No Bonds For Seattle

So many people are saying how good a fit Bonds is for Seattle. I don't see it. Sure his bat would help but the last thing this team needs is another DH or poor defensive player.

Being saddled with two DHs already, Vidro and the other attempting to play LF (Ibanez), Seattles needs a legitimate position player to get Ibanez out of left and Vidro to the bench. It seems that Wladimir Balentien is the best in house option and if he starts out hot in Tacoma, thats exactly what will happen.

Seattle could use Bonds' bat, but his 50 year old agility and defensive prowess along with the traveling circus they could due without.

So put Wlad in left, Ibanez at first, and Bonds at DH. The problem is the Mariners will not treat Vidro as a sunk cost.

Under your scenario, that treats Mr. 14 million dollars, Richie Sexson as sunk cost and relegates him to the pine. Both Vidro and Sexson are on a short leash this year and need to produce or they will be gone.

This is Sexson's contract year so they have no reason to keep him on the field if he isn't hitting. As far as Vidro is concerned, if he gets 400 ABs or 450 PAs, he vests for 2009 at near 10 million. No way the Mariners let that happen. Vidro will start the year at DH and I see Balentien and/or Clement taking ABs from him by May/June.

The Mariners are very shallow defensively and adding Bonds would compound that immensely.

Not doing the smart alignment from Day 1 could make all the difference on the team reaching the playoffs. If the team changes its mind because Vidro or Sexson has a bad April, that's kind of dumb isn't it?

This is quite clearly the result of collusion.

Collusion? How about a team taking a moral stance? Or even a smart decision on a guy that could well end up in jail.

Burtis: Bonds' trial won't even get underway until next year. From the look of things, I don't think there will ever be a full case. Delays like these are often a precursor to calling off an investigation altogether.

Me, I think Bonds helps most of the teams in MLB, especially in the AL. If the O's can move some contracts (Payton, Huff, Millar), I'd love to see Barry bash in Camden Yards. Angelos would get more of my hard-earned dineros if they signed him. Plus, some run-scoring potential could help support some of the developing pitching talent.

Bedard and Silva are looking good this spring. :)!

NO BARRY IN BALTIMORE!

Global: Not sure if you've seen it, but today a story is out that there are actually additional charges being added to the perjury case against Bonds. One person in the Balco case has done 6 months, anothers trial starts within the next few days. I'm not so sure he is going to walk away unscathed.

Im sure Bonds could help any team, but really doesn't he hurt the integrity of the game the more he plays ?

It's like letting that NBA ref who was charged with fixing games. Would it have been right to let him continue refing if he hadn't pleaded guilty and since he was still innocent until proven, still allowed to ref ?

Bonds is bad for baseball, and that is something i don't know teams should tolerate.

The Angels, Mariners or Rays would have much, much
improved their chances by snagging Bonds. Fans become forgiving very quickly if the team is winning. As a Red Sox fan, I am quite pleased by this turn of events.

I know JP Ricciard is stubborn as s-h-i-t to get him, but now that his trial is delayed to 2009, the only reason he'd be bad is clubhouse issues....and when he could be the final piece of the puzzle, I think I might rather have the playoffs and a distraction...Really, why is the integrity such an issue? He's a jerk, but so many other players took roids also.

This is an absolutely idiotic move for the Mariners. In a division thats shaping up to be extremely close and with most of their top prospects in Baltimore, the Mariners are in win-now mode and should be doing everything in their power to add as many wins to their current team as possible. Bonds easily adds enough to put them over the top in a weak division.

For those who is saying he's blocked? How about trading Sexson to the Giants for any group of their un-needed veterans and playing Vidro at 1B and Bonds at DH. There's no way on gods green earth that replacing Sexson for Bonds in the starting lineup (and getting bench/pitching depth as well) is going to hurt the team in any way.......unless Lincoln just isnt interested in putting together a playoff team.

Also, it would be funny if the Orioles got Bonds and had him and '94 SCAB Kevin Millar in the starting lineup, might as well try and get AJ Pierzinski, Milton Bradley and Curt Schilling in there too and make a team of all-hated dudes.

The story about Bonds' case is that there needs to be a new indictment, not that they're automaticly adding more (as per the AP article by Paul Elias). In purely baseball terms, all this really means is that any worry about his case continuing during the season is moot.
The scenario of sunk cost is completely correct, particularly for a team that proved they are building for now with the Jones for Bedard trade. Sexton and Vidro should be relegated to the bench or released if there is a better choice, and Seattle should be doing absolutely everything they can to win now, and Bonds is a no doubt upgrade.
Any moral arguement is facetious at best. He' been caught using steroids less then Guillermo Mota, Mike Cameron, Mike Morse (you know, of the Ms), Ryan Franklin, Matt Lawton, Jose Guillen, Jay Gibbons, Clay Hensley and quite a few others. Lets not pretend that it's bad for the game, lets just be honest and say it's personal.

