No One Wants Bonds

Vernon Wells just went down for 4-6 weeks...sign Barry Bonds!

Perhaps the conspiracy is against Mr. Bora$$. If I'm Bonds, I'd try my luck with another agent.

On another note, why wouldn't Bonds be ready to go tomorrow?? You'd think he'd have plenty of time to work out an hour a day.

Moises Alou is out for the season. Hey Omar, you got Jeff Borris' number?

Interesting.....so it takes up to ten days to flush your system for a urinalysis?

"Perhaps the conspiracy is against Mr. Bora$$."

Perhaps you're thinking of Scott Boras, not Jeff Borris.

Borris not Boras! Moron!

Kray... i think you are thinking of Scott Boras...superagent.

Anyways I am starting to believe that maybe there is a real moved to prevent him from being signed. He hasn't been convicted of anything, and he would be a massive upgrade over lots of other options that are run out there. Hell I know that he is hated in San Diego, but in hindsight I wouldn't mind now if he was in our lineup over Hairston.

I honestly have to believe that some team is going to be willing to take a flier on him, .480 OBS, you dont simply create them from nowhere.

Looks like Borris is not officially raising the collusion issue. I wonder if this 1) gets MLB to back off any "blacklisting" of Bonds or 2) sets up a very winnable lawsuit for Bonds.

Bud obviously put in some calls...

Selig and Fehr are to blame for the Steroid Era...they all knew it was going on, but $$$ came first. Now that is been proven how rampid Roids are, Bonds is still the scapegoat while players like Giambi get celebrated for having an F'n porn stache!!!

Why not the Mets? Alou is out for the year and Church is out until who knows when. C'mon, seriously. Speaking as a Mets fan, I can't imagine one guy who privately, over a few beers, wouldn't admit to wanting Barry on the team. Imagine a sequence of Wright, Beltran, Bonds, and Delgado in the postseason. I don't care what anyone says, that lineup is money in the bank.

Screw the negative press, screw the drama, screw the steroid scandal. SIGN HIM!

You cant honestly say that most every team could use Bonds. This is absolutely collusion and its not the first time its happened, Jose Canseco definitely still had gas in the tank and he said he was "blacklisted" by MLB, we all thought he was crazy back then, guess not?

Good can we then curtail of the coverage of team X not wanting Bonds. Who really cares.

So obviously this is a MLB conspiracy to black ball Bonds. But doesn't he deserve it though i would love him to make my team a winner.

If anyone signs bonds he could be the difference of winning a pennant or not.

If the Mets signed him i wuold bet the they win the division.

It's sad that no GM will sign Bonds, honestly I think this is an embarrassment to the game of baseball. Excluding a player from the game because one of the two reasons: he will bring an unwanted distraction or because of his past steroid use. Based on these two reasons there should be no excuse for Bonds not to be signed.

No team has ever not signed a player because of a distraction... just ask Sidney Ponson or Kenny Rogers... maybe even Gary Sheffield.

What makes me even more disgusted is that if teams are not signing Bonds based on his publicly known steroid use. But players along the lines of Jack Cust, Ryan Franklin, Eric Gagne, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen, Jerry Hariston, Paul Lo Duca, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Derrick Turnbow, and Greg Zaun, who were all named in the Mitchell Report can not only play in their respective cities are not only cheered for by the fans but are respected as well.

These are just a few names that can be listed because Bud Selig is not allowed to release the list of players who tested positive back in 2003 when the entire league was tested which started the implementation of the suspension policies on steroid use.

I also respect the way Bonds has handled himself while he has been publicly attacked by so many. He hasn't gone on a finger-pointing crusade like Cansaco has, but rather has tried to avoid questions of such manner.

Lastly I'll end this rant by leaving you with something to think about. WasHank Aaron on performance enhancing drugs?

http://www.protrade.com/content/DisplayArticle.html?sp=S8687c664-c2d1-11db-9291-83f05e1a00a7

I'm not saying he did them, but it is something to think about, and maybe garner a little more respect for Barry Bonds.

