Barry Bonds is going down.

[Superdude]

@RickJay

As to the issue;

1. Of course Bonds took steriods.
2. Suspending or punishing him now for his actions in 1999 would be utterly pointless and unfair. If he tests positive NOW, well, that’s different.
3. There is no point in putting an “asterisk” next to any of his numbers, and
4. Let the Hall voters do as they choose.

First of all, Hamlet, you may be right about the author of the 2nd book. I know nothing of the man, only that the book was going to be published.

And, RickJay, according to the crawl on ESPN, Bud Selig doesn’t seem to be willing to even investigate anything concerning Bonds unless he’s indicted on perjury charges.

My opinion on THAT matter is that Selig has a responsibility to look into the allegations. If there’s nothing there, fine. But Selig, IMHO, owes it to the game (and the fans) to look into it.

But, then again, this just illustrates why I think Selig is among the more incompetent commisioners that baseball has had (going back to his “contraction” days, when he mentioned folding the Twins, which would possibly increase the fan base of the Brewers, which he still had ties to), and needs to step down.

[RickJay]

@Superdude

My opinion on THAT matter is that Selig has a responsibility to look into the allegations. If there’s nothing there, fine. But Selig, IMHO, owes it to the game (and the fans) to look into it.

Selig owes nobody anything; these are legal matters, and he can’t mollify angry fans by doing something that will land MLB in court.

The manner in which MLB pursues these matters is strictly laid out by the collective bargaining agreement. If Selig were to investigate Bonds and then suspend him for taking steroids in, say, 2001, Bonds will sue, Bonds will unquestionably win, MLB will be harmed, and nothing good will come of it.

How do you suspend Barry Bonds for something he did as far back as 1998 when you had as many as 80 positive tests in 2003 you didn’t punish? You can’t logically defend that, but more important, you can’t legally defend it.

But, then again, this just illustrates why I think Selig is among the more incompetent commisioners that baseball has had (going back to his “contraction” days, when he mentioned folding the Twins, which would possibly increase the fan base of the Brewers, which he still had ties to), and needs to step down.

I dislike Selig too, but he is not incompetent by any meaningful standard. His job is to enhance the market value of the franchises; he works for the MLB owners. He has done exactly that. Attendance and revenue are way up. He’s done his job well.

The steroids thing has been a disaster, I agree, but you can’t single out Barry Bonds and apply special rules to him. Just just literally can’t do it, for one thing - he’d win any court or arbitration case that resulted - and for another, it’s wrong. Bonds may be an asshole and he may be a superstar but you can’t apply special rules to one guy that don’t apply to everyone else. Regrettably, this ship has sailed. Steroids were prevalent in MLB and you cannot go back and change it; all you can do is crunch down on them from here on in.