Houston Chronicle:
<TABLE cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>SportsJustice
Richard Justice
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
August 10, 2008
Hello, Barry, this is Drayton.
The Astros need a left fielder. I know the name of a good one. He's rested and ready. He'll bring a buzz to the ballpark, too. He'd suddenly make the Astros baseball's most interesting team.
What's wrong with having a little buzz? Why should the Dallas Cowboys have all the fun?
Barry Lamar Bonds would be a perfect fit for the Astros. :nohead::nohead::nohead:Is there one good reason not to sign him?
No, there's not. In reading these comments, the only reason is that some people don't like him. To say such a thing presumes you know the players on the team now.
You don't know them. You can pretend to know them, but you don't. I don't either. As for the other stuff Bonds has done or has been accused of doing, we'll get to those later.
Baseball is a bottom-line business. He'd make the Astros better. If Drayton McLane really and truly wants to be a champion, he'd bring in the best offensive player on earth.
Our local nine has been winning some games lately. Just as they're closing in on .500, one of their two best players, Carlos Lee, goes down with a broken finger.
What would the Rockets do? They just went for a guy that has done far worse things than Barry. Some of you have compared Ron Artest to Barry Bonds. I'm going to presume you're having a bad day.
To compare steroid use to domestic violence is amazing and ignorant and incredible. Please don't.
Trust me when I tell you Barry is vastly overrated as a bad guy in the clubhouse. He's a little prickly at times, a little standoffish, but who among us isn't? Jeff Kent didn't always whistle when he walked in the clubhouse, and he has turned out to be one of the all-time best guys to have on a baseball team.
Besides, Barry would be absolutely thrilled to get another shot. He thinks he has been black-balled. Maybe he has.
That's beside the point. Even if the commissioner doesn't want him in the game, it's Drayton's job to do what's best for his club.
Go for it, Drayton. Since Barry got big, there's almost no argument about his being the best offensive player ever. He changes games unlike any other. Opposing pitchers begin preparing for him an inning before he's scheduled to hit. If Cecil Cooper batted Barry third, Lance Berkman suddenly would be leading the world in RBI opportunities.
The Astros wouldn't have an empty seat in the house, and you know how many hot dogs that will sell. Hear that sound? That's the cash register ringing. See the standings? The Astros would be moving up.
With one move, they'd blow Michael Phelps and Manny and Brett right off ESPN. Drayton would be the man. Think of the TV time for you, Drayton. For me, too, but that's beside the point. The entire country would be talking about the Astros.
If Drayton is unsure about Barry, he should poll his players and manager. Ask Cecil Cooper if he'd like to have Barry in his lineup. Ask Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman if they'd like to have Barry as a teammate.
Don't tell me that Barry used steroids and lied about them. So we're now getting religion on steroids?
Listen, we're all going to have to wrap our minds around steroids and their impact on the game. I admit to not being there yet.
This isn't about putting Barry in the Hall of Fame. This may shock you, but Barry isn't the only big leaguer that apparently used steroids.
What makes Barry--and apparently Roger Clemens--different is that they got unlucky. Their dealers got busted by the feds.
We know things about Barry and Roger that we don't know about others. That doesn't mean others didn't use steroids.
Speaking of Clemens, he dug his own grave. If he'd confirmed everything in the Mitchell Report, the reaction would have been a collective yawn. No way 16 to 21 injections contributed significantly to 354 victories. He set off on a course that may very well land him in prison.
I hope this move isn't decided because Drayton is worried about his franchise's reputation.
That's a funny one.
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the Astros have no reputation. No one outside of Houston cares.
Inside the industry, their reputation isn't great. The industry thinks Drayton does a lot of dumb stuff. Like refusing to spend on draft choices and running off a great general manager. Baseball people whisper that he's a nightmare to work for.
There's not a single valid reason not to sign Bonds. Because he might be a jerk? Are you kidding me?
I hate to tell you this, but we've had some players that drank too much and maybe weren't completely faithful about their marriage vows. That's real life. The home clubhouse is no different than your office or mine.
It's only idiots like me that sometimes put ball players on a pedestal when they're just normal men with normal weaknesses that happen to be able to do amazing physical things.
The government investigated Barry for 2 1/2 years for indicting him. Even Drayton has admitted to being perplexed about this.
He knows that the government has endless resources, and isn't it strange that they directed so many of those resources to bringing down a baseball player? Beware, Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada. They intend to do the same thing to you, and if Barry's case is an example, they'll take however long they need to build a case. Sleep well, boys. Someone could be going through your garbage at this very moment.
We're getting off topic here. The Astros need a hitter, and Barry might be the greatest that ever lived. Frankly, the Astros have a reputation for wanting guys that look and sound alike. Barry isn't like any of the other Astros. Nothing wrong with that. Do it!
