Barry Bonds #756

My Immediate Reaction:

BONDS IS THE HR KING.

I guess all those in the media who reported that they
"knew" what Hank Aaron was saying when he tried to
avoid saying anything about being at the game, choked
on their morning coffee when they heard Aaron's
tribute to Bonds and secondarily Selig's kind words.

Face it haters, you have almost nothing left.
Using Aaron as your last tool to bash Barry and Seligs
non-commitment as "evidence" that he must "know"
something is coming down as far as the Federal investigation is now being shown as the shaky house of cards it may have always been. RIDICULOUS.

I wish people would start using their heads for more
than a hat-rack when they try to think these things
through.

Do you honestly believe if Selig "knew" or was privy
to evidence uncovered by the Feds or Mitchell, that he
would allow Bonds to approach and overtake Aaron.

Can MLB in good conscience (and I use the term loosely
here for them) charge people the money they are
charging for this Home Run Tour and then have it blow
up in their faces weeks or months later.

Do you not think that what they "know" is that
whatever "case" there was is melting away so fast,
they don't know how to backpedal fast enough.

The purists and those who are mourning the loss of the
meaning of "numbers like 714 and 756" can go cry in
their pillow like they did when their Mommy threw away
their baseball card collection and grow the F-up.

Or not, I don't care. In fact, I hope they live a
miserable, painful existence waiting for their new
knight in shining armor, the fair A-Rod from the Bronx,
to gallantly rescue them from the great scourge of
Barry Lamar Bonds.

DROP DEAD HATERS.

And from the Money Talks and BS Walks Dept:
Courtesy of Gwenn Knapp SFGate.com

In several gatherings with the media since Bonds drew
close to Aaron, Selig had avoided uttering the
slugger's name aloud. But his conflicted reactions
didn't extend to the profit motive.

On its Web site, MLB had already arranged to sell
apparel commemorating No. 756. The T-shirts and caps,
unlike the commissioner, actually say the words "Barry
Bonds,'' and at $19.99-$29.99 a pop, they will repeat
the name as often as you want.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Wednesday called to congratulate Barry Bonds, the new home run king, but didn't weigh in on the steroids controversy surrounding the slugger's smashing of the major league record.

On Tuesday night in San Francisco, the Giants' outfielder hit his 756th career home run, breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755.

"You've always been a great hitter and you broke a great record," Bush told Bonds on the phone, according to White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

Bush could see WMD half a world away, that as it turned out may not have been there. But he couldn't see steroid use in his own team's clubhouse. Selective vision. But he did the right thing. Further evidence that the Fed "case" against Bonds may not be all that strong. If anyone would "know" and presumably be briefed as to whether or not it would be a good PR move or not, you would think it would be the President.

Let's face it. The Feds set a "perjury" trap before barry Bonds testified before them by not allowing him to see the evidence they had, AS ALL THE OTHER PERSONS WHO TESTIFIED WERE ALLOWED TO DO. AND AS IS ROUTINELY DONE IN GRAND JURY TESTIMONY. Apparently the trap snapped on the wrong target. They have a case that is weak at best and will likely, if it ever gets to a trial stage, would get tossed on procedural issues. Which would actually be a negative to Bonds as well as the Feds, since although the Feds would lose in court, Bonds would lose in the infamous Court of Public Opinion.

That's why this is taking so long, IMO. How to get around the "cheating" issue. Delicious little irony don't you think?

What if 73 HR'S Never Happened?

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

What if Bonds 2001 season was a "normal" Bonds season instead of the statistical outlier that is was?

What if he just hit HR's at the same rate had been in prior seasons?

I used these assumptions and added one other adjustment. The number of walks received by Bonds in 2001 and in subsequent years would then be adjusted back down to the preceeding five year average.

From 2001-2005 I left Bond's HR rate to 1 HR per 10 AB and then increased the rate to 12.5 AB in 2006 and 15 AB in 2007 to account for aging.

And what do you know, the Adjusted HR's come out to 752 instead of the 754 he had when I downloaded the career statistics.

So we presumably would not be talking about the jealousy of McGwire and Sosa's HR totals. We wouldn't have the media protection of the McGwire legacy for breaking the season home-run record, because he would have never touched that record or McGwire's legacy, which at that time was still pristine.

How much would have changed in terms of perception? How much would have changed in terms of the message regarding Bonds? Would the BALCO mess been a priority in a rogue IRS agents mind if 73 had not happened? All of that began shortly after 2001, the year Bonds dared to push McGwire off the mountain top. Aaron was not a reasonable target at that point. So what would have happened? I guess we'll never know.

