Sympathy for Barry Bonds: And I thought only golf could make someone look so dejected

"Alleged" steroid use, my butt. That big-headed, acne backed jerk took to the juice because the millions weren't enough. Because the adulation and respect of his fans wasn't enough. Greed on both counts, pure and simple.

Now it's blowing up in his face. Guess what, people? That happens in life -- we ARE sometimes held accountable for our actions and many times in very very harsh and painful ways.

The really odd part is that the guy didn't need steroids to waltz into the Hall of Fame and probably be considered among the top 5 or so to EVER play the game. Instead, he'll rightly go down as a fraud who tore pages out of the record book and wiped his rear with them all in the name of personal gain. His home run "record" will have the mother of all asterisks next to it.

Think about the very real pain and anguish that was on Hank Aaron's face as neared home run no. 715. The guy was taking heat and even getting death threats from cowardly racists (and being that it was an era where Medgar Evers, MLK, RFK, etc. were very much still on people's minds, a death threat for a black man in the South was not taken lightly). Now, compare that with the "pain" and woe-is-me self-pity that Bonds is showing day in and day out. The contrast couldn't be more stark. Aaron was a scrappy, skinny ballplayer who dug in and fought against the odds for years, playing great team ball to eventually become known as the greatest home run hitter ever. (Did you know he never hit 50 in a season?) Whereas Bonds spent his whole career being glad-handed and pampered, became the very definition of clubhouse poison and then, at the tail end of his career, thinking baseball owed him even MORE, he begins cheating. Pathetic. Now he's about to cry because fans are angry that he's done everything to soil the integrity of the record book ...... well boo f***ing hoo, Barry.

Yeah, it's tough to feel any sympathy for Bonds, at all. Sure, he's been a jerk his whole career, but he could have withstood that.

Ted Williams was a jerk to the media and his own fans, but will be forever respected and appreciated for his talent. Plus, as he aged, he became more sympathetic.

That could have been Bonds, but his greed, petty jealousy and ego made it too much for him. He had to cheat. Now he will never be respected.

So it's syringe season for Bonds, for the rest of his career.

--WKW

I agree that he's always been a jerk and that he has brought this on himself, but I think there is always a point at which fans should draw the line. The fact is that Bonds took some steriods and hit some baseballs a long way. He didn't kill anyone (O.J. Simpson), he didn't run any pit bull underground fighting rings (Qyntel Woods of the Jailblazers), and he hasn't done anything all that terribly wrong. He hasn't cheated anymore than McGwire, Sosa, Palmero, or several other ball players we could easily name. If someone had thrown a syringe at McGwire we would all be in shock and would have denied that McGwire had done anything wrong. Bonds is a jerk, but there has to be a time when he becomes sympathetic. If he admits what he's done wrong (like Jason Giambi), he will be viewed very differently. The look he had yesterday seemed to me to be the first signs of regret and remorse I've seen. However, I'm no psychiatrist.

Boy, facts are kinda sparse in some of these anti-Bonds comments.

Fact: McGwire admitted using Andro for years, though he evaded the question about other steroids in front of Congress. Andro was not banned. Questionable, but no proof of wrong doing.

Fact: Sosa GOT CAUGHT using a corked bat. PROVEN CHEATER, but with cork and no proof of steroids.

Fact: Palmeiro GOT CAUGHT with steroids in his system. Apparently within weeks of his Congressional testimony. PROVEN CHEATER AND LIAR.

Fact: Giambi admitted to using steroids for years. ADMITTED CHEATER.

Fact: Bonds has not been caught with steroids in his system, cork in his bat, or Andro in his locker. He admitted that he tried steroids, but didn't continue [See Clinton, Bill as in "I didn't inhale"]. He's an ass, but that ain't a crime.

Fact: This blog is about Barry Bonds, not McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro or Giambi.

Fact: Whether Bonds' tested positive or not (come on, MLB doesn't have the faintest idea how to test for steroids - if they were serious, they'd hire Olympic testers), I - Hoyt Decker - believe that Barry Bonds was a heavy steroid user over the past few years. That is a fact. And I'm not alone. Not by a long shot.