Why Bonds isn't playing

Why Bonds isn't playing

Once, he was everywhere. Now he's nowhere.

Once, he was The Man. Now he's just the Invisible Man.

Once, he was the most high-profile player in his entire sport. Now Barry Bonds is so low-profile, he could be a plot line on "Without a Trace."

We know Bud Selig isn't out shopping for "wish you were here" cards for his favorite history-maker these days. But it sure seems strange to be starting another baseball season without the home run king.

There are a million reasons Barry Bonds isn't playing right now. The question is: Is there a good reason?

He did out-homer Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Sheffield and Travis Hafner last year, you know. He did have a higher slugging percentage than Mark Teixeira, Adam Dunn and Carlos Beltran. He did reach base more times than Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon and Torii Hunter.

So why isn't Barry Bonds playing baseball? Why isn't he in uniform? Why isn't there a big "762" hanging on somebody's outfield wall right now, under a sign that says "Barry's Bombs"?

The answers are obvious … we guess. But we wanted to hear them for ourselves. So during the past couple of weeks, we asked that question -- "Why isn't Barry playing?" -- to executives from three teams that could fairly be described as contenders, with big enough budgets to afford him.

None of those executives wanted to be identified in any way, since the players' union is currently investigating whether teams may have engaged in some kind of collusion or conspiracy to keep Bonds unemployed. So we'll simply refer to them as Official A, B and C. But their answers reinforced the notion that there are many reasons -- not just one -- that No. 25 isn't playing right now.

An executive of one team we surveyed (aka "Official A") readily admitted his club considered signing Bonds -- because "we consider everything," he said.

So, we observed, how could they not conclude he could help them?

"Barry could help any team," he replied. "He could help all 30 teams. He can still hit."

So if this guy could help all 30 teams, why isn't he playing for at least one of those teams?

"Because I'm only talking about on the field," said Official A, tersely.

When we turn our gaze away from the field, of course, that's where our man Barry stops looking so attractive. But before we get there, it's not as if there aren't at least some justifiable baseball reasons this man is jobless right now.

"I don't see how any National League team could see him as an everyday player anymore," said an executive of one of those NL teams ("Official B"). "I know we don't like having guys who can't play defense on our team in this league. And he can't play defense anymore. I don't know if he'd be the worst defensive outfielder in the league. But he'd have to be in that group."

So the defense issue alone knocks 16 teams out of this conversation. Then the question becomes: Which American League contender needs a DH? And that answer is: None. Theoretically, anyway.

But couldn't we argue that Barry Bonds is an offensive upgrade over Jose Vidro, Gary Matthews Jr. or even Frank Thomas at this stage of his career? Heck, yes. That's not even a hard argument. But that brings us to those other reasons that Bonds isn't playing.

"We just don't want to deal with everything that comes with him -- the distractions, the entourage, the everyday questions," said an official of a third club ("Official C"). "Every day is a different story with this guy, or could be. And except for a couple of teams -- the Yankees, the Mets, maybe the Red Sox -- nobody is used to dealing with a scene like that every day of the season."

Yes, that scene is a big, big factor here, because there is no scene like the daily Barry Scene. The media crowds hovering. The will-he-talk-or-won't-he-talk drama. The gravitational pull of everyone and everything in that clubhouse toward Barry -- and away from the other occupants of the room. And that's just on a normal day.

On those inevitable days when a Bonds blockbuster erupts in a headline near you, you multiply all that by a thousand.

"Most teams just don't want their young players to be touched by all that, by the circus," said Official C. "Is that what you want your young players to be surrounded with?"

"He's a guy who's always on his own program," said Official B. "And how many teams want guys who are always on their own program?"

The counter-argument, though, is that, if Bonds wants to play badly enough, why wouldn't he agree to follow any team's program? Given this situation, couldn't a team lay out its rules and tell him, "Live by them or stay home?" Of course it could. So you could make a case that those worries could be controlled.