Ana Ivanovic the Next Anna? Let's find Out

Lately we've done an awful lot of dry, stuffy, boring statistical comparisons between large, sweaty baseball players. I just felt like it was time to pass judgement on a sports comparison that I can get firmly behind.

I hear the debate, "Is Ana Ivanovic the next Anna Kournikova?" a bit on talk radio and I understand why the topic is popular, given the demographic. But please, who said we were anywhere near done with the old Anna? Why the rush to throw out the old? Sometimes old is better. Is it better in this case? Let's Find Out.

Tale of the Tape
SPELLING ABILITY: Being somewhat of an egg-head, I have to deduct points for misspelling. In reality, who cares? Use spell check.
ADVANTAGE KOURNIKOVA

HAIR COLOR: Anna - Blonde (pretty sure) Ana - Brunette (why lie?)
What you've never seen "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"? It's a Classic.
ADVANTAGE: KOURNIKOVA

ENDORSEMENT POTENTIAL: After an exhaustive Google Image search, I must declare further extensive research is required. Next time, I vow to muster all the human strength at my disposal and keep two hands on the keyboard at all times. For now....
ADVANTAGE: NEITHER

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Ana - Serbia, Anna - Russia
ADVANTAGE: KOURNIKOVA
I don't know where Serbia is, therefore I don't recognize it as a legitimate country.

PLAYING ABILITY: Ana 50th, Anna 1st
ADVANTAGE: KOURNIKOVA
Sorry, babe we dig winners here in America, no time for losers.

HEIGHT: Ana 6-0 Anna 5-8
ADVANTAGE: KOURNIKOVA
Although I'm willing to learn Amazonian.

WEIGHT: Ana 160 lbs Anna 123 lbs
ADVANTAGE: KOURNIKOVA
It's cruel to have to say "Get off me, you beast, you're crushing my spleen", to an otherwise perfectly acceptable woman. A buck sixty is what I weigh on a good day and I can't have a woman that weighs more than me or can beat me in arm wrestling. Not good for that whole perpetuation of the species thing.

INTANGIBLES:
Both play right-handed - ADVANTAGE: NEITHER
Anna seems more willing and able to play doubles. ADVANTAGE: KOURNIKOVA.

It's over. It's all over. And I think we have a winner in this case.

Clearly, the most lop-sided heavy-weight confrontation since Michael Spinks pissed down his leg in front of Mike Tyson.

Chicks Dig the Long Ball.........Go To Hell Chicks

CONGRATULATIONS TO TOM GLAVINE: 300 WINS!!!

And yet, strangely enough, I still think appearing in a commercial with Heather Locklear is the highlight of his career.

You watch this and you get the sense of how far we've gone with the issue of performance enhancement. To the point where (unfortunately I think) the term performance enhancement, which in isolation seems like it should be a positive term, has been given a dirty name in sports.


Anyway, I think we'll look back and find this was when baseball was reaching its apex in popularity, although in spite of the noise from the MSM (mainstream media), attendance figures are through the roof.

Nobody is staying away from the Barry Bonds Home Run Tour, even on the road, sellouts abound.

Gotta love the protest moves as well, the eye shades that nobody wears while Bonds is hitting. The boos when he comes to bat, that turn to cheers when he hits home runs on the road. And booing your own pitcher for trying to win the game and pitch around the baddest hitter on the planet, and maybe in the history of the game.

Anyway, chicks dig the long ball seems so quaint now. And I have a bad feeling in another 10 or 20 years we're going to realize that the so-called steroid era is going to seem like child's play in our rear-view mirror, once we enter, maybe the genetic engineering era. Or the Yankee cloning of A-Rod and Derek Jeter era.

Enjoy it now, because if the purists have their way, we'll go back to boring ass baseball games like in the 70's. 25% capacity attendance like it was in "the good old days" instead of 75% capacity like we have now. We have teams that can score only when the defense commits gross incompetence due to fatigue and/or lethargy since their team is out of the pennant race in mid-May. Because the level playing field we should have been more concerned about was the salary disparity, not this made up "crisis" of performance enhancement.

Remember when Uncle Bud "Pocket Hockey" Selig told us how baseball was in such a financial crisis that teams would have to be folded. Like the Devil Rays and Marlins and Twins and Expos. Whatever happened to that crisis? It wasn't fixed, that's for sure. It was papered over. But it wasn't fixed.