Brian Cashman wake up! Yankee Stadium was built for Bonds! Damon Jeter Abreu Arod Bonds Giambi Posada Cano Melky.. wow get bonds for cheep! trade matsui for pitching or rotate him in the of.

HANK ARRON would NEVER have used them, as a long time Brave fan i take offense to that, His head didn't triple in size in 2 years and there no proof except a dedicated 20 year MLB player.

How in the world do you know that Hammerin Hank would NEVER use steroids? He's a good guy? So what? They were not banned so who is to say he did not? Take the time to look at the site that was posted above. You explain the fact that his HR rate increased dramatically in his last 3 years including 40 HR at age 40?

A couple things to you conspiracy theorists, there is one other big reason not to sign Bonds other than the fact that he is a distraction and that he used steroids. The man is under indictment for federal felony charges. No one was crying conspiracy when the Falcons weren't going to let Vick play while he was under federal indictment.

Second, why does everyone just assume that Bonds will be able to put up similar numbers to what he did last season? The guys 43 and hasn't played against live competition all season.

Oh, and let's not forget the number of runs he gives back in the field for all of you mentioning NL teams. Sure, if he plays as well as he did last year, he would create about as many runs as anyone in the league, but he will also give up more runs than any LF in the league.

That's bull. His felony crap was brought on in a witch hunt trying to sacrifice him. They did not go after every other steroid user. And you can assume he would put up good numbers and his defense is not as bad as you say. It's bad but compared to the amount of runs he produces, come on.

"HANK ARRON would NEVER have used them, as a long time Brave fan i take offense to that"

And priests don't touch little boy right... right?

"The man is under indictment for federal felony charges."

The fact is that this will not affect the time he plays this year. I agree I don't think a team has to sign him next year if he is in and out of court.

Also, the thing I love about this is George Bush has already offered Roger Clemens a pardon if he gets indicted, as they are "buddies." I can't imagine what the lawyers for Bonds would do if he wasn't given a pardon as well since him and Clemens are in similar positions with steroid allegations.

"Second, why does everyone just assume that Bonds will be able to put up similar numbers to what he did last season? The guys 43 and hasn't played against live competition all season."

I'll take a Bonds who hasn't played competative ball in a year over.. Jose Vidro... Craig Monroe... Gary Matthews... or any bench player on any team.

The Padres paid Prior to rehad all year then get another surgery... the mariners paid richie sexson 16 million to hit worse than I could.

There is no reason why any team in the league can't risk the league minimum for a possible huge reward.

That isn't bull. The basis or the reason for the indictment doesn't change the fact that he was indicted. The indictment was brought because he lied to a grand jury. The feds don't like that. Teams aren't going to sign a 43 year old distraction.

Coach King,

Have you even bothered following the Balco case? The whole reason the government went after Bonds is that he lied under oath and to investigators. The government has gone after every single athlete who has done so. Hell, they even indicted cyclist Tammy Thomas (yeah I've never heard of her either) because she did the same thing Bonds did. Don't act like he is some martyr here.

I'm not saying you can't assume that Bonds would put up good numbers, I'm just saying its dumb to assume he'd repeat his 190+ OPS+ from last season. I could easily see a 900-950 OPS, but not another 1045. Even with those numbers last year he was still "only" worth 46.1 runs above the average player (according to adjusted batting runs). I think its safe to assume he gives up somewhere between 25% and 35% of that number on defense.

LaLoosh's Nuke,

I find it hard to believe any article that claims guys in the 1970's were using HGH considering that the only way to obtain it at the time was from human pituitary glands removed during autopsy and then purified by a biochemist. Considering the whole operation was supervised by the National Pituitary Agency and the HGH supply was so limited that only 7,700 children were treated from 1963-1985, I think its safe to say that no baseball players were getting their hands on it.