Unfortunately, however, we all know the problem that can't be controlled.

"You have to be worried just because the guy could be facing a trial," said Official C. "He could have much bigger issues ahead of him. And that could make it hard for him to focus on baseball."

"There's just too much uncertainty about what lies ahead," said Official B, "and all the baggage he could bring because of that. No matter how good a player he might be, it's tough to embrace that."

All these explanations make just enough sense, on all sorts of levels, that you can see how impossible it would be for the union to prove there was any kind of conspiracy to blackball this man. You can't blame some people for suspecting it. But how could they prove it?

"There's no collusion here," said one official. "None. There has never been any discussion, from the commissioner's office or among the clubs, to say: 'Don't sign this guy.' Collusion means an intentional, overt act to affect the market, where teams talk to each other, saying, 'Don't sign this player.' In his case, that hasn't happened. It doesn't have to happen. It's obvious. Everyone's got the same issues."

"You know, it's not just him that doesn't have a job," said Official B. "He may think everyone is just ostracizing him, but it's not just him. How about [Sammy] Sosa, [Mike] Piazza, [Kenny] Lofton, [Roger] Clemens, [David] Wells? Those are all guys who will get Hall of Fame votes. And none of them has a job. Look around. Teams are trying to get younger."

So with all those forces converging -- the glove, the knees, the baggage, the legal issues and the rampaging youth movements -- everyone has a reason not to sign this man. But here's what we found most fascinating:

Nobody we surveyed was willing to predict we've seen the last of this man.

"I think he is going to get signed," said Official C. "I do believe that. I think at some point, you'll see a team that loses a DH to an injury will turn to him. … I'll give you an example. Say David Ortiz goes down in Boston. I wouldn't be surprised if they signed Barry Bonds. Say Gary Sheffield goes down in Detroit. I wouldn't be surprised if they signed Barry Bonds. If Seattle stays in the race, I wouldn't be surprised if they signed Barry Bonds.

"It would have to be a team that has a shot to win, a team that gets to June or July and wants to upgrade at DH, or a team that has a major injury. But I really think it will happen. I really do."

And if it does happen, won't it be downright amusing to hear that team explain its thinking, why all those issues that ostensibly make so much sense now will make no sense later? We can't wait.

But all that club will have to do is just recite this guy's numbers. Heck, it's free to steal from this very column, and list all the big-name, big-buck players Barry Bonds outproduced last year. And then it can easily spin that signing as a move that makes perfect baseball sense.

It won't even be that tough -- because it makes perfect baseball sense now.

It's just too bad for the home run king that he lives in a world that allows all those other senses to enter the equation -- because they're the senses that have driven him straight to the unemployment line.

Well, for now, anyway.

He's so close to 3000 hits, too

Unfortunately, Barry thinks he's his own team, and the bad karma that would be in whatever clubhouse he lands in probably isn't worth the $$.

Bonds may never play in MLB again!

he'll just write a book, gain tons of weight, and fade into obscurity

You mean a book like Jose Canseco wrote?

probably!

I ain't gonna waste my money on such rubbish

maybe for hamster cage liner!

Not even worth lining the cage with it

it ain't good enough for toilet paper!

Bats Ready, but Bonds May Not Need Them

Barry Bonds was prepared to play baseball this season, so he asked Sam Holman to have a dozen bats ready for him. Holman, the founder of the Original Maple Bat Corporation, has made Bonds’s bats since 1997.

Holman set aside 12 pieces of the lightest-density wood he had, stored them in his factory in Gatineau, Quebec, and waited to see if Bonds got a job. But no one has signed Bonds. Now Holman has doubts about whether Bonds, baseball’s career home run leader, will play in the major leagues this season.

“I don’t think he’s planning to do much this year,” Holman said. “I talked to him about the bats yesterday and he said: ‘Leave them there. I don’t know if I’ll need them.’ ”

Without a full-time job, Bonds apparently does not feel the need to pay for bats he may never use. Even though Holman is keeping “the pretty rare wood” available for Bonds and said he could make Bonds’s 2K1 models if Bonds called tomorrow, he does not know if that will happen.