Just my opinion. But they want to change the product that clearly the consumers (the fans) are telling them doesn't need to be fixed (if it ain't broke....). And they continue to ignore the problem that needs fixing the most. They buy the owners silence in the small-markets with hush-money and those owners pass along a false message of hope to their fans while pocketing the hush-money instead of improving the team and making it competitive. Which, I have to admit, given the system in place, spending the money to become competitive is almost certainly an exercise in futility.

Should be an interesting next few years in baseball. At least we don't have to worry about soccer taking over as the next great spectator sport. Funny too, the experts back in the day were so worried about soccer surpassing baseball, I don't remember anybody mentioning the threat from NASCAR?

Tough to rely on these experts nowadays.

Mike Marshall Pitching Demonstration & Interviews

Awesome video of one of Dr. Marshall's star pupils, Jeff Sparks, demonstrating the quantity and quality of the pitches in his arsenal.


http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=2658143

Here are a couple of audio interviews with Dr. Mike:

http://www.kpug1170.com/imageuploads/Files-FilePath-350.mp3


http://blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=25427

And an article from the website of one of the interviewers, Carl the Cabbie:

Some of the highlights from the article are excerpted below, you can click on the link to read the entire article. You wonder how long it will be before some team takes these methods and runs with them. The problem is maybe the good Dr.'s "bedside manner" may be an impediment, when most major league managers and GM's are, at heart, huge control freaks. I'm not sure a strong personality/ego like Marshall's would co-exist with most in control now.

Also, I think when one of your star pupils is unable to help the pitching staff of the Devil Rays, that hurts the reputation of the program. Although he pitched great while he was there and would probably be one of their better pitchers TODAY.


http://bestblog.mlblogs.com/inside_pitch/2007/05/dr_feelgood_3.html

The Marshall Plan

The same year John became the successful guinea pig for modern day surgery, Mike Marshall accomplished a feat that would challenge the traditional idea that arm injuries were an inevitable result of being a professional pitcher. In 1974 Marshall won the NL Cy Young Award by pitching in a phenomenal 106 games. More phenomenal were the other records Marshall set by pitching 208 1/3 relief innings that year, and at one point throwing in 13 consecutive games. Overall, Marshall went 15-12 with 21 saves and a 2.42 ERA. He was injury-free for the rest of his career!Most everyone in baseball including John thought Marshall was just a physical freak of nature. But, there was a method to Marshall's ability, a very scientific method that drew heavily on Sir Issac Newton's "Laws of Motion". Marshall has dedicated himself to learning and teaching now for almost 40 years.

Newtonnew_2 In 1967 after experiencing shoulder soreness while pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Marshall began to apply his love for science and research to himself. He wondered what was causing his soreness and went about experimenting with the mechanics of how he threw to rid himself of the discomfort. The discoveries Marshall would make were groundbreaking in the science of bio-mechanics applied to the throwing of a baseball. In 1978 Marshall, while still pitching for the Minnesota Twins, obtained his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology. Over the next 29 years Marshall would continue to develop his ideas on the best mechanics to throw a baseball.

For those unfamiliar with Marshall's work, here are some highlights of the mechanics behind Marshall's method. The scientific explanation for Marshall's ideas are pretty complex, so I've done my best to simplify them here. I've also linked to a video of a Marshall student throwing a baseball with these techniques. Unfortunately, the video is from Yahoo, so there's a thirty second commercial before the video begins. But, it's worth checking out:

1- Sir Isaac Newton's "First and Second Laws of Motion" teach that in any movement the direction of the force is the same as the direction of the acceleration. The most efficient and powerful movement is that which moves in a straight line. Because of this Marshall believes that pitchers should apply all of their movement in a straight-line force towards home plate. Any windup that requires you to turn your body away from the plate he believes is inefficient and causes extra stress to the arm. Marshall teaches a pendulum windup much like a softball pitcher uses or some of the pitchers from the early part of the nineteenth century.

2- Hidden Velocity- Marshall teaches pitchers to release the ball from their hand later than traditional approaches. He claims this will add extra velocity to a pitch.

3- Pronation of the Forearm- This means that a pitcher should turn his palm away from his pitching arm with the thumb pointing downwards upon follow though. This movement relieves stress in the elbow and shoulder and prevents the forearm bone from slamming into the upper arm bones.

4- Rear Foot Forward- Pointing the rear foot forward off of the pitching rubber alleviates stress to the knee and hip joint while also preventing groin pulls.

5- Throw in a Back To Forward Motion- Marshall claims that throwing across one's body causes extra stress to the arm that will cause many types of injuries.

6- No Leg Kick- As Marshall puts it, "Stand still and then lift your foot about four feet in front of you. How's your balance?". By teaching pitchers to move their foot forward without a kick, Marshall believes that one has a stronger center of gravity to exert force from.

