Bonds breaking the record...

[tnip23]

actually, i hope he shatters the damn record. baseball will only get what it deserves. they don't care about any problems facing the game until it starts affecting the bottom line. they ignored steroids when it was convenient and cracked down on them when they were forced to. they ignore the glaring need for a salary cap, because it's financially beneficial to have the yankees make the playoffs year after year. they let a boob like bud selig run the show and won't let their little club be invaded by a owner like mark cuban who might actually do some good for the game. by most accounts bonds is not a nice guy and he probably did roids, so if that embarrasses those running the game, all the better. i personally don't care about roids, in fact if they can make the game better and can be done safely under a doctors care, i'm all for them. from what i've seen and read the biggest benefit for baseball players is quicker recovery time from the aches and pains of the game. they don't transform a nobody into an all-star. bonds is an all-time great player and an all-time big a-hole, baseball is an all-time great game and an all-time mismanaged game by those in control. they deserve each other.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by tnip23

actually, i hope he shatters the damn record. baseball will only get what it deserves. they don't care about any problems facing the game until it starts affecting the bottom line. they ignored steroids when it was convenient and cracked down on them when they were forced to. they ignore the glaring need for a salary cap, because it's financially beneficial to have the yankees make the playoffs year after year. they let a boob like bud selig run the show and won't let their little club be invaded by a owner like mark cuban who might actually do some good for the game. by most accounts bonds is not a nice guy and he probably did roids, so if that embarrasses those running the game, all the better. i personally don't care about roids, in fact if they can make the game better and can be done safely under a doctors care, i'm all for them. from what i've seen and read the biggest benefit for baseball players is quicker recovery time from the aches and pains of the game. they don't transform a nobody into an all-star. bonds is an all-time great player and an all-time big a-hole, baseball is an all-time great game and an all-time mismanaged game by those in control. they deserve each other.

You make some excellent points, Sir.

[stashu]

I would like to see every manager tell their pitchers to pitch around him.

Let him retire with one to go.

Just think. If one manager does it, it'll be easier for the next, and the next, then no one will want to be responsible for allowing that "smudge" on the record.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by stashu

I would like to see every manager tell their pitchers to pitch around him.

Let him retire with one to go.

Just think. If one manager does it, it'll be easier for the next, and the next, then no one will want to be responsible for allowing that "smudge" on the record.

But what to you do if the bases are loaded in a tie game?

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by icehog3

But what to you do if the bases are loaded in a tie game?

Walk him! The Braves actually did this before with Bonds when the bases were loaded. Better to give one than four.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Walk him! The Braves actually did this before with Bonds when the bases were loaded. Better to give one than four.

OK....tie game in the bottom of the ninth.

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by icehog3

OK....tie game in the bottom of the ninth.

Hit him in the chops with high heat! It's just one game.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Hit him in the chops with high heat! It's just one game.

Last game of the season....two outs in the bottom of the ninth, road team up on the Giants by one run. Bases loaded. Bonds up. A win means the playoffs, a loss means October golfing. Still walk or plunk him? Give up the playoffs to prevent #755?

C'mon Greg, I gotta find one situation before I quit!

[taltos]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Last game of the season....two outs in the bottom of the ninth, road team up on the Giants by one run. Bases loaded. Bonds up. A win means the playoffs, a loss means October golfing. Still walk or plunk him? Give up the playoffs to prevent #755?

C'mon Greg, I gotta find one situation before I quit!

Where would the golf be played? If it is Augusta, Pebble Beach or St Andrews, hit him and on with the golf.

[DETROITPHA357]

so let it be done that's all I got to say.

