SFist: Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana Again?

guest

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 22:21:38 -0800

Cheating has become the new American way of life. Nixon did it, Clinton did it, Bush - eh, well he took it to a new level so why should the national past time e any different? Anyone remember "Corky" Sosa and Thick Neckbone McGuire? Enron, MCI, Arthur Anderson and thousands of stockbrokers, corporate CEO's and dotcom charlatans...the yuppie generation has made cheating honorable and ratcheted down the penalties for getting caught so as to protect themselves from potential prosecution. The game is fixed and only the cheaters are winning. Honesty has become a suckers game. Just ask Gavin, Cheney, Bonds, Scooter, etc, etc, etc...

aj

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:43:25 -0800

He still should have been suspended. But since he's playing, let's enjoy the home runs. Hypocritical? Sure! But that's SF for you.

guest

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:13:17 -0800

This has nothing to do with race. This has everything to do with drugs. Gavin is a drug-head and Barry is too. Both are cheaters and both should be jeered and not cheered. What if you found out that Barry was using a baseball bat filled with lead at the end. Would that be ok too? NOT! He is a fraud and he should never be allowed to hold the title of "most home-runs hit" or "greatest player ever". Oh, and Gavin...he should be ashamed!

periqueblend

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:01:24 -0800

Okay. Going back over that. He did actually say that rooting against is racist. That's laughable. Furthermore it certainly adds nothing to the conversation.

periqueblend

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:59:05 -0800

The first comment wasn't implying that anyone who roots against is racist, just stating some numbers. All that aside. Barry was always hated. Always. He liked that. All good players get booed in other parks. I personally think people want the HR king to be a villain. Besides people boo Bonds then applaud his homeruns. They hold up signs and then take pictures. His performance enhancing drugs did not exist in a vacuum. He was playing in his era, which is the only way to ever judge a player. Ruth never played against negro leaguers - and Ted Williams is famous for having complained that he never faced "the best" due to segregation. I'm ambivalent about the HR chase because I would take Giant wins over HRs any day. But like was stated above (and is true in St. Louis where Bonds was recently booed-cough McGuire cough) if Bonds played for team X. Team X fans would like him, and we would feel really good about ourselves hating him (ala Alex Rodriguez - who is a great ballplayer but easy to hate). Doesn't mean Barry Lamar Bonds is not one best hitters to ever play the game. Maybe it means the haters need to remember that its just a museum in upstate New York. It only has meaning that you import to it. And come on. Its grown men playing a kids game, for too much money.

frederick

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:22:22 -0800

Jon, listen to almost any professional baseball player today (the vast majority) and they are all on bonds' side. what he is doing, and what he has done, is incredibly hard and, plainly, amazing. anyone who has played baseball before should be able to clearly understand his accomplishments. did you WATCH him hit those homeruns yesterday? Yes, the SF lauding of Barry is over-the-top and unique, but the real "kool-aid drinkers" are the swarms of fans (and yourself) whose knee-jerk reaction is to boo him and hate him because he has been accused of cheating. All of this is a blind, horribly typical response to one of the greatest feats we will ever see in the game of baseball. The "real" fans, jon? Yeah, those are the ones that are viciously booing, arguably, the greatest hitter of all time. also, who cares what the hell SI thinks about san francisco??

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:50:34 -0800

Face it people, he's going to break the record, there will be fanfare, and (almost) everyone who watches will be thinking "cheater." Its the steroid era of baseball - just like the deadball era - and this too, shall eventually pass...

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:36:45 -0800

I feel so bad for poor Barry, its the same people trying to take him down that are trying to push Ed Jew's great service over the borderline... :.-(

wsanders

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:13:51 -0800

Yeah, all the rumors - it's THE MAN just trying to keep Barry down. All the whining cheapens the sport for me more than any allegations of doping. You don't see Floyd Landis whining about how he was framed by THE MAN ... oh, wait, nevermind.

haplito

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:42:22 -0800

There are a lot of bad writers out there, SF_Julio, but bad readers are a rare breed. Bravo!