7- Hand Under The Ball- Pitchers who throw with their hand on top of the ball are prone to rotator cuff and Ulnar Collateral Ligament problems.

These are just a few of the ideas Marshall teaches to improve a pitcher's health with his mechanics. To understand more fully, one really might want to take an anatomy class.

Marshall claims that if pitchers learned his methods, 95% percent of arm injuries would be preventable including Rotator Cuff problems and the infamous "Tommy John" injury and. Marshall's book, Coaching Baseball Pitchers (can be read free on the internet) should probably be on the nightstand of every pitching coach in baseball. So, why isn't it?

As Braves GM John Schuerholz explains,

"It's so far afield from the traditional, normal method... Not many people I've talked to would be comfortable embracing a concept that's so diametrically opposed to the teachings of baseball".

If baseball was to adopt Marshall's ideology they'd basically be indicting themselves for teaching inferior mechanics. In a recent conversation I had with Marshall, he shared with me his frustration from the fact that most pitching coaches have a very limited knowledge of biomechanics and science which creates a gap in communication, if not a total brain freeze.
"The minute I start talking to any pitching coach about the science their faces go blank," Marshall says, "But, when I give a lecture at any major university, I get a standing ovation".

Marshall makes no bones about what he thinks of baseball's power brokers. He thinks that the traditional mechanics that they teach pitchers actually cause most of the arm injuries.

"I got tired of appeasing the stupid... How long does a blond have to act like a **** before she gets a date? These people (in organized baseball) are idiots. They don't know a damn thing. The thing is, they're powerful. They get the kids and can destroy them. And they do."

RIP: Bill Walsh

It wasn't so much the Super Bowl rings, or turning what was a moribund franchise when he arrived into a dynasty, in my opinion a valid measure of a coaches greatness on any level, is the number of coaches that go on to success after mentoring in a particular program.

Going by the coaching tree above (from Wikipedia), Walsh was one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time.

Revolutionized NFL offenses with the "West Coast" offense. Just a quick hitting, efficient pass first--run second style that at times seemed unstoppable.

Former players comment on his impact:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=3526148

TAKE THE FAMILY OF FOUR TO A GAME...TAKE OUT A MORTGAGE

It seems like every year, some consumer group does a survey of the cost a family of four incurs to attend a game for the four major sports. They may even include NASCAR now so let's say five major sports, and yes we are stretching the definition for hockey.

Anyway it seems as if they always get a quote from Joe Six Pack something along the lines of, "Yeah, this is really getting out of hand. You have to take out a mortgage just to take your family of four to a game."

Well SOB if someone wasn't listening. Somewhere, Joe Six Pack is doubled over from this kick in the groin.



http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2007/06/19/Take-a-Seat-Sports-Fans-for-a-pric

Take a Seat, Sports Fans - for a Price
by Megan Barnett Jun 19 2007
A start up being backed by a Wall Street giant offers a new twist in stadium financing.
Join the Conversation

What if you could spend, say, $100,000 to become the owner of two seats behind the dugout in the new Yankee Stadium, due to be completed in 2009?

We are talking not about tickets, but about the seats themselves. They would be your property for as long as the Yankees play at the stadium. And with the sale of these seats, the Yankees would have raised the entire $1.2 billion needed to build the venue.

.......Stadium Capital’s approach allows fans to be "locked into seats for an extraordinarily long time without any price increase" and "solves the problems municipalities have with a lack of appetite to finance new stadiums."

.......details about his brainchild can be found in Weisbach’s February 2006 filing at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patent application No. 20060036506 describes a "method of financing a sports stadium or entertainment center."

......fans would buy seats for a designated period of time and finance them much like a mortgage. Pricing mechanisms can vary, but the most appealing option for buyers might be a 30-year loan with an annual payment equal to the current price of a season ticket. In exchange, the seat becomes real property, equivalent to, say, a condominium. The team (or university or other owner) receives the principal amount of the loan up front, to put toward construction costs.

This arrangement is different from seat licensing, which gives the holder the right to buy a season ticket for a specific seat. It also differs from the stock ownership of teams like the Green Bay Packers. Under Weisbach's system, people own seats, not shares of a team.

Say, for instance, the current price of a season baseball ticket is $3,240. A 30-year loan at 6 percent interest with an annual payment of $3,240 results in a principal amount of $45,000. Even if the price of the seat doubles in the next 20 years, the seat owner still pays $3,240. Investors will have the option of making annual payments over 30 years, paying the entire amount up front, or something in between. Owners can also sell their seats at any time for market value, but rest assured—the team will get a cut of any profits.