[billybarue]

Originally Posted by tnip23

actually, i hope he shatters the damn record. baseball will only get what it deserves. they don't care about any problems facing the game until it starts affecting the bottom line. they ignored steroids when it was convenient and cracked down on them when they were forced to. they ignore the glaring need for a salary cap, because it's financially beneficial to have the yankees make the playoffs year after year. they let a boob like bud selig run the show and won't let their little club be invaded by a owner like mark cuban who might actually do some good for the game. by most accounts bonds is not a nice guy and he probably did roids, so if that embarrasses those running the game, all the better. i personally don't care about roids, in fact if they can make the game better and can be done safely under a doctors care, i'm all for them. from what i've seen and read the biggest benefit for baseball players is quicker recovery time from the aches and pains of the game. they don't transform a nobody into an all-star. bonds is an all-time great player and an all-time big a-hole, baseball is an all-time great game and an all-time mismanaged game by those in control. they deserve each other.

I think some very good points at the beginning of your post, but I have to disagree about the steroids. Couldn't agree more with your premise though, that these idiots running the game are meant for guys like Bonds.

Bonds has incredible hand-eye coordination - all great hitters do. However, steroids has helped him enormously on 2 levels. First of all, physically stronger with steroids allows him to put balls out of the park that he never would be able to otherwise. The guy could get "fisted" and still put the ball over the opposite fence. I saw Mac hit his 56th (I think it was) at Busch stadium. I was pretty far up the first base line - but the guy was/is massive. It looked like he had three sets of shoulders.

The second thing, and far more intangible, is the mental aspect of hitting that, I feel, steroids adds to a big-time hitters arsenal. Ted Williams said the hardest thing in sports was hitting. Well if you know you have the strength and bat speed to crush the ball, your confidence goes up and so will your slugging and batting averages. How to quantify this I can't say. But most athletes will acknowledge confidence is integral to their performance. I think Bonds has piqued his confidence, but at the same time sullied his reputation and tarnished the game.

Steroids may "make the game better", but it is destroying what the game was/is. More than any other sport, baseball lives and breaths statistics. I mean obscure off the wall statistics. There are baseball encyclopedias loaded with this stuff. If you allow steroids in to "make the game better" you destroy the statistics the game is based on. I am not saying Ricky Henderson was on the "juice", but if he was you can no longer draw any comparison between his base stealing abilities and that of Ty Cobb. A very big part of the game is lost and being destroyed by this inability to draw any comparisons or stats between legit and "juiced" players.

If Maris had an asterisk for awhile (61*) I think Bonds should get the following in big red numbers:

[SIZE="2"]?? 756 ??[/SIZE]

JMO,

BillyBarue

[stashu]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Last game of the season....two outs in the bottom of the ninth, road team up on the Giants by one run. Bases loaded. Bonds up. A win means the playoffs, a loss means October golfing. Still walk or plunk him? Give up the playoffs to prevent #755?

You still walk him and become "The pitcher that saved the greatest game on God's green earth".

He'd be right up there with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John Wayne, Jack Bauer, etc.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by taltos

Where would the golf be played? If it is Augusta, Pebble Beach or St Andrews, hit him and on with the golf.

I don't care who you are, that's funny stuff!

Originally Posted by stashu

You still walk him and become "The pitcher that saved the greatest game on God's green earth".

He'd be right up there with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John Wayne, Jack Bauer, etc

Put me in coach!!

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Last game of the season....two outs in the bottom of the ninth, road team up on the Giants by one run. Bases loaded. Bonds up. A win means the playoffs, a loss means October golfing. Still walk or plunk him? Give up the playoffs to prevent #755?

C'mon Greg, I gotta find one situation before I quit!

Ok, now it gets tough. Pitch to him and pray! Of course, that decision will depend on the course, as taltos stated.

[floydp]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Last game of the season....two outs in the bottom of the ninth, road team up on the Giants by one run. Bases loaded. Bonds up. A win means the playoffs, a loss means October golfing. Still walk or plunk him? Give up the playoffs to prevent #755?

C'mon Greg, I gotta find one situation before I quit!

Its ok Greg I got this one, hit him in the head with a golf club!