Will we not have Barry Bonds to kick around anymore?
Coming off knee surgery and caught up in baseball’s steroids scandal, Barry Bonds said he might not play at all this season — despite standing on the doorstep of the sport’s most hallowed record.
The San Francisco Giants slugger also said he was physically and mentally “done,” and he blamed the media for at least part of his troubles.
“I’m tired of my kids crying. You wanted me to jump off a bridge — I finally did,” Bonds told reporters Tuesday, shortly after returning to training camp. “You finally brought me and my family down. … So now go pick a different person.”
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Bonds said he was tired and disappointed following a winter in which he was accused of steroid use, his grand jury testimony was leaked and he had two knee operations.
Leaning his head on a crutch and repeatedly saying he was tired — he used the word 14 times — Bonds spoke after a 1 1/2 -hour session with Giants trainer Stan Conte.
“Right now I’m just going to try to rehab myself to get back to, I don’t know, hopefully next season, hopefully the middle of the season,” Bonds said. “I don’t know. Right now I’m just going to take things slow.
“I’m 40 years old, not 20, 30.”
Bonds’ rant is a bit bizarre (his teammates think he’s just blowing off steam). King Kaufman, who I’ll agree is not a habitual Bonds-basher, thinks it’s pretty lame. I can understand that, and I can’t exactly say that Bonds covered himself in glory here, but I’m more in line with Greg‘s opinion – I really don’t care if Bonds is a jerk or not, I’m there to watch him play baseball, and he does that like no one else does. Whenever he actually departs, and for whatever the reason, the game will be the less for it.
As far as reasons go, Tom speculates that Bonds believes bad things are coming in the grand jury probe of BALCO. That may be, and if so it will be a shame, but a shame that hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves is that any of us knows anything at all about the testimony given so far in that probe. It’s supposed to be secret, remember, and frankly I think those of us with any outrage to spare ought to aim a bit of it in the direction of whoever has been leaking details from the grand jury room. Whatever else you may think of Barry Bonds (and Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire and so forth), they didn’t deserve to have their Constitutional rights violated like that.
I find it interesting that Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds both “broke down” just as the heat was turned up on them regarding BALCO. Regardless of what you think of Barry Bonds as a person, you should consider that while steroids aids with power, it does not aid in the hand-eye coordination required to time a pitch and swing a bat. Personally, I would rather watch Valdimir Guerrero than Barry Bonds, but both of them have tremendous swings.
I’m the type of person, however, that always wondered how Babe Ruth would have been received if the media was as prevelant in the 1920’s as it is now. After all, Ruth was a known heavy drinker and womanizer, and alcohol was illegal during his peak (Prohibition).
I personally hope he leaves the sport so that his head will shrink back to a size where he doesn’t have to sleep sitting up like the Elephant Man.
Jon Stewart piled on during the Daily Show last night, and while I have to admit Bonds isn’t going to get much sympathy by whining, it still seemed gratuitous. Not TDS’s finest moment.
For an interesting perspective on the steroid controversy, click my name.