So just how many seat buyers would it take to finance a state-of-the-art stadium with the latest retractable roof technology? In an interview, Weisbach said fewer than 10 percent of seats would need to sell in order to build a new stadium. However, going by the example outlined above, the patent application states that selling 20,000 tickets would yield $900 million, just about enough to cover costs. In most Major League stadiums, this would require selling nearly half of the seats.

THE BONDS WATCH: WEEK IN REVIEW

The "news" of the week was that the Grand Jury investigating Barry Bonds for perjury and tax evasion was extended once again. So the "strong" case documented in the Pulitzer Prize winning book Game of Shadows....uh Pulitzer Prize nominated book?....what it wasn't even nominated? Oh darn. Looks like the Pulitzer committee knew bad journalism when they saw it, even if the brethren did not.

Star witness Kimberly Bell makes another trip to the ATM machine that seems to describe her relationship with Barry, by showing her worthless goods to all the world via Playboy. She'll be an attractive witness for the government, although I must say, she'll fit right in with the crowd. Vindictive whores of a feather are flocking together on this sinking ship. She'll be a great witness.

It must be a coincidence that this is timed out to when the GJ term is about to expire. I would think if she was going to testify at a pending trial, this would not have been cleared by her attorney or the government's attorneys for that matter.
I'm certain it's timed to Barry breaking the record, for maximum exposure to the magazine. No pun intend....oh please, of course I selected that term for a reason. They must be having a big circle jerk over this one. That is if they have an advance copy of the magazine.

I don't think Bonds' attorney Michael Rains would be publicly calling these guys out like he has been lately if most signs didn't point to this being one of the most botched investigations since the OJ trial. The government must be hoping for a Perry Mason-type moment to keep this thing alive, maybe a last minute alley-oop pass from Radomski or Giambi or the Mitchell white-wash, er...investigation.

We've had the Scooter Libbey perjury trial come and go, Michael Vick's investigation and indictment come and go and the whole Duke lacrosse thing come and go in less time than this one. Maybe the government should get those attorneys on this case, huh? Oops, one of them is no longer practicing. It will be interesting to see how they try to perform a face-saving moon-walk out of this one.

The ship that is the case against Bonds appears to be sinking. And those who initiated the investigation (IRS Agent Novitsky) should now concern themselves with whether they can at minimum save face with a tax evasion charge that they'll likely lose.

The haters will say the worst if he's convicted of that, but does anybody really believe that on April 15th, a time of year the Giants are usually playing games, that Bonds is sitting in his hotel room with a pencil, an abacus and various IRS forms and publications doing his own taxes? I didn't think so. The odds of them nailing anything substantive on Bonds even in this area, appear to be nil.

I stioll maintain that the court of public opinion is where these people truly want this thing to be. It's where all the crap about hat size, shoe size, head size, etc.
Half of the stuff in Game of Shadows that is related to to Bonds, is of such circumstantial nature or even outright garbage when examined fairly (as one judge characterized a piece of "evidence" used liberally by the book).

ENJOY THE SHOW.

FROM BASEBALL MUSINGS - BELL POSES FOR PLAYBOY

Bell in Playboy
Kimberly Bell, former mistress of Barry Bonds, tells her story in the November Playboy and poses nude as well.

Bell's appearance in the magazine can't help the government's case against her former lover.
Defense lawyers are widely expected to argue that Bell was a woman scorned because of Bonds' decision to marry another woman during their relationship. Her appearance on Playboy may only add fuel to the defense's case.


Really? Haven't we learned anything from the Gennifer Flowers case? Her story was dismissed because she sold it to a tabloid, but it turned out to be true. If Bell does have tapes to back up her story, my guess is her story will hold up in court just fine

SLAV'S TAKE:
Yes, she sounds like a fine witness:

"He was very envious of Mark McGwire," she said from her San Jose home. "He never said that was the reason, but I know it was."

Now, I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but even I could rip this one to shreds.

Greg Anderson is more likely protecting his own behind not Barry's. He's a non-factor, or he would have been one by now.

Just MO, but come on, use some common sense. Self-preservation or preserving the reputation of a guy the rest of the world knows as the biggest a-hole out there. And only you see another side of him, a side worth doing time in prison for?

WOW, I want to see that story as a made for TV movie.

I said from day one, the best they would get out of this was a tax case. Now, it looks as if they might not get that.


