Barry Bonds out of work?
To paraphrase former Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, Barry
Bonds is not walking through that door, fans.
Why that is remains a mystery, as is the whereabouts of this
particular ill-used door.
Barry Bonds out of work?
To paraphrase former Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, Barry Bonds is not walking through that door, fans.
Why that is remains a mystery, as is the whereabouts of this particular ill-used door.
Bonds is out of the game. He was absent from Tuesday’s All-Star festivities. He is missing from the Giants clubhouse, and he only pops up, through the voice of his agent Jeff Borris, in newspaper articles every couple of days crying collusion.
Borris spoke Monday with ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick at the All-Star Game in New York and sounded like a starving sports agent.
“I’m not a negative person. I’m one of those ‘never say never’ guys,” Borris said. “But it seems pretty clear to me that it’s just not happening. We could go up and down the rosters of every single team and I could show you an awful lot of spots where he ought to be plugged in right now, but it’s just not happening.”
The fact is, Borris is right. Although the soon-to-be-44-year-old Bonds is far from being an everyday outfielder, it doesn’t take a whole lot to put in three or four at-bats of work every game – no offense to DH’s everywhere.
In the American League East, Boston is without David Ortiz. The Yankees are always looking to add someone, and the Rays are one injury away from being the hapless Devil Rays once again.
In the AL West, Texas could use a bat to move Milton Bradley back to the outfield, the Angels are always in the discussion for the World Series but are lacking offensive pop this season, while the A’s are soon-to-be sellers.
In the Central, Bonds could couple with Jim Thome in Chicago if the DH-ing duties get to be too much, and the Twins’ DH is Jason Kubel. ‘Nuff said.
And those are just the contenders.
There are plenty of places for Bonds to go, but nobody wants him. Aside from the seven MVPs and 13 All-Star appearances, Bonds hit .276 last year with 28 homers and 66 RBIs in only 340 at-bats. For those teams looking for a power bat, that’s a home run every 12.14 at bats, the best in the majors last season.
While the baseball minds theorize that owners are not signing on to Bonds because of all the baggage he brings – something I actually believed when all this collusion talk started – it’s becoming increasingly difficult to actually believe that now.
Yes, there is a need to “move on” when adversity arises, but Bonds is too good and (reportedly) too cheap to turn down in a playoff race.
Borris reportedly told several ball clubs that Bonds was willing to play for a prorated share of the $390,000 league minimum. That’s it.
“I offered Barry at the minimum salary, and when I ran into a brick wall, that’s when I came to the conclusion that he will not be in a major league uniform in 2008,” Borris told Crasnick.
I’m not a fan of Bonds at all. In fact, I’ve written many a-column blasting him for his steroid use (allegedly). I’ve never met him, but as a baseball fan, I don’t like him. He’s bad for business.
Are those the same reasons why owners and GMs are steering clear of the home run king? Perhaps, but it doesn’t make sense.
It was in the Giants’ best interest not to sign Bonds back, especially for the exorbitant amount of money it would have cost them, and the fact that they were itching to move into a rebuilding mode.
But $390,000 is ticket sales from Section 212 on a Monday afternoon. Bonds is considered a distraction, but the financial risk is so low that it wouldn’t cost anything if even a peep were made from his camp.
I’m not going to lose any sleep over this, and I’m not necessarily ready to cry collusion, but there are always teams out there willing to toss ethics aside and go the extra mile to win a championship. Bonds’ perjury trial isn’t scheduled until March of 2009, either.
If the extra mile means less than $390,000, and no one’s jumping at the bit in what will likely be a lackluster trade market, it becomes a tad suspicious.
A-Rod has baggage. Milton Bradley has baggage. Manny Ramirez has suitcases. So does Gary Sheffield and every other user fingered in the Mitchell Report.
But, for some reason, it’s Barry Bonds who won’t be walking through that door.
