Bonds, Barry Bonds

Alright so I've purposely tried to avoid blogging about anything directly sports-related since I started this, and so far so good. But sports are literally my life, and it's what I know best, so I had to sound off a little on Mr. Barry Lamar Bonds.

He hasn't gone yard in the past six games, and all of my co-workers (myself included) are basically forced to watch his every at-bat because it could come at any time. Thankfully he's in quite a drought now, making our jobs a little easier, but he's just one back of the Babe and chances are it'll happen this week. Check out one of our stories as a reference to what he's going through right now.

I've never seen such a high-profile athlete getting the treatment he's getting in pursuit of a major pro sports record in my 24 years. Teammates, coaches, and those within the Giants are growing tired of the daily monotony this thing has turned into. And MLB itself has said it won't celebrate Bonds' 714th homer when it happens because of the ongoing steroids issues.

I'm just mad because I can't even get excited about this, and I feel like I should be. There's such a dark cloud hanging over Bonds that it takes away any due props he has earned to this point. So what if he's never actually "failed" a drug test? There have been so many ways developed to beat those tests in the modern era that you have to throw that argument out the window. The writing's on the wall...and yes, we live in the land of "innocent until proven guilty," but at some point common sense has to come into play. If it looks like a duck, talks like a duck, and walks like a duck...guess what is folks? (Hint: It's not a goose.)

As a comparison, I remember when Cal Ripken Jr. was chasing Lou Gehrig's Ironman streak for consecutive games played. The celebration and parade that baseball gave him--all well deserved--is the exact opposite of what Bonds is getting right now. He'll probably break and tie the Babe on the road this week, where maybe 30% of fans witnessing it will cheer him. The others will boo him and continue to boo him. You can't blame the average fan for turning against this guy in light of everything we've learned about him. But you can blame Bonds himself for digging his own grave--now it's time to lay in it.