“I think he said if he ever gets the gumption to go hit, then he’ll need them,” Holman said.

Bonds does not have a contract and no teams have publicly expressed interest in signing him. Jeff Borris, Bonds’s agent, has said Bonds is not retiring. Borris declined an interview request last Monday and would not even discuss Bonds’s workout regimen.

But John Yandle, a batting practice pitcher for the San Francisco Giants who has also been Bonds’s personal batting practice pitcher for 15 years, said that Bonds was working out at home in Beverly Hills, Calif. Yandle had lunch with Bonds two weeks ago and said that Bonds told him that he was not hitting. Still, Bonds said he was staying in shape.

“He looked like he could put on a uniform and go out and hit three home runs,” Yandle said. “But you have to have the chance to do that. We don’t know where that’s going.”

As productive as Bonds was last season, with 28 homers and a .480 on-base percentage, teams seem to have decided to stay away from him because of his legal problems and his reputation for being a problem in the clubhouse.

Bonds, who turns 44 in two months, was indicted on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in November. He is accused of lying about his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his grand jury testimony in 2003. But Bonds’s case is not expected to go to trial this year, and his legal problems are unlikely to be a full-time distraction.

It is difficult to imagine Bonds being anything but a designated hitter, so his best chance to be signed would be if a team like the Tigers, the Blue Jays or the Mariners lost their D.H. for an extended period. A team that was in contention for a postseason spot may be willing to risk the fallout from signing Bonds, figuring it could be worth it for part of a season.

“Where is Barry Bonds?” Yandle said. “He’s at home in Beverly Hills. Does he want to play? Sure. Does he need to play? No. He’s very prideful. If somebody called him, I’m sure he’d still want to.”

In an entry on Bonds’s Web site dated Feb. 28, Bonds wrote, “I continue to work out and feel in great shape.”

After Bonds found out that Holman had put his company up for sale on eBay in 2006 for $3.5 million, he worried about the impact the supplier’s future could have on him. Bonds asked Holman how much it would take to guarantee him his bats for 2007, the year he expected to make a run at Hank Aaron’s record. Holman told Bonds it would be $40,000. Bonds quickly sent him a check for that amount, which worked out to about $500 a bat.

Now Holman, the batmaker, is not making bats for Bonds, and Yandle, the batting practice pitcher, is not throwing pitches to Bonds. And Bonds, whose 762 homers are more than any major leaguer, is not playing and may not play again.

He is done. Write the book, make appearances, and hey! he's got plenty of memories.

So Long Barry!

Baker says Bonds might not return
Manager thinks home run king doesn't seem to miss playing
By Dennis Georgatos / Special to MLB.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Reds manager Dusty Baker had some thoughts about the playing future of Barry Bonds, who remains out of baseball since he and the San Francisco Giants parted ways after last season.

Baker, who managed Bonds during a 10-year stay in San Francisco, said he spoke by telephone with baseball's all-time home run hitter about two weeks ago. He said Bonds remains in shape but added the slugger's prolonged absence from the game could make it difficult to return.

"The longer he's out, who knows? The less likely he may want to come back," Baker said. "I'm sure he's got enough money. If you've got enough money and your time is being occupied doing what you like, sometimes when you've been in the spotlight, especially the way he was the last couple of years, maybe he enjoys being ... lost."

Baker, who was himself out of baseball last year, said he could empathize with Bonds.

"I didn't miss last year," he said. "I missed the game, but I didn't miss my phone ringing with people, asking me for tickets. Sometimes some of those people really don't care about me. They care about the tickets."

Baker was asked if he got the sense that Bonds, 43, missed the game.

"It didn't sound like it to me," Baker said.