"

Im sure Bonds could help any team, but really doesn't he hurt the integrity of the game the more he plays ?
...

Bonds is bad for baseball, and that is something i don't know teams should tolerate."

I feel the same way about Andy Pettite.

Screw a guy who gets on base 48 percent of the time. He is a meanie.

Bonds bad for baseball? Controversy doesn’t always instantly equate to global negativity guys. Interest is interest… Think of Kobe ~ he’s worse than Bonds and he’s supposedly great for the game of basketball. He’s also much more of a premadonna…

What does Bonds mean to the sport? Probably about 40-80K extra fans showing up to games, and who knows how many more watching on TV... I mean, if a team like Seattle signs him, it’s a team which will more than likely not have a huge road attendance adding a guy who alone probably draws as many people outside the state. Its easy to see a situation where an extra 5-10K people show up to their 81 road games just to see him ~ and that’s a lot of revenue! Bonds jersey sales? Always big seller to begin with ~ and will finally be avail in new colors… The fact that the record is constantly changing means constant news and opportunities to capitalize off of it…

Plus, there are also much worse clubhouse guys out there; yet they still get jobs. Shoot, the game seems like it may never get rid of Jeff Kent! Jose Guillen just got a huge payday… Milton Bradley has a job year after year ~ although; eventually he will run out of teams though so he better start working on a way to spend a bit more time with each. Bonds isnt loved by all, but his teammates don’t generally complain as much as fans like to act or claim. Plus, of the few players who have complained, most have either pretty much been a problem themselves or came off looking like they might just be out for attention. The biggest problem with Bonds the last few years was the media circus he brought with him, but that’s died down a ton since the record…

Bonds in Seattle = great for Seattle because of the playoff implications, great for the team because of the revenue increase, great for the game because of the same, great for you and me so we can have these “is he evil” conversations… Where does the negative really start showing itself?

PS ~ Ohh, could you imagine what it would do far a rivalry between the Angels and M’s? What a mixed blessing such a situation would be for the Halos though… on one hand you have a guy greatly increasing a rivals chances to beat you ~ on the other you have a guy who will likely bring Dodger fans to your park, something you have spent so much money and effort on accomplishing the last couple years. As much as it would hurt the Angels this year, I would think Moreno would almost be beside himself drooling over the business opportunity it would create…

Ahhh, the poster child of the era. And that is it. A poster child, the one left out to dry when it went bad. Do not get me wrong, as a Padres fan I wont miss him in... but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his place.
Think of it this way if you were charged with a crime, and you know you did it, would you admit it, or would you deny it? Same rules apply here. Since there are more holes in the case (not too mention LEAKED testimony) than there are cars in CA, it can't be said that he will get convicted. In addition there is the whole idea about innocent until proven guilt...and thats not in the court of public opinion but in a actual courtroom.
As for him being a clubhouse cancer, i really don't have a defense for him. But think of it this way, if you were the best player on your team and you couldnt help them win, how you would feel?
That being said, what is the major hold-up if he...and him alone, could put your team very much in contention the very difficult AL, when you sold your farm to get an Ace for two years anyways. The trial is not going to happen for sometime, this will not be like Micheal Vick, since guess what Bonds friends are turning rabbit on him.

The jail thing isn't a deal breaker - just put in a contract clause that ends the deal if he's unable to perform because of incarceration. Or if that's not permitted under the CBA, have it so he doesn't get paid if he's not on the DL and doesn't make a plate appearance in a given month.

Odds that Bonds shows up on the Yankees mid-season? :)

darkstar, you suck at life and you just proved it. bonds will pull in an extra 40-80 thousand fans per game? just where exactly are they playing these games...?

He didn't say per game. He likely meant over the course of a season.

Bucks, if you disagree with something, I might suggest you A) know what you disagree with and B) give something, anything, which explains how you disagree. Posts like the one your provided tough; well it kind of points to you being what you are trying to claim others are…

Anyway, I did make a midnight-zombie-brained typo/error on that post though, and meant to say “probably about 400-800K fans” (instead of “40-80K fans”).

Whether people like him or not, they flock to the stadium to cheer/boo/be-amazed by him just the same ~ and it’s an attendance boost that baseball as a whole would benefit from greatly if they were adding that boost to a mid-range to leeser drawing team to begin with. SanFran drew the 7th highest attendance (about tied the Cubs for 6th) while being one of the worst teams in baseball. Their road attendance was 5th; an extreme amount of people flocked to the stadium to watch this history making figure take his cuts. In comparison, Seattle was 16th (near perfectly middle of pact) in both overall and road attendance while being in the race a till late in the season. The Bonds-boost is not going to vary much in 2008, esp considering it would be in the AL parks where he might not have visited those cities as often in the past.

Really, love him or hate him, Bonds is rather good for baseball… Selig is much more detrimental to the game then a guy everyone is fascinated by for one reason or another…