LaLoosh's Nuke,

You completely missed the point on the felony indictment argument. Even if Vick could have pushed back his trial and could have been available the whole season, there was no way the Falcons were going to let him see the field. Everyone seemed to understand that, so why is it so hard to understand in Bonds' case. No team wants to pay a guy under federal indictment for a felony to play for their team. If he ends up being convicted that's just a huge black eye for your team and something you're always going to have to live with.

nixa,

If baseball players couldn't get their hands on any type of HGH or steroids in the time period of 1963-1985 time period could you please explain to me why Tom House made these comments about himself:

"I pretty much popped everything cold turkey"

"We were doing steroids they wouldn't give to horses. That was the '60s when nobody knew. The good thing is, we know now. There's a lot more research and understanding."

"We didn't get beat, we got out-milligrammed", he said. "And when you found out what they were taking, you started taking them".

Why would a man knowingly destroy any respect people would give him as a baseball player and not name anyone else? The man is extremely smart, I've been to his conferences on pitching mechanics, whether you believe the mechanics he teaches or not it doesn’t take away from his knowledge… which makes it hard to believe he’s just some moron making up these claims for laughs.

I didn't say that no baseball player could get their hands on steroids in that period, but I do find it hard to trust anyone who claims that players were using HGH in a period when the entire US supply of the drug was carefully controlled by one agency, to the extent where a very large number of children who actually needed it during the period weren't able to get it because they didn't need it bad enough. This wasn't something a doctor could just write you a prescription for or a pharmacist could get for you under the table, it was completely controlled by a single agency.

nixa you do realize there is a difference between HGH and the various forms of steroid?

Hey look another sports legend admits to using steroids. Terry Bradshaw. And when did he use them? In the 1970's.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25350278/

That article is also incredibly simplistic and intellectually dishonest. First of all, a large part of the reason for those numbers was that Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was a ridiculous hitters park at that period in time. Evans was a young guy who made major strides and Johnson had just moved from Baltimore to Atlanta the year his numbers jumped. The supposed PED use also doesn't explain Aaron's numbers in all the years prior to 1973 (unless he just refused to share with teammates then).

Tom House's comments are also pretty much irrelevant as he was primarily a minor leaguer until 1973 and Aaron was only on the team until 1974 and was only productive in 1973. That article does nothing more than show how random information taken out of context can be distorted to say what you want.

LaLoosh's Nuke,

Are you really that thick headed? I just said that my comment had nothing to do with steroids (which obviously shows that I know the difference between HGH and steroids) and everything to do with the credibility of someone claiming that HGH use was rampant during a period when the drug was completely unavailable.

As for Bradshaw, he was talking about cortisone shots.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2008/06/24/2008-06-24_steelers_legend_terry_bradshaw_clarifies.html

I really can't believe that not a single team wants him. At first I figured that he was too big of a distraction to bring on, but the farther the season went along and the more I saw his numbers from last year I figured that there had to be at least 4-6 teams that could definitely find a spot for him.

Yeah Nuke. That's a great point about guys like Ponson. What about someone like Schilling? While not a distraction in the Bonds sense, he has a habit of frequently telling the media whatever the hell is on his mind which is also a distraction of sorts.

This whole thing is just stupid. The guy can obviously still play. There has to be collusion involved.

Collusion? Get real. Bonds' defensive skills have been deteriorating for years and he hasn't played in the field for 10 months.

He's a DH now. That limits his market to 14 teams. So the only club likely to consider him is a) contending and b) willing to put up with the circus that surrounds Mr. Bonds.

Who might that be? The Bosox, maybe. Perhaps the Rays. Anyone else?

I don't care how bad his glove is-- the Mets are running Endy Chavez, Marlon Anderson and Fernando freaking Tatis out there in the corner outfield slots. If the Mets were willing to run Moises Alou out there you'd have to believe they'd be willing to live with Bonds' glove.

The only reason to have Bonds on a team is for power..... an American league team is probably the only way he might get in to the league again...then again any team that would want him for the playoffs as an extra bat could make a run at him( highly unlikely!!)

"On another note, why wouldn't Bonds be ready to go tomorrow?? You'd think he'd have plenty of time to work out an hour a day."

Uhh.. because you don't just walk out of you're house after not playing baseballl for 10 months and step onto a baseball field and then boom. You're ready. It doesn't work this way. I thought this would be fairly obvious.