I dont think Bonds should play anymore. He has had a long ehough career. Besides, I think he just cheated his way there and should be allowed.

Rob Parker
Like him or not, Tigers need Bonds

The Major League Baseball Players Association has opened an investigation into the free-agent market.

It wants to look into why free agents Barry Bonds, Kenny Lofton and other players are still unsigned and whether it should file a grievance on the issue of collusion.

Bonds, however, shouldn't wait for the union to write a report. If he wants to play this season, he has to force the issue.

In fact, Bonds has to go old-school and take a page out of Andre Dawson's 1987 book on how to get a job when no one wants you.

Filling the seats

Bonds, baseball's all-time home-run leader with 762, should pick the American League team he wants to be designated hitter for, give it a blank contract and have it fill in the numbers.

And that team could easily be the Tigers. They desperately need a left-handed bat in their inconsistent lineup, which has been shut out five times in the first 34 games. Last season, the Tigers were blanked three times.

The only thing Bonds -- who earned $15.5 million last season with the San Francisco Giants -- should ask for is an attendance clause. If he fills the seats, he should get a bonus. It would be hard for a team to pass up that offer, even with Bonds' alleged-steroid-use baggage.

Without question, Bonds is back in play. His chances of playing this season got a big boost a month ago when a federal judge postponed Bonds' perjury and obstruction of justice case. The judge said the indictment was too flawed and needed to be rewritten.

There's now a good chance the case won't go to trial until 2009. It opens the door for a team to hire Bonds, knowing he won't be taken away during the season.

And there's no reason that Bonds shouldn't be given an opportunity to play. Other players who were named in the Mitchell Report as players who used steroids are on current rosters, including the Yankees' Andy Pettitte and the Astros' Miguel Tejada. Bonds is no different from those players.

It's not a question of whether Bonds can still play. Sure, he's not an everyday outfielder any longer. But, even at 43, Bonds is in great shape and can certainly be productive in four at-bats a game.

Last season with the Giants, Bonds hit .276 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs in 126 games. He also had an impressive .480 on-base percentage, his best since 2004. Those aren't numbers of a guy who is finished.

And the Tigers, in last place in the AL Central, need a spark.

Good fit for the Tigers

Along with a left-handed bat in a mostly right-handed lineup, Bonds, who is close with manager Jim Leyland, could bring some much-needed toughness as well. All it would take is some cash and sending Matt Joyce back to the minors. Plus, Gary Sheffield and Bonds would have to kiss and make up. And with so much on the line -- winning a World Series with the second-highest payroll in the majors -- Sheffield would let the past stay there.

Bonds not guilty

Whether you like or dislike Bonds, he hasn't been convicted of anything. He should be allowed to play like everybody else who has been tarnished by this scandal.

If Bonds is unemployed because he wants too much money, that's one thing. But if it's not about that, it's simply not fair.

If Bonds really wants to get to 3,000 career hits like he has said -- he's just 65 short -- he has to take this drastic measure.

In Dawson's case, he was desperate. The Cubs took his blank contract and filled in $500,000 as a base salary. There was also $250,000 in incentives if Dawson made the All-Star team, started the All-Star Game, or won the National League MVP.

Dawson accomplished all three and enjoyed what might have been his finest season. He hit 49 homers and was named NL MVP, even though the Cubs finished in last place in the NL East.

For sure, no one is expecting Bonds to have that kind of season. But he can still hit and help a team.

Bonds can't wait any longer. He has to make the move. And Detroit would be perfect.

Hmmm...I would say our clubhouse would be filled with bad karma. The guy needs to be his own team. He won't play nice with anybody but himself....

Why Barry Bonds Will Have a Job in 2008…

So here we are at the quarter mark of the 2008 season. The time of the season when General Managers take a step back to look at what they’ve assembled. It is now that teams begin to decide whether or not they’re going to be legitimate contenders as the season wears on.