From ESPN.com SELIG'S NON-STATEMENT ON BONDS SAYS PLENTY:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2944073

Selig's non-statement about Bonds says plenty


SLAV'S TAKE:
Who cares? Selig and Aaron can play their little 69 act in Milwaukee when
Bonds breaks the record for all I care. Who needs
Selig's pickle sucking expression in SF? If I were
Bonds and he showed up I would walk right past him and
ignore him, not shake his hand, although I'm pretty
sure Bonds wouldn't do that. Aaron would never show up
in SF because he would once again wilt under the light
that shines upon Willie Mays. He was in Mays shadow
all throughout his career and didn't like it, and I'm
sure he doesn't like it now. Get over it, Hank you
freaking cry-baby.


UPDATE: Selig speaks:

"Out of respect for the tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty, I will attend Barry Bonds' next games to observe his potential tying and breaking of the home run record, subject to my commitments to the Hall of Fame this weekend."

Ironic that he added the "innocent until proven guilty" jab. Hasn't been the csae so far. I'm glad to hear he won't be on the field and hopefully Barry hits it when he's not there at all. We don;t need the cut-aways to old pickle-puss to damper the moment.


BASEBALL MUSINGS What About Bonds

What About Bonds?
A commenter to this post writes:

Is it wrong to wish injury or failure on Bonds at this point, or is the integrity of Baseball's record books so trashed that it really doesn't matter?
Is Baseball Musings really happy about this?


When Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record, people complained. He wasn't Mickey Mantle. The season was too long. Expansion made home runs easier. When Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record, people complained. He wasn't as good a player as Ruth. He was black.

People like to complain when a record gets broken. They find all sorts of reasons why the new record holder isn't as good as the old record holder. But now Maris is recognized for his achievement as he never was in his lifetime. Aaron is universally adored as a great player and a fine human being.

Bonds pursuit of the record is a story. It's interesting if he breaks the record. It's more interesting if he breaks down short of the record. I'm fine with either one. What I know is that in 30 years, his chase will likely be remembered fondly, just as Maris and Aaron are today.

SLAV'S TAKE:To all the people who cling to the "mountain of
evidence" argument the the book Game of Shadows
provides, (most of whom I believe have not read one
page of the book). I have just one simple question:

Since this book is based on the "mountain of evidence"
the government has at its disposal to presumably bring
perjury charges against Bonds, WHERE IS THE INDICTMENT
AND WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG TO BRING IT?

This mountain of evidence is crystal clear and
compelling and overwhelming and convincing, right?

And yet no indictment, after all this time. When as
the saying goes, you can get a grand jury to indict a
ham sandwich.

And they sure brought down an indictment on Vick
fairly quickly in another case that was initially
described as complicated to prosecute.

Perjury is not THAT difficult to prove, ask Scooter
Libby. Neither is tax evasion. IRS does it all the
time.

It is difficult when you don't have the evidence. And
those closest to said evidence and hearing all of it,
apparently remain unconvinced. Therefore, so do I.

Your tax dollars at work.


FROM ESPN.COM - SANFRANCISCO ROSTER

Also see: Giants Lineup Change team:

Pitchers
NUM NAME POS BAT THW AGE HT WT 2007 SALARY
18 Matt Cain P R R 22 6-3 234 $650,000
31 Vinnie Chulk P R R 28 6-2 195 $396,000
32 Kevin Correia P R R 26 6-3 202 $400,000
41 Brad Hennessey P R R 27 6-2 195 $400,000
34 Steve Kline P R L 34 6-1 210 $1,750,000
55 Tim Lincecum P L R 23 5-11 170 N/A
51 Noah Lowry P R L 26 6-2 202 $1,365,000
23 Randy Messenger P R R 25 6-6 247 $380,000
22 Matt Morris P R R 32 6-5 220 $10,037,283
48 Russ Ortiz DL P R R 33 6-1 222 $380,000
53 Jonathan Sanchez P L L 24 6-2 165 $381,000
37 Jack Taschner P L L 29 6-3 208 $382,000
75 Barry Zito P L L 29 6-4 210 $10,000,000
Catchers
NUM NAME POS BAT THW AGE HT WT 2007 SALARY
50 Eliezer Alfonzo DL C R R 28 6-0 223 $382,000
72 Mike Matheny DL C R R 36 6-3 227 N/A
1 Bengie Molina C R R 33 5-11 225 $4,000,000
39 Guillermo Rodriguez C R R 29 5-11 195 N/A
Infielders
NUM NAME POS BAT THW AGE HT WT 2007 SALARY
35 Rich Aurilia 1B R R 35 6-1 190 $3,500,000
5 Ray Durham 2B B R 35 5-8 191 $7,000,000
7 Pedro Feliz 3B R R 32 6-1 210 $5,100,000
19 Kevin Frandsen 2B R R 25 6-0 175 $380,500
21 Ryan Klesko 1B L L 36 6-3 220 $1,750,000
13 Omar Vizquel SS B R 40 5-9 175 $5,140,084
Outfielders
NUM NAME POS BAT THW AGE HT WT 2007 SALARY
25 Barry Bonds LF L L 42 6-2 228 $15,533,970
14 Fred Lewis RF L R 26 6-2 190 N/A
10 Dave Roberts CF L L 35 5-10 180 $5,000,000
9 Mark Sweeney LF L L 37 6-1 215 $900,000
2 Randy Winn RF B R 33 6-2 193 $5,000,000