<TABLE cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>SportsJustice
Richard Justice
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
August 10, 2008
Hello, Barry, this is Drayton.
The Astros need a left fielder. I know the name of a good one. He's rested and ready. He'll bring a buzz to the ballpark, too. He'd suddenly make the Astros baseball's most interesting team.
What's wrong with having a little buzz? Why should the Dallas Cowboys have all the fun?
Barry Lamar Bonds would be a perfect fit for the Astros. :nohead::nohead::nohead:Is there one good reason not to sign him?
No, there's not. In reading these comments, the only reason is that some people don't like him. To say such a thing presumes you know the players on the team now.
You don't know them. You can pretend to know them, but you don't. I don't either. As for the other stuff Bonds has done or has been accused of doing, we'll get to those later.
Baseball is a bottom-line business. He'd make the Astros better. If Drayton McLane really and truly wants to be a champion, he'd bring in the best offensive player on earth.
Our local nine has been winning some games lately. Just as they're closing in on .500, one of their two best players, Carlos Lee, goes down with a broken finger.
What would the Rockets do? They just went for a guy that has done far worse things than Barry. Some of you have compared Ron Artest to Barry Bonds. I'm going to presume you're having a bad day.
To compare steroid use to domestic violence is amazing and ignorant and incredible. Please don't.
Trust me when I tell you Barry is vastly overrated as a bad guy in the clubhouse. He's a little prickly at times, a little standoffish, but who among us isn't? Jeff Kent didn't always whistle when he walked in the clubhouse, and he has turned out to be one of the all-time best guys to have on a baseball team.
Besides, Barry would be absolutely thrilled to get another shot. He thinks he has been black-balled. Maybe he has.
That's beside the point. Even if the commissioner doesn't want him in the game, it's Drayton's job to do what's best for his club.
Go for it, Drayton. Since Barry got big, there's almost no argument about his being the best offensive player ever. He changes games unlike any other. Opposing pitchers begin preparing for him an inning before he's scheduled to hit. If Cecil Cooper batted Barry third, Lance Berkman suddenly would be leading the world in RBI opportunities.
The Astros wouldn't have an empty seat in the house, and you know how many hot dogs that will sell. Hear that sound? That's the cash register ringing. See the standings? The Astros would be moving up.
With one move, they'd blow Michael Phelps and Manny and Brett right off ESPN. Drayton would be the man. Think of the TV time for you, Drayton. For me, too, but that's beside the point. The entire country would be talking about the Astros.
If Drayton is unsure about Barry, he should poll his players and manager. Ask Cecil Cooper if he'd like to have Barry in his lineup. Ask Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman if they'd like to have Barry as a teammate.
Don't tell me that Barry used steroids and lied about them. So we're now getting religion on steroids?
Listen, we're all going to have to wrap our minds around steroids and their impact on the game. I admit to not being there yet.
This isn't about putting Barry in the Hall of Fame. This may shock you, but Barry isn't the only big leaguer that apparently used steroids.
What makes Barry--and apparently Roger Clemens--different is that they got unlucky. Their dealers got busted by the feds.
We know things about Barry and Roger that we don't know about others. That doesn't mean others didn't use steroids.
Speaking of Clemens, he dug his own grave. If he'd confirmed everything in the Mitchell Report, the reaction would have been a collective yawn. No way 16 to 21 injections contributed significantly to 354 victories. He set off on a course that may very well land him in prison.
I hope this move isn't decided because Drayton is worried about his franchise's reputation.
That's a funny one.
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the Astros have no reputation. No one outside of Houston cares.
Inside the industry, their reputation isn't great. The industry thinks Drayton does a lot of dumb stuff. Like refusing to spend on draft choices and running off a great general manager. Baseball people whisper that he's a nightmare to work for.
There's not a single valid reason not to sign Bonds. Because he might be a jerk? Are you kidding me?
I hate to tell you this, but we've had some players that drank too much and maybe weren't completely faithful about their marriage vows. That's real life. The home clubhouse is no different than your office or mine.
It's only idiots like me that sometimes put ball players on a pedestal when they're just normal men with normal weaknesses that happen to be able to do amazing physical things.
The government investigated Barry for 2 1/2 years for indicting him. Even Drayton has admitted to being perplexed about this.
He knows that the government has endless resources, and isn't it strange that they directed so many of those resources to bringing down a baseball player? Beware, Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada. They intend to do the same thing to you, and if Barry's case is an example, they'll take however long they need to build a case. Sleep well, boys. Someone could be going through your garbage at this very moment.
We're getting off topic here. The Astros need a hitter, and Barry might be the greatest that ever lived. Frankly, the Astros have a reputation for wanting guys that look and sound alike. Barry isn't like any of the other Astros. Nothing wrong with that. Do it!
