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Father Time, Not Collusion, In Bonds' Way

By GWEN KNAPP,

AOL

Posted: 2008-05-10 09:56:24

Filed Under: MLB

Sports Commentary

If Barry Bonds' unemployment is truly an outrage, worthy of a union investigation and endless media consternation, where is the campaign to put Jessica Lange on the cover of Maxim? At 59, she's not in her "Tootsie" prime, but Bonds isn't the base-stealing Gold Glover of yore, either.

Barry Bonds

San Francisco Giants owner and managing general partner Peter Magowan waits for the start of a media conference Friday, May 16, 2008, in San Francisco. Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants at the end of this season. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

William Neukom, currently a general partner in the San Francisco Giants ownership group, speaks during a media conference Friday, May 16, 2008, in San Francisco. Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants at the end of this season, to be replaced by Neukom. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

San Francisco Giants owner and managing general partner Peter Magowan, center, speaks during a news conference beside William Neukom, left, currently a general partner in the San Francisco Giants ownership group, and Larry Baer, right, Giants' Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Friday, May 16, 2008, in San Francisco. Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants at the end of this season. Magowan will be replaced by William Neukom. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

William Neukom, left, currently a general partner in the San Francisco Giants ownership group, walks beside Larry Baer, right, Giants' Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, as Giants owner and managing general partner Peter Magowan, center, raises his hand to his mouth, as they all prepare for a media conference Friday, May 16, 2008, in San Francisco. Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants at the end of this season. He is to be replaced by William Neukom. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

San Francisco Giants owner and managing general partner Peter Magowan, right, lowers his head as William Neukom, currently a general partner in the ownership group, speaks during a media conference Friday, May 16, 2008, in San Francisco. Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants at the end of this season, to be replaced by Neukom. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

** FILE ** In this Feb. 23, 2007, file photo, then-San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds, right, shakes hands with Giants owner Peter Magowan during a spring training baseball workout in Scottsdale, Ariz. Magowan, the owner who brought Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

In this Feb. 23, 2007, file photo, San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan talks with reporters in the dugout during a Giants spring training baseball workout in Scottsdale, Ariz. Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

** FILE **In this March 9, 2008 file photo, Barry Bonds, wearing a San Francisco Giants baseball cap, watches the Sacramento Kings take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a basketball game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Federal prosecutors unveiled a new indictment against Bonds on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, charging the home run king with 14 counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

**FILE** In this Dec. 21, 2007 file photo, Barry Bonds, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, arrives at the Philip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. Federal prosecutors have filed a new indictment against Bonds, which was unsealed on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, charging the home run king with 14 counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

A young San Francisco Giants fan holds a sign imploring the Giants to Bring Back Barry (Bonds) during the opening day game against the San Diego Padres on April 7, 2008 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. The Padres defeated the Giants 8-4. Greg Trott/Getty Images/AFP = FOR NEWSPAPERS,INTERNET,TELCOS AND TELEVISION USE ONLY = (Photo credit should read Greg Trott/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

He is an athletic senior citizen, 43 years old and less than three months from turning 44. Does it really take a conspiracy to keep him out of uniform?

MLB owners have been caught illegally colluding in the past, most notably in the mid-1980s, when they had to pay $280 million in damages for agreeing to suppress free agent salaries rather than compete for talent in an open market. They had something real to gain with that conspiracy, a cash benefit.

Blacklisting Bonds wouldn't put money in anyone's pocket. What it would accomplish, in theory, is removing the face of the steroid era from baseball's family portrait. A lot of Bonds sympathizers believe that is exactly why he has been shut out of the game.

So why did the people making his case drag other allegedly shunned forty-somethings into the debate? If this is about an under-the-table ban on prominent players connected to steroids, why bring up Kenny Lofton and David Wells, who didn't even make cameo appearances in the Mitchell Report?

If, on the other hand, this is an age-discrimination issue, let's throw Sandy Koufax into the mix. He looked fabulous at the Dodgers' opening-day festivities last month, fitter than Wells has ever dreamed of being. So what if he's 72? People are desperate for left-handed pitching, and the injury problems that forced Koufax out of the game at 30 are probably cleared up by now.

Give him a few months with the kind of personal trainers who kept Bonds and Roger Clemens going for so long, hope that none of those pesky federal agents pays attention, and we have a miracle -- the end of ageism in pro sports.

Does that sound ridiculous? So do Bonds' advocates when they say they're mystified by his failure to find work.

I can't argue that the owners would never illicitly band together to keep him out of the game. But if the only deterrent to signing Bonds is an underground pact, then the owners must have to hold conference calls every day to remind each other not to stick their fingers in electric sockets.

The case in favor of bringing Bonds back is full of holes. His combined on-base and slugging percentage of 1.045 -- third-highest in the majors -- is the biggest piece of evidence on his side. The assumption that he could approach that number this year ignores the fact that the figure was grossly inflated by 132 walks in 126 games. For most of the season, neither he nor the Giants were playing real baseball. They were on a magical history tour.