Average Age: 30.7
Average Weight: 204
Average Height: 6-1
Right-Handed Pitchers: 8
* Batter totals exclude pitchers Left-Handed Pitchers: 5
Right-Handed Batters: 7
Left-Handed Batters: 5
Switch Hitters: 3

SLAV'S TAKE:
Average Height: 6-1 Barry Bonds Height: 6-2
Average Weight: 204 Barry Bonds Weight: 228

It's interesting to note that the "average" player is only 1 inch shorter and 24 lbs lighter. The extra inch in height is usually good for 10-15 lbs. Interesting, barely above average.

IT'S ALL RELATIVE I GUESS.

BONDS #752 @ WRIGLEY FIELD

Cool link to video of #752, jacked out of Wrigley Field, the first bomb to leave the yard this season apparently. The dude that caught it supposedly turned down $5-10K right on the spot for the ball. Unless it ends up being Bonds' final HR, it's hard to see the value going any higher than that for #752. But what do I know about collectibles?

It's on e-Bay listed @ $75,200. I'll check my wallet.



http://cgi.ebay.com/BARRY-BONDS-HOME-RUN-752-WRIGLEY-FIELD-7-19-2007_W0QQitemZ260141675951QQihZ016QQcategoryZ73418QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItem

First Business - Barry Bonds HR #752

3 min 37 sec - Jul 19, 2007
Average rating: (1 rating)
Description: Would fans break with Wrigley Field tradition if they caught a home run off the bat of Barry Bonds?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6525788014502358977&pr=goog-sl

L'Affaire Vick, ESPN and the Giants

ESPN weighs in on Michael Vick, and as usual links to Barry Bonds:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=kreidler_mark&id=2940791

WTF!!! No matter what the story, ESPN finds a link to Bonds. Wrestler dies, kills his family, link it to Bonds. Vick runs his dog killing operation, link a story theme to Bonds. Global Warming, I bet the knuckleheads at the WWLIS find a way to lay it at Bonds doorstep. And I love how every weasel talking head now wants to caution everyone that an indictment doesn't mean anything happened. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE AN INDICTMENT OF BONDS YET AND YOU'VE ALREADY CONVICTED HIM IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION. You'd have to be contortionist to reconcile your arguments now folks. Athletes are supposed to know exactly what they put into their bodies when they test positive for steroids, well the same argument should go for Vick and his property. He should have (and very likely did) known what was going on. Why does Vick get the benefit of the doubt for something that is much more of a disgusting act against society? And please don't give me your nonsensical drivel about Vick not chasing a "hallowed" record. THAT ONE IS OLD. ESPN writers and talking heads are one-trick ponies and when the BALCO grand jury goes bye-bye after pitching a three-year shutout, what say you then?

Note: judging by the other comments posted, it seems as if many others are catching on to the WWLIS's act. My faith in the collective intelligence of my fellow man is being restored.
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It's difficult to put the Michael Vick situation into perspective, because the details of the indictment paint a picture of a sick, disturbed individual. And it's not as if he hasn't flashed signs of becoming a bit of a jackass before.

He makes the Bonds affair look like child's play. This very likely sinks lower than Pete Rose, lower than Barry Bonds, lower than Ray Lewis and perhaps due to the he said/she said, "was it rape or simply adultery?" nature of the offense, lower than Kobe.

It's absolutely insane that we are at a place where we are searching for the bottom of the barrel of behavior in sports. Let's see, what's worse? Steroids? Rape? Active participation in a homicide? Running a dog killing operation? Pedophilia? Good Luck sorting the chips here NFL. And your dumb-ass sponsors. You all deserve each other.

And now we'll see if the Ayatollah Goodell is serious about his brandy-new personal conduct policy or not. It's different now that we;re talking about a marquee player rather then Pac-Man or Chris Henry or some other replaceable part. Be careful what you wish for, huh Roger-Dodger?

