Barry Bonds hacked off at Hank Aaron.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=593788

Bad journalism begets bad journalism, I guess. The Milwaukee Journal today paraphrases the AJC's third-hand, unconfirmed bullshit story to do its own attack on Bonds. Absolutely pathetic.

It is Bonds who needs the credibility Aaron's company would bestow on the otherwise strained proceedings. Bonds has even sent out private feelers to Aaron in hopes he might attend, and is said to be hurt that Aaron wants nothing to do with what will no doubt be a muted celebration anywhere outside the Giants' home park.

"I'm sorry Barry feels that way, and I don't have any resentment toward him whatsoever, but I have no intention of trying to get in contact with him or doing anything with him in regard to his (chasing the record)," Aaron told Moore. "Nothing.

In case you're keeping score at home, the AJC based Bonds' position re: Aaron on what Aaron said that Selig said that Barry said. Of course, Bonds has denied ever talking to Selig about it, a little problem that the Journal (Michael Hunt) worked around by paraphrasing that Bonds has sent out private feelers.

The effort to trash Bonds has certainly brought out some particularly sleazy journalism lately.

 

But cranberry, don't you realize that it's all ok as long as it is done in service of the noble cause of bashing Barry Bonds?

 

Since the bad journalism card has already been played, why isn't there any word in Rob's column of a player/manager that supports Aaron's stance??? It's easy to bash Henry Aaron when you're talking to Bonds' two best friends in baseball. Parker took the easy way out, too.

 

More lazy journalism would be my guess.

 

Are Bonds and Sheffield still friends? I thought they turned on one another over something in the Balco investigation.

Leyland, I'm sure will support Bonds no matter what. Hell, he owes a good bit of his own career to Bonds. He got a lot of mileage out of those three division winners in Pittsburgh when he happened to have the best player in baseball in left field.

I wonder if he would have won enough to even get a chance to manage again without that.

 

I would like for a sports journalist to asked Aaron straight up and on the record if he ever used stimulants or steroids during his career. I think the likelyhood that he routinely used stimulants is quite high. Stimulants definitely enhance performance and especially over a 162 game season. In fact, the positive effects upon performance are bigtime. Maybe Aaron wants to stay away from the Bonds controversy because if he gets too close somebody might start asking him some tough questions that he may not want to answer. Anybody here think it's a possibly that Aaron used stimulants during his career?

 

Sure, it's possible. Is it possible you'll ever reveal your actual agenda and finally make your point?

 

Well, Mays was an unabashed greenie user. According to Jim Bouton, and not really countered by anyone, the vast majority of players used greenies. If Aaron did use greenies, it would come down to if you demonize greenies the way we've demonized steroids.

 

It's not a smokescreen, it's a reality; greenies did enhance performance. Mays probably doesn't hit as many homers without greenies, assuming the anecdotal evidence is correct. Bonds, or McGwire, or anybody you want to ascribe steroid use to absent a known positive test, don't hit as many without steroids, assuming the anecdotal evidence is correct. How you gonna quantify how many extra homers any of them had, if you assume use of illicit substances for all in this equation? You can't. So....no asterisks for anyone, in my book.

Just my 2 cents. I'm out; resume the ripping of Bonds and the requests for bodily harm.