell you....I'm in the dark about things like this.


I like his large head.

Yeah, I do believe purgery is wrong not to mention against the law and is punishable with jail time. Remember he lied to congress while under oath and like I said in my first post I have no idea why he hasn't been convicted yet.

[Kohlstar20]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

I heard he may play for the California Penal League.

That's what I was thinking.

[vegasmike]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

don't think any team has room for a DI - Designated Idiot

The Rangers apparently do, they signed Milton Bradley.

[RandyMoss84]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Monday, April 7, 2008
The Mariners should sign Barry Bonds, ASAP
By Jim Caple
Page 2

The Mariners should sign Barry Bonds.


No, I'm not panicking at Seattle's 2-4 record, and I didn't decide this while watching Richie Sexson strike out eight times or designated hitter Jose Vidro bat .130 the first week of the season -- though all certainly strengthened my view. I thought this after watching the Mariners steadily improve their pitching this winter while leaving glaring offensive needs. This isn't panic. This is good, sound thinking. Bonds could help. He hit 28 home runs last season (more than anyone with Seattle hit last year -- and, I dare say, more than anyone on the team will hit this year) with a 1.045 OPS. He not only would give them a home run threat from the left side, he also would give them a batter who actually has the plate discipline to take a walk.

What would happen that would be so horrible if the Mariners (or any other team) signed Bonds?

Yes, Seattle fans would be appalled. At first. They like their players to smile and say nice things and visit sick kids in hospitals and establish charitable foundations. They like Dan Wilson. Who doesn't? But they're also pretty sick and tired of never reaching the World Series, and never ever acquiring the player who is so obviously needed. The Mariners have some very good pitching, but they also need a big bat in the lineup, preferably from the left side. Bonds would give them that. And as soon as he started slamming fastballs into the Hit It Here Café, fans would very quickly forget about his considerable baggage.

After all, why should fans be more outraged by a team signing Bonds than by the Tigers acquiring Gary Sheffield, the Yankees re-signing Andy Pettitte (and New York fans giving him a big ovation after a written "apology" that included a lie) and playing Jason Giambi, the Astros signing Miguel Tejada, or any of the other teams who employ players named in the Mitchell report or the BALCO investigation? If those guys still can be cheered without their fans feeling guilty, why can't fans cheer Bonds?

Would there be a distraction in the clubhouse? Sure. For a week or so. Then all the stories would have been reported, all the outraged opinions would have been expressed, all the phone calls would have been taken on talk radio. And what would be left? Just a guy who keeps to himself off the field but can still hit when he's in the lineup. Bonds doesn't cause trouble with his teammates because he rarely talks to them. And there won't be hordes of reporters tailing him either. The home run chase is over. No one is going to send reporters to follow Bonds around on a daily basis. Hell, newspapers are cutting back so much these days, they barely even send reporters to follow their teams around anymore.

Barry Bonds
Barry's just sitting around, waiting for someone to sign him. How about Seattle?
Plus, this is Seattle. The national media don't care about us anyway. Half the country thinks we're still wearing grunge, and the other half thinks we share our coffee breaks with Bigfoot. Bonds could play with the Mariners and most fans would think he was retired or in jail.

Bonds also will be on his best behavior. He doesn't have many employment opportunities at the moment, which means a team will be able to tell him to play by its rules. It won't be a problem. Bonds may like playing by his own rules, but what he mostly likes is playing. Remember, Ken Griffey Jr. had a leather recliner at his locker in the Kingdome. It didn't keep him from being Seattle's best and most popular player.

Sure, Bonds may be ordered to stand trial later this season. And David Ortiz might tear an ACL. Jim Thome might tear a hamstring. If Bonds has to miss games for some reason, you'd deal with it then, just as you would any injury. Reports make it sound like a trial is unlikely until after the season, anyway.

And if doesn't work? Big deal. A lot of moves don't work out in baseball. The Mariners will move on. At least they would have tried. Plus, the season tickets have already been paid for.

Besides, if it doesn't work, they always could sign Roger Clemens to beef up their pitching.

please Seattle sign him, Bonds needs to be playing

[bkrich83]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Why sign him. He's simply can no longer play the field, he clogs the bases when he is on, he's facing a perjury trial, and there's a whole other set of issues as far as entourages and media crush wherever he goes.

It's quite easy to see why he's not been signed.

[Brandon13]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Why sign him. He's simply can no longer play the field, he clogs the bases when he is on, he's facing a perjury trial, and there's a whole other set of issues as far as entourages and media crush wherever he goes.

It's quite easy to see why he's not been signed.

I'm with you on the other stuff, but clogs the bases? I don't quite get that. If you have Bonds in the lineup and he gets on base like last year you're going to more runs than you would with Jose Vidro as your DH.

[bkrich83]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

I'm with you on the other stuff, but clogs the bases? I don't quite get that. If you have Bonds in the lineup and he gets on base like last year you're going to more runs than you would with Jose Vidro as your DH.

He's strictly station to station at this point, which was my point. I just don't see a lot of return on your investment with Bonds. Seattle would be a good fit. If there's an injury on the Yanks or Red Sox I could see him fitting in there. But on the field and off the field, I don't think he brings enough to the table to warrant a job, all things considered.

[snepp]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Clogging the bases is a superior option to having them empty.

[bkrich83]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

Clogging the bases is a superior option to having them empty.

Agreed. But it's certainly not a positive. Point being, certain people act like it's a given that any team in baseball would love to have Bonds, and that's simply no where near being true.

[Blzer]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

He's simply can no longer play the field...

This is a rather blasphemous statement that I have read over and over and simply ignored, but cannot anymore. The reason he wants to be a DH is so it will be easier on his legs (and he will fatigue less in general). The guy may not have the range that he used to have, but he can catch a ball and throw out a runner.

Plus, don't tell me the guy can't still run for speed every so often. The guy takes no lead, and can still successfully swipe a bag. Though he's probably only stolen like 25 bases in the last 5 years (and remember he didn't really play all but 14 games in 2004), I don't ever recall him being caught stealing. I'm not saying anything about him as a base-stealing threat, but for someone to steal that many bags successfully... you can't say he doesn't have some decent speed.

Sure, he won't slide and attempt to break up a double play, but he is actually probably still one of the faster first-to-home base runners out there if he was really going all out.

Plus, if he signs with Seattle, he won't need to play the field except when they play in NL ballparks.

[Blzer]

Re: Great season coming except for one thing....

And to another one of your posts... there are many other undeserving ballplayers out there that have a starting job. I like to hate on the Giants right now [though I love them], so I'll just throw out Ray Durham, Dave Roberts, Rich Aurilia, and hell... Barry Zito.