Once that decision is made it’s up to the GMs to determine what the next course of action should be. If the team has decided it’s not likely to contend; the next move is generally a sell-off of high-priced veterans with an eye toward the future. However, if the team believes it has a shot—that’s when things get interesting.

Coming into the 2008 season the Mariners, Blue Jays and Tigers were all thought to be potential contenders and in the case of the Tigers, one of the odds-on-favorites to win the World Series. Right now all three are struggling offensively and could use a serious shot in the arm (pun VERY MUCH intended) by the name of Barry Bonds.

I’m going to take a look at all three teams and how Barry Bonds does or does not fit into their playoff hopes going forward.

SEATTLE MARINERS

The Mariners entered 2008 on the heels of a successful campaign that led to the resigning of Ichiro Suzuki and saw the team improve the rotation with the additions of Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva. Many picked the Mariners to unseat the Angels atop the AL West on the back of the retooled pitching staff, strong bullpen and a solid offense. Unfortunately, someone forgot to inform the offense.

The offense currently ranks 23rd with a .250 average and 29th with an on-base percentage of .309. These low totals explain why the team has only amassed a whopping total of 165 runs thus far.

The team is predominantly right-handed with lefties, Ichiro and Raul Ibanez, and switch-hitter Jose Vidro being the only regulars to mix up the parade of right-handed hitters. Bonds is--without a doubt--the best lefty on the market and even at age 43 can still produce at a high level both in terms of power and on-base percentage (28 homers and .480 OBP in 340 at-bats in 2007).

The Mariners—who are currently ten games under .500 and 8 ½ games out of first in the AL West—have already made attempts to shake up the lineup by jettisoning Brad Wilkerson and Greg Norton and replacing them with minor league standouts Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien. There were discussions regarding Frank Thomas, when the slugger was released by the Blue Jays in late April, but Thomas’ decision to rejoin Oakland quickly put an end to any chances of the Big Hurt bringing his Hall of Fame credentials to the Pacific Northwest.

Why It Will Happen: Current DH Jose Vidro is “hitting” .193 with two home runs and a .244 OBP, Bonds could hit better than that right-handed…and blind-folded. Needless to say Bonds would be an immediate upgrade and would love having Ichiro on base in front of him all season long, almost as much as Ichiro would love having Bonds batting behind him.

Why It Won’t Happen: The oft-rumored Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mariners deal seems more likely than Bonds landing in Seattle. Griffey would provide the offensive upgrade and the left-handed bat the team so desperately needs. Throw in the fact that he is a hero in the Emerald City and it only makes sense for Griff to return to Seattle for a storybook ending to his career.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

As is the case every season in recent memory, the Blue Jays entered the season as a popular “dark horse” candidate to make a playoff run in the powerful AL East. The team boasts one of the best rotations in all of baseball and was supposed to have a dynamic offense with Alex Rios, Frank Thomas, Aaron Hill and the returns of a healthy Scott Rolen and Vernon Wells.

What the Blue Jays got was one of the lowest scoring offenses in the American League. The Jays currently sit at 153 runs scored with a .255 team average. As a result of the low output (and the unattractive vesting option he was closing in on) Frank Thomas was released in late April and Seattle cast-off Brad Wilkerson was brought in along with the streaky, yet underachieving Kevin Mench from Texas.

The Blue Jays currently sit in last place in the AL East, five games out of first-place and the only reason they’re that close is because the pitching has been stellar thus far. Without some sort of offensive wake-up call the Jays can right off contending in 2008 and potentially beyond with the window closing on much of the team’s aging core.

The Blue Jays have gotten sufficient results from Matt Stairs, but Adam Lind is overmatched and belongs in Triple-A. Wilkerson, Mench, Shannon Stewart and the plethora of other outfielders the Jays have sent out are not getting it done. The team would be wise to move Stairs to left and put Bonds in the DH slot and use both Bonds and Stairs to split up the right-hander heavy core of Wells, Rios and Rolen.