"Interesting.....so it takes up to ten days to flush your system for a urinalysis? "

Of all the things I have seen on MLBTR, I have to commend scatterbrian for this amazing piece of priceless comedy. It was so original! Who would have ever thought somebody would make a performance enhancing drug reference to Barry Bonds. The originality makes this just wonderfully funny (I say this as I roll my eyes and make a swift jerking, or stroking motion with my right arm). Do you have any Brittany Spears jokes while you're at it?

"Bud obviously put in some calls...

Selig and Fehr are to blame for the Steroid Era...they all knew it was going on, but $$$ came first. Now that is been proven how rampid Roids are, Bonds is still the scapegoat while players like Giambi get celebrated for having an F'n porn stache!!!"

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Those guys masde their bed, so now sleep in it. They didn't care about steroids when guys were mashing balls out of parks at historic paces and making billions of dollars for MLB. The thing that annoys me the most, is that while it is widely recognized that this entire era is tainted, and a massive amount of players cheated, who do they go after. Bonds, Sosa, Big Mac, Palmeiro etc. The guys that helped baseball the most during this tainted era. Not the guys that are just as guilty without the skill to make any difference. It just isn't right. Barry Bonds is no more guilty then the 26 year old AA kid who cheated and never made the show. You can argue the whole perjury thing or whatever, but my question is why do Bonds and a couple of others get put in a spot where they have to go in front of a grand jury when they are only a fraction of the guys in question. I hate Bonds and Clemens, but it is just wrong what has happened to them.

nrmax,

The reason that Bonds and a couple other got put in a spot where they had to go in front of a grand jury is because the source of their steroids got busted by the Feds. Every athlete that they could tie to BALCO got questioned. What is so hard to understand about this?

As for Clemens, he is publicly calling into question the integrity of one of the two primary witnesses in a huge federal case. Obviously that is something that the government needs to investigate. There was no reason for that to happen in front of a Congressional Committee obviously, but that's just politics for you.

There are also good reasons why the names you listed receive the majority of the focus for the steroid era. First of all, they are some of the most obvious users. All of them either tested positive or had huge spikes in their numbers that make it almost unquestionable that they used. Second, people are obviously going to be more upset when a star player uses PEDs to produce historically significant numbers than they are about some random utility IF who hit .275 instead of .250 because he was using. One of those players is going to live on forever in record books, while the other will be forgotten by almost everyone a few years after he is gone.

To all the people bringing up his age and duability issues:

There are only 10 weeks left in the season. 2.5 months does not make a season. Id agree with you if this thread was in March but now I think he'd actually be able to play LF every day until the end of the year. Its only a little after 2 months, he's never been in this position before, not having the everyday grind of Feb-July to deal with, dont you think that would IMPROVE his health if anything?

I could not be happier by the way you phrased your argument nrmax! Probably one of the most intelligent arguments I've heard to date and very similar to the one that I present to people on a regular basis. As I explain to many Yankees fans who still look so highly upon guys like giambi and pettite. Don't get me wrong. i'm sure there are plenty of guys on the sox who just didn't get caught. this goes beyond the rivalry

ANDY PETTITE, GIAMBI AND ALL THE OTHERS ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS BONDS AND SHOULD BE REJECTED FROM BASEBALL AS WELL IF YOU ARE GOING TO EXILE BONDS!

Pettite IS NOT A HERO. Pettite got caught with his hands in the cookie jar, admitted to it, then got treated like some kind of hero and reinserted immediately back onto the team with the most championships in the history of sports? HOW IS THAT FAIR!

WHY DID PETTITE ADMIT IT?

Very simple... he HAS NO SHOT (past a plaque maybe with his playoff numbers on it) of making the hall of fame, let alone going down as the best pitcher of all time. Not only that, but he ratted on his supposed "BROTHER" (roger clemens).

BONDS: best hitter of all time (arguably)
Clemens: best pitcher of all time (arguably)
Pettite: just deciding if I want to retire at 36....
Giambi: not going to the hall thats for sure.

