Barry Bonds wasn't in the lineup against the Mets last night as the Giants opened a set in the nation's biggest market. He did pinch-hit and drew a walk amid a sea of boos but couldn't move any closer to the record-breaking 756th home run that will surely come later this summer. His visit to New York has coincided with an Associated Press article that reports Bonds is unlikely to donate any souvenirs of his run at the record to the Hall of Fame.
"I'm not worried about the Hall," the San Francisco slugger said during a recent homer drought. "I take care of me."
Bud Selig has no plans to celebrate Bonds' record-breaking home run and baseball is doing everything it can to downplay the story as the historic longball nears. They can't have it both ways. If you treat something as a signifigant moment in the lore of the game then you have to do it all the way down the line. Baseball has treated Bonds like a pariah for too long and too openly for them to expect any gifts in return.
The media is just as two-faced about Bonds, of course. Mike Vaccaro has ridden Bonds' enhanced shoulders to columns the last two days and has spent time on both sides of the fence. Yesterday he wrote that it was hypocritical of Met fans to boo Bonds when Guillermo Mota was returning to the team after serving a 50-game suspension. He was right, too. Bonds has never failed the test Mota did which means he's still just a suspected cheater. Mota's been proven guilty and that's an important line in our society. But today he writes about the fun night and Shea and throws in a tidbit about Bonds' pinch-hit appearance.
NIGHTS like these are the antidote, the serum for the sickness that Barry Bonds carries with him from ballpark to ballpark, from town to town. They are splendid reminders that the celebration is still more pleasing, still far more satisfying, than the castigation.
They got to boo Barry Bonds, always a good time.
Bonds wasn't a factor in last night's game but Vaccaro knows an easy target when he sees one. I just wish he'd remembered his advice from the night before. Still he's not as bad as the folks over at ESPN, particularly Len Pasquerelli. The guys at 100% Injury Rate point out that when asked what NFLer he'd choose to start a team ol' Len selects Shawne Merriman of the Chargers. Nearly every day somewhere on the galaxy of media outlets controlled by the Worldwide Leader there's a mention of the "steroid era" in baseball or a poll about the way people feel about Bonds. When it comes to football, though, no such worries.