Jon

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:12:51 -0800

Hangs head in shame.....

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:04:37 -0800

The people who act like all of these other pro athletes are no doping are the stupid ones.

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:04:01 -0800

Wow, anyone who disagrees is a racist. Who teaches these morons to type? OJ is innocent, too, huh, and it's a white plot? Didn't realize Al Sharpton read SFist. Meanwhile, McGuire isn't in the Hall, Sosa is nearly a pariah (saved by this season with Tex), Giambi is in a lot of trouble, and Canseco is a national joke. So yeah, racist, you idiot. It's shame you're so blinded by rage against Whitey because in a general sense you're not wrong. Roids can't help eye-hand and Bond is (woulda been) the GOAT. He's also the biggest asshole since Cobb ever to play and he's getting his. Oh, and Cobb is demonized in modern lore. More than likely, you're a white liberal guilter yourself. Well guess what, OJ did it and Bonds is cheating scum. Tax evasion, drugs, immorality. BTW, I wonder if Reilly understand the Kool-aid irony when discussing San Francisco? Probably too busy being as smug as happy haplito here. SF_Julio

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:02:46 -0800

Don't forget that while Bonds moves ever closer to his dubious record, the Giants stink majorly! All signs indicate that this team will occupy the cellar of the majors for the rest of the season. Let's reluctantly cheer Barry Bonds as he breaks a record, and then let's let him retire or play someplace else next season. The Giants don't need a distraction next season if they want to win games.

Plug1

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:01:42 -0800

755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755 756 755

sfmike

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:57:38 -0800

Great analysis, haplito, and it's good to remember that it wasn't just hitters who were/are juicing themselves with steroids but pitchers too, which would argue for some kind of balance. And making City Hall glow orange is creepy. It makes the building look like Satan's Lair, which may be some sort of truth in advertising, but do we really need to be so graphically reminded?

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:54:20 -0800

Well, for baseball fans your statistical skills undermine your credibility. How exactly are you counting Barry's HRs? What's in that Kool-Aid you've been drinking?

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:51:37 -0800

i think your numbers are off. the record is 755. he's on 753. (and yeah, he's a fathead cheaterpants.)

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:50:18 -0800

Calling us "Kool-Aid chuggers" is a reference to Jim Jones and the People's Temple. It's yet another "Oh those freaks in San Francisco" type of insult that I've grown up with. And yes, I do realize that they didn't drink Kool-Aid.

haplito

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 10:44:27 -0800

Don't be stupid. Barry Bonds - and I don't like him OR the Giants a titch - is one of the greatest baseball players to ever live, no questions asked. This whole campaign against Barry Bonds smacks of racism. Granted, the guy is an asshole and a megalomaniac; but I would argue that the media's impression of his assholishness and megalomania are colored by race, as well. ESPN and ABC did a pretty reliable study of indicating that only 28% of white fans are in favor of Barry breaking the record, while 74% of black fans are. Now, that doesn't mean that every white person in America that hates Barry Bond is a racist... but it's certainly a departure point for that argument. "Cheater"? Maybe, but that was the culture of baseball then and - if you consider amphetamine use a performance-enhancing substance - it's been like that for a long time. Even if he juiced, strength doesn't help you put the center of the bat on a baseball going 95 mph. And it wouldn't get you much more than 15 or 20 feet of distance on a drive (and I'm sorry, if you can hit a major-league curveball 400 feet, and that extra 15 or 20 made the difference? Go for it.). Anyone who thinks otherwise is ill-informed, stupid, or racist. AND, anybody looking to point fingers might want to look at the context of all this steroid abuse. MLB was just coming off of a strike, and the fans weren't coming back. All of a sudden - with NOBODY from MLB Corporate piping up and complaining - McGuire, Sosa and Bonds all put on 30lbs of muscle and start hitting 60-70 jacks a year. And (Suprise!) the fans came back! And Selig was pleased...