If the details I'm hearing are correct, that Vick purchased raw land and this "enterprise" was built on said land without his knowledge, then you can toss out the rogue relative, I didn't know what was happening on my property defense.

This will get very ugly, very quickly. Because these guys will turn on each other quicker and in a more ferocious fashion then the dogs they bred. And guess who has the most cash on hand to hire the most ferocious pit-bull legal team? And guess who has the publicity generating machine of both the NFL and corporate scumbag Nike on his side?

Right now, I feel sorry for Vick's accusers, they are going to be attacked with a ferocity we haven't seen, well since the last Presidential election.

As for Nike, they've already proven themselves to be a fairly rotten corporate citizen, so it does not shock me one iota that they would support Citizen Vick. That's fine, that is their prerogative. They should remember however, there are consequences for this position. They better hope they are right in stridently aligning themselves with Vick and continuing to roll out new products with his name as the sales tool.

For what it's worth, I'll take my chances on an early burn-anything-I-own with the Nike logo on it. If I end up wrong, I'll by a whole new Nike infested wardrobe. However, the verdict won't be my prime determinant (you know the whole OJ thing).

Let's see how big a fan of the court of public opinion the World Wide Leader in Shake and Bake (ESPN) becomes now that one of the biggest stars of their largest broadcast partner (the NFL) publicly fries when the details of his behavior come to light.

It's like I've always said, don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. Actions speak louder than words. They will act different here, because at the core level, let's just say, we know what they are, we're just negotiating the price.

I forgot where I saw it, for attribution's sake, but some legal expert opined in an article that Team Vick will spin all further media accounts using some euphemism that diverts attention from what this is, a dog-fighting operation, sick, sadistic animal abuse. Much like L'Affaire Kobe's rape-trial was rarely referred to as what it was, a rape-trial, it was Kobe's off the court issues, or Kobe's legal issues.
Making it sound like he was fighting a parking ticket or something. You'll see the same thing here.


Just to remind people that one of the behaviors psychologists have found common and prevalent in serial killers and other sociopaths, is an inclination to abuse animals before moving on to other victims. It is a sick, abhorrent behavior. Clinton Portis's jackass defense that a lot of people do it, doesn't justify the behavior.

It makes the defense that once this jackass exhausts the legal process, Goodell better come down good and hard on this clown. In fact, if I was NFL Commissioner for the day, I would tell Scumbag Vick in no uncertain terms:

"You can play the system here all you want, that is your right, but if this thing gets strung out to the end, and you're even remotely close to a guilty verdict, you'll never play in the NFL again. You will be banned for LIFE. And I don't mean life, like in the justice system definition of life, I mean the rest of your time here on earth LIFE. Are we clear, scumbag?"

It actually disgust me to no end that they will let this guy take the field.
Make no mistake about it, as much as I love the Giants, if this douchebag is playing against them, I wouldn't watch it.

UPDATE: Nike surprisingly does the right thing by suspending the new Vick shoe line that was due to be released. I already weeded the Nike shoes from my wardrobe but maybe now I can keep the pants and shirts.
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AS THE GIANTS TURN:

Well, we're stuck with Sabean for a few more years. The team is in last place and seemingly is intent on mounting a sincere challenge to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the #1 overall pick in nest years draft. Which we'll use to draft and develop a stud pitcher we can use to trade for another broken down veteran.

That's the Sabean MO.

And don't give me the A-Rod pipe dream.

I think Magowan has been a good owner for this franchise, money has not held them back as much IMO as the use of the money given, and that is Sabean all the way. There’s been way too many dollars tossed down the drain with little return on the field.

Bonds salary over all his years with the Giants has been one of the biggest bargains in baseball. They’ve done a poor job capitalizing on having a centerpiece.

Which leads me to believe that if they ever actually had a legitimate chance to get someone like A-Rod, this recent history of personnel decisions will come back to haunt them. 4-5 teams will be in the hunt for him and I have to imagine the dollars will be close among all. The deciding factor after that, for A-Rod and his agent, will be which team can build around him after they’ve paid his king’s ransom of a salary.

Giants and Cubs would seem to fall back in this regard, behind the Yankees, RSox, Angels and perhaps the WSox. Just my $0.02.

UPDATE: Well, the Taste of Chicago just concluded, but for dessert Chicago gets a taste of Bonds. Two dingers, two balls hit out of the stadium (one foul). 4AB's and three absolute laser beams. GUESS WHO'S BACK??? At this point, FUCK THE WEASEL, who cares if the scumbag Selig is there or not. It would actually be better if he's not there.