The other thing that pisses me off (sorry yankee fans, i swear i'd hate this even if i was a yankee fan):

The Yankees want to put on this prettyboy face and make damon shave his beard, wont take a look at bonds... ect. Meanwhile they sign the worst attitude in baseball. this guys been released with under a 4 era on at least 3 occasions that i know of. With pitching as rare as it is he has to do alot of clubhouse damage to get released while pitching that well. I'm referring of course to sidney ponson.

Bonds as I have argued once before possibly fits best on the yankees team. hear me out.
the yankees this team (facing reality) should be an offensive force to be reckoned with. How do we get jeter and a-rod to see some better pitches? Besides stopping swinging at first pitch balls (which i think girardi needs to smack them for) how about throwing another big bat in the lineup behind arod. Melkys got a great arm but lets face the facts, hes not that impressive as a fielder, and his bat has been less than intimidating since he was called up. Take melky out and add bonds to that lineup, and once matsui is healthy you have a lineup that is in my opinion, the best in the history of baseball. I would literally hand the yankees the division and the series. check it out (once fully healthy for damon and matsui)

1. damon (cf)
2. jeter (ss)
3. abreau (rf)
4. a-rod (3b)
5. bonds (dh)
6. matsui (lf)
7. giambi (1b)
8. posada (c)
9. cano (2b)

You sacrifice defense but that line-up would score 10 runs a game on a bad day. who do you pitch around? cano? maybe posada?

For 500,000 dollars i wanna know why the yankees dont pull the trigger on this. bonds isn't asking for years or commitment. he just wants to come out, swing a bat a few times and go home. if the media leaves him the hell alone, he wont even be a distraction.

i say the same for the sox if they find ortiz is down for longer, but hes looking better at least from bp. although the sox have more depth to work with, so its not as crazy that they are not signing him.

Too many contradictions if you ask me. Bottom line is:

Bonds and clemens had amazing careers at stake. Pettite, giambi, palmeiro, roberts, ect all had nothing to lose once they found out they weren't getting the boot from baseball. So of course clemens and bonds are going to lie.

take that back rafael a hall of famer lol. but the rest. yea... you get the point.

I'll take bonds over thome at any second of the day. Done.

How do you people not understand the difference between using PEDs and being under federal indictment for a felony. Giambi, Pettite, and all the other steroid users aren't the guys you should be comparing Bonds to. Why don't we just compare his situation to that of another much maligned, big name athlete who was indicted on federal felony charges, Michael Vick? I didn't see anyone complaining when the Falcons suspended him and I doubt anyone will be complaining when the commissioner suspends him.

If the Yankees continue to be an average team as they have up to now, I'm guessing that Hank will change direction on this.

Tom House must be smart. He's the only one who has ever figured out how to pop something "cold turkey."

I do think Aaron was possibly 'roiding though, it would just be more convincing if the writer could spell "Canseco" and "inquire."

"The basis or the reason for the indictment doesn't change the fact that he was indicted. The indictment was brought because he lied to a grand jury."

Then why did it take 3 tries to get him indicted? The reality is, the feds know they have no case against Bonds and are really just trying to save face for going on a witch hunt.

"Get real. Bonds' defensive skills have been deteriorating for years and he hasn't played in the field for 10 months.

He's a DH now. That limits his market to 14 teams."

He could have been signed before spring training, so saying he hasn't played in the field for such a length of time isn't particularly valid. Bonds can still read balls off the bat and play the field if he is needed, though I agree that he is more suited to being a DH. Still, the 2 runs a year he might lost you are a nice trade for the 20 or so runs he gives you at the plate.

It is sad to see a player that will give you a 450 OBP left out of the league.

I'm sure someone will get desperate enough to give Bonds a shot.

Omar Minaya would never sign Bonds because Bonds isn't Hispanic. Instead, he's thinking about trading for Raul Ibanez to replace Moises Alou, which would presumably cost them a prospect.

"Borris not Boras! Moron!"
Sorry, oxfrat1665, Mr. 'I can't talk in complete sentences', I'll try to keep them straight next time.