Why It Will Happen: Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi has shown that he's not afraid of shaking up his roster. He's already made a handful of transactions this season in an attempt to improve his struggling offense and as a student of Billy Beane’s on-base percentage philosophy, Bonds is the perfect fit for this squad and wouldn’t deal with nearly the level of media scrutiny north of the border.

Why It Won’t Happen: The Jays are a middle-of-the-pack spender and don’t figure to increase their payroll. Signing Bonds, even at a discount, wouldn’t be in line with the team’s spending philosophy. The Blue Jays are far more likely to deal from their strength, young pitching, to acquire a slugger such as Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, etc…rather than spend to bring in Bonds.

DETROIT TIGERS

Ask just about any baseball “expert” and coming into the 2008 season the Tigers were neck-and-neck with the Red Sox as the odds-on-favorite to win the World Series. Now, with a month and a half of the season in the rearview mirror the Tigers are mired in last-place in the American League Central, four and a half games behind the overachieving Minnesota Twins.

What makes things even more interesting is that the Tigers vaunted offense, which sputtered out of the gates, has finally gotten on a role and the Tigers are in the top five in the AL in team average, on-base percentage and runs scored. The Tigers are getting destroyed by their own overrated starting rotation and the one thing that most experts overlooked in the preseason, the absolute void that is a bullpen.

Detroit currently ranks dead last in ERA (5.03) and saves (5). They are also the only team in the AL without a complete game and one of only two (the Mariners) that have yet to produce a shut-out.

So why am I recommending the Tigers bring in Barry Bonds when he surely can’t help where the team needs him most? What the team lacks—offensively—is a consummate presence at DH and another reliable lefty bat. Bonds could fill both of those voids.

Gary Sheffield and his ailing shoulder have moved back to the outfield with the end of Jacque Jones’ month-long tenure in left-field. That leaves a rotation of aging stars and overweight sluggers like Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez, Ivan Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera to take their turns at DH and super sub – and dispatched starter – Brandon Inge to fill-in around the diamond. The logical move would be to bring in Bonds, plug him in at DH and watch the lineup continue to rake in an attempt to overcome the inequities of the pitching staff.

Why It Will Happen: The Yankees have proven that a team can make the playoffs without a pitching staff and the Tigers appear to be built in the same mold. With a rapidly aging core and much of the youth sold off in offseason the Tigers’ window to win a championship is closing fast. Throw in the fact that Jim Leyland has proven he can manage Bonds in the past, the Tigers appear to be a perfect fit.

Why It Won’t Happen: The offense is set and with Brandon Inge around the team can afford to appoint Carlos Guillen and Miguel Cabrera as the full-time DHs and let Inge get plenty of at-bats whilst upgrading the defense at third-base. The priority right now is pitching and guys like Joe Blanton, Rich Harden, Huston Street, George Sherrill, etc are more likely to be on the Tigers’ radar than another aging slugger for their collection.

DARKHORSE CANDIDATES

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Bonds is done!

Only uniform he will probably wear is a prison uniform

He have to be Houdini to escape all those indictments

I dont know. I mean, maybe Bonds can help us get some more run production. It would be nice to have a half-way decent DH... (Sheff sux)

Maybe!


But the new indictments probably sealed the coffin on the career of Barry Bonds!

Bonds in big trouble.

Plea Bargain Time!

I dont care really, he should allowed to sign and play until he is convicted. That way we could get a few wins mabe...

But would the Tigers even be interested in Bonds?


Maybe?

However, Bonds is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

He should be allowed to play until then!


If King Kwame AKA "The Great Fatsby" can be Mayor of Detroit, [ while indicted] Why can't Bonds hit a few homers?

now he made some edict that says any text messaging done on a city device is strictly private and not subject to investigation! I had a good laugh on that one!

Kwame is so drunk with power!

he and Bonds rule the world!

Maybe not for much longer?


The Mighty may soon fall!


Worse than Humpty Dumpty ever imagined!