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Manny Ramirez hits a run scoring double off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels during first inning baseball action in Game 1 of the National League championship series Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, right, shakes hands with Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel before Game 1 of the National League championship series Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 09: Manny Ramirez #99 of the Los Angeles celebrates hitting a double to center that allowed Andre Ethier #16 (not pictured) to score over the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning in Game One of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Ramirez

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PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 09: Manny Ramirez #99 of the Los Angeles slides into second base over Chase Utley #26 of the Philadelphia Phillies after hitting a double to center that allowed Andre Ethier #16 (not pictured) to score during the first inning in Game One of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Ramirez;Chase Utley

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PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 09: Cole Hamels #35 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game One of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Cole Hamels

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PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 09: Manny Ramirez #99 of the Los Angeles Dodgers drops his bat as he hits a RBI double to drive in Andre Ethier #16 in the top of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Ramirez

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PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 09: Manny Ramirez #99 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a RBI double to drive in Andre Ethier #16 in the top of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Ramirez

Getty Images

PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 09: Manny Ramirez #99 of the Los Angeles hits a double to center that allowed Andre Ethier #16 (not pictured) to score over the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning in Game One of the National League Championship Series during the 2008 MLB playoffs on October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Manny Ramirez

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Fireworks explode over Citizens Bank Park at the start of Game 1 of the National League championship series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez (R) hits an RBI double of off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (L) in front of Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz (C) during the first inning in Game 1 of Major League Baseball's NLCS playoff series in Philadelphia, October 9, 2008. REUTERS/Bill Kostroun (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

The rest of the lineup was so listless that pitching to Bonds as he advanced on Hank Aaron's record made no sense at all. That wouldn't be the case if he played this year. A weak, rebuilding team has no use for him or any other one-dimensional fossil. A contender will put him in a lineup where he'll be forced to swing the bat. Seeing more strikes might pump up his batting average. So could being a DH, which would eliminate the fatigue of playing the field. But I wouldn't bet on it.

Bonds has gotten used to teams coming at him in very direct ways, even if they were pitching around him. He didn't walk all those times just by being selective. Opponents telegraphed what they had in mind for him, sometimes on the first pitch of the game. It wasn't that hard to figure out who would challenge him, and who wouldn't.

In 2008, with a decent team around him, he'll have to deal with artful pitching, with people who are trying to do more than either just get him out of the way or prove that they're man enough to throw a potentially history-altering strike.

Granted, he still might be a valuable hitter, but he could also pull up lame, as he did for virtually all of 2005. Which moves us from his advocates' best argument to their most ludicrous.

How many people have made the point that Bonds will now work for cheap? Until Bonds' signature is on a contract worth less than $5 million, don't believe it. And even at $5 million, his knees make him a substantial financial risk.

In mid-July, when he's still unsigned, he might see that as a good deal. For now, he has to be thinking that if Clemens could get a $28 million prorated contract from the Yankees last year, he's worth at least half that much. (OK, let's be honest: He thinks he's worth more.)

Anyone who thinks otherwise is using common sense, which doesn't apply to people who have made more than $15 million annually. They are uncommon. They don't think like the rest of us.

When Bonds was at a public appearance last October, complaining that the Giants had fired him, one of his fans asked whether he would consider coming back for a lot less money. He ducked the question. He did regale the crowd with stories about his youth, including his first day of high school football, when he told the coach that since he was the fastest kid in school, he would decide how a play should be run.

Bonds was still three weeks away from being indicted on federal perjury charges. Even then, I knew he wasn't going to play this year unless some team got really, really desperate.

He has always been more of a niche product than a hot commodity, immensely valuable to the indulgent Giants, of limited value to anyone trying to run a team properly. This shunning is hardly unique. Back in 1984, when he was a young stud at Arizona State, he didn't make the Olympic team. He was probably the best amateur in the sport, and baseball was trying to state its case for a full-time slot in the Summer Games. People said he was unmanageable.

In 2001, after he hit 73 home runs to break the single-season record, the Giants essentially bid against themselves to keep him. In the 2006 offseason, with Aaron's record looming, no one else was seriously interested. The Giants again overpaid, because they were afraid of insulting him.

Should his personality count so harshly against him? If he were 35, with the same stats from a year ago, it wouldn't.

But he's not 35, just as he's not Frank Thomas, who despite injury problems and an encroaching 40th birthday got a new gig with the Oakland A's -- one of the teams that have been criticized for not going after the all-time home-run king. Thomas signed for peanuts and returned to a clubhouse where he functioned as a genuine leader in 2006, emotionally as well as physically.

Bonds didn't contribute leadership. He provided a deficit of it, but his staggering skill more than made up the difference. He can still play, just not well enough to compensate for being 43, unable to play the field, under indictment and, above all, who he is.

Gwen Knapp is a sports columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle.

2008-05-09 10:19:04