Bonds breaks HR record

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by krhimself, Aug 8, 2007.

  1. krhimself

    krhimself New Member

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    Congratulations to Barry for hitting No. 756 last night.




    There, I said it.
     
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  2. americanmike

    americanmike Administrator

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    Dec 30, 2004
    But has he been using steroids...that is the question.
     
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  3. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Jan 4, 2005
    Nah, it isnt.......

    I think we're over the hump.
    Steroids use is gonna die down and the records set using them will be just a mental asterisk.

    What's needed is counseling for the younger players, and stressed reminders that guys who DONT take them do have a sex life after 40.
     
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  4. quickdraw

    quickdraw New Member

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    May 18, 2007
    What happened to the ball? That's what I'm curious about. If it were me, personally, I would have thrown it back.

    I have never been a fan of Bonds since his days at Pittsburgh.
     
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  5. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    That ball could be worth several hundred thousand dollars.

    If you did you'd have been .. hmmm.. a silly person! I said that nicely didnt I?
     
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  6. quickdraw

    quickdraw New Member

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    May 18, 2007
    True. I would use the money to buy an autographed Hank Aaron jersey or something. There's irony for you.

    And then the rest would be used for education finances.
     
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  7. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Here's the current situation:

    1. Barry isn't nice to reporters, so he has no friends there. As a matter of fact, NOBODY in any sport at any time has been trashed by the majority of "sports journalists" like Barry has.
    2. Bud Selig is a close friend of Hank Aaron and has been for almost half a century.
    3. The press anointed "future career home run king," Ken Griffey Jr., fell behind due to injury and instead a guy nobody picked as a possibility 10 years ago broke the record.

    Now, if you're too busy to rent Billy Crystal's great movie 61*, let me run it down for you. In 1961:

    1. Roger Maris felt it wasn't his job to help reporters get exclusives, and so was actively disliked by the "knights of the keyboard."
    2. Commissioner Ford Frick was a lifelong friend of Babe Ruth and, as a matter of fact, had written a worshipful biography of him.
    3. The press anointed "future single season home run leader" Mickey Mantle, got injured down the stretch and wound up five homers short.

    So, Roger got an asterisk. Here's a couple of things to ponder.

    1. Steroids may help you rebound from injury more quickly, but they can't enhance your ability to pick up an incoming fastball and place the bat on it in the perfect arc to turn that sucker around.
    2. In any case, Barry has never had a drug test that turned up steroids.
    3. Despite what sports talk radio blathered a couple of years ago when he was injured, it would have been stupid for Barry to have faked injury in order to avoid drug testing because people on the disabled list are tested routinely as well.
    4. Concerning the change in his physical appearance, all you CSI fans need to rent the movie Cousins and marvel over the change in William Peterson's body and head size. Steroids? No; how about "growing up." You don't stay skinny forever; especially if you go to the gym every day. You'll have to trust me on that one.
    5. If any of you really like baseball, you should realize that not since the 1930s has the sport had so many amazing athletes in it. Guys like A-Rod, Pujols, Bonds, Maddux, etc. etc. etc. are the modern day equivalents of the all time greats. The reason that this isn't trumpeted more is that MLB is scared to death of giving the players and their union any more power, so they're trying to sour the public on the product itself. With the antitrust agreement, the sweetheart deals they've made with their cities, and the interesting tax rules on depreciation, ALL THE OWNERS are making obscene amounts of money anyhow [regardless of how they're bleating].

    Damn; that wound up longer than I thought it would. I'm a little grumpy since the front page of the San Antonio Excuse-Nuisance has over the masthead 756*

    Back to fitba talk.
     
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  8. quickdraw

    quickdraw New Member

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    May 18, 2007
    I agree, 61* was a really good movie. Also brought up against Maris was the fact that the seasons in his day were longer than in Ruth's.

    They really did try to find every reason to deny that man his honor.
     
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  9. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    The ball is worth probably 1-1.5 million at least. Judging from the brief snippet of the police escorting the guy to a safe place (looked like the secret service hauling the president off in a assasination attempt). He was wearing a Mets jersey of all things to a Giants/Nats game and looked to be in his 20's.

    Pre-'clear/cream' he was already one of the best all-around players ever. The mental * will always be there when it comes to the hr's, but he's undeniably the best hitter I've ever seen. However, the favorite Bonds highlight for me is Game 6 of the 02' World Series when he misplayed a bloop down the line (looked like he was skating on a banana peel), my Angels went on to complete the amazing comeback and took Game 7.
     
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  10. ChicagoTom

    ChicagoTom Administrator

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    My two cents......Barry Bonds knowingly took steroids. While that is NOT a fact, it is quite close to it in my book.

    I heard a doctor on one of the cable news channels last week say that steroids do help with having better vision and hand/eye coordination which is a huge thing with hitting a baseball.

    I am happy Barry did break the record, but to simply say because he never failed a test he is innocent is just crazy. The man went from hitting no more than 45 home runs in one season to hitting 73.....when he was 38 or 39 years old. That is NOT possible my friends.

    We can all believe what we want, but to me, the proof is in the way he looks and more importantly in his stats since 2000. They are out of this world and never again will we see numbers like that. And that is because of one thing....STEROIDS.

    Lastly, I am just glad this chase is over. It was getting old watching the old and decreped Giants every night on ESPN or ESPN2. They stink.
     
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  11. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    1. And to say he DID cheat when there is NO evidence [i.e. failed drug test] isn't "just crazy?"

    2. Man do I ever agree with your about the ESPN fixation. The only good thing about it is that, for a while, ESPN wasn't the Yankees/RedSox/Mets channel.
     
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  12. BarryP

    BarryP New Member

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    Evansville, Indiana
    I have been a baseball fan as far back as I can remember and yet I find I am dispassionate about Bonds breaking this record. No emotion whatsoever.

    I don't dislike him over the speculation of using performance enhancing drugs because Bonds is likely to be only one of a large number of individuals to so. Singling out an individual seems petty to me.

    However, I can't get excited about the accomplishment because the weight of public evidence leads me to believe Bonds did use some type of performance enhancements. Because I believe this I feel like we are comparing apples to oranges when comparing the number of home runs Bond's has hit against Aaron's 755.

    What a sad commentary it is when such a milestone record is broken and all I can do is shrug my sholders and say so what. Perhaps the commentary is on myself or baseball or society as a whole or all of the above. All I can say is I would have never believed ten years ago Hammerin' Hank's reocord would be broken and I would not be intensely following the pursuit.

    As an aside, kudos to Mr. Aaron for the class with which he has conducted himself throughout the media storm surrounding him.
     
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  13. americanmike

    americanmike Administrator

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    Dec 30, 2004
    Also, not to be funny, but Barry isn't really a fan of White people either as noted by ESPN about a year ago.

    I'm dissapointed that Barry got this record...
     
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  14. ChicagoTom

    ChicagoTom Administrator

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    There have been people such as his former mistress that have said he knowingly took performance enhancing drugs.

    As for NOT failing a drugs test, MLB did NOT start testing until after his big homerun years so quite simply, he was probably never tested. Testing Barry now means nothing to me. Test him four, five and six years ago.
     
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  15. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    Don; Ken Camanati (confessed roids fiend, former NL MVP) never failed a drug test. Jose Canseco of all people never failed a drug test in his playing days. Furthermore, beating/staying ahead of the testing procedures WAS the business practice of BALCO. Lastly, to cover his arse he told a grand jury he never "knowingly" took steriods, which in legalese means I took them, but I thought it was a sports cream (wink, wink).

    The irony is steriods will always come up when his name does, and he took them in part because he was sick of seeing other non-failed testers McGuire and Sosa getting all the pub. Without the juice he was easily the best all-around player of this generation.
     
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  16. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

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    Nov 20, 2006
    another huge facet of this story everyone is forgetting is, you know, the federal investigation of barry bonds.

    and just because bonds was never drug tested and wasnt at the balco facility when it was raided, you have to be completely naive or ignorant to not believe there was no connection with bonds (and giambi and sheffield et al) and the massive amounts of steroids found there. oh yea, the owner of balco was also bonds's trainer.

    in about 5.5 months the grand jury investigation will come out that will state whether or not bonds committed perjury. we all know anderson, bonds's trainer, wont snitch. but come january it probably wont matter - we'll know the truth.




    and then in five years a ninny named a-rod will break the record and no one will remember this fiasco.
     
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  17. samizdat7

    samizdat7 New Member

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    Aug 7, 2007
    HD,

    I've been a lurker on this site for a while and just recently registered. From reading a number of your posts in the past, I have considerable respect for you, but your analysis of the Bonds situation is laughably one-sided and simplistic.

    You are correct, there is no evidence of a failed drug test. But he HAS admitted to USING them.

    After an IRS raid of Balco, Victor Conte identified Bonds as one of a group of 27 athletes who had received THG from the lab. In grand jury testimony, Bonds admitted to using the cream, but claimed that he simply thought it was flaxseed oil.

    Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer was found in contempt of court and sent to federal prison for refusing to testify in Bonds' perjury case.

    I realize that you're not outright asserting that Bonds never used illegal performance enhancing drugs, but it seems to me that you are implying that it may be a possibility. However, there is evidence that illegal performance enhancing drugs were sent to his house, he applied them (whether knowingly or not) and that his trainer went to federal prison to avoid testifying in a case concerning these matters. Do you really think his trainer would have gone to federal prison if Bonds had nothing to hide?

    As to the change in physical appearance, yes, many people tend to pack on the pounds as they age; however, as you age your ability to build muscle also deteriorates.

    Did you ever watch Bonds on Bonds? One time I accidentally left the television on ESPN as I left the room, and when I came back in the show was on and Barry was wearing a tightly fitting t-shirt.

    The man is ripped out of his mind.

    So it's not just a case of packing on a few pounds as he ages.

    Your Bonds - Maris situation comparison left out the allegations of illegal performance enhancing drug use, which, as I've tried to support above, I believe must factor into any such comparison.

    I hope this doesn't come off as a rant from nowhere of an uninitiated poster, but I'll take that risk.

    GO A-ROD!

    edit:

    as to this idea:

    All of that being true (I think), you fail to mention that those steroids help that ball travel further when you get it on that perfect arc. And that's what happened to Bonds, he was a fantastic hitter, one of the best in the game before he swelled up. Those hits suddenly started traveling a whole lot further.
     
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  18. americanmike

    americanmike Administrator

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    Dec 30, 2004
    Well said Sam...and welcome!
     
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  19. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    and welcome from me, too.

    If you think that I'm an unassailable sacred cow on this site, your attention is gently invited to the routine slamming I get from pettyfog!

    Any and all can disagree with me; it's how I learn new things.

    Keep on posting, dude.
     
    #19
  20. samizdat7

    samizdat7 New Member

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    Aug 7, 2007
    I've already caught that...

    Like I said, you have my respect.
     
    #20
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