This is one topic that’s been hashed and rehashed about a million times. Oh well; let’s talk Barry Bonds once again.
SI’s Tom Verducci analyzes the situation and determines that the Blue Jays make the most sense. J.P. Ricciardi indicated a lack of interest to Verducci, though.
The fact remains that no team has offered Bonds even the league minimum. I am often asked whether I think he will play this year, and I keep saying yes. Here are the objections, and my answers to them:
- "Bonds will be too expensive." We can’t say that until a team actually makes him an offer. He could very well play for a million bucks.
- "Bonds can only DH." Given certain NL left fielders, that is quite arguable. But even so, some contenders have obviously worse DHs.
- " Bonds used steroids, he’s a cheater." Gary Bennett, Mike Cameron, Brendan Donnelly, Eric Gagne, Jose Guillen, Jerry Hairston Jr., Matt Herges, Paul Lo Duca, Andy Pettitte, Nook Logan, and Ron Villone allegedly cheated; they were all signed as free agents. Teams and fans don’t care about this as long as it improves the chances of winning.
- "Bonds will destroy the clubhouse chemistry." Does one man really have this power? I imagine Bonds would be on his best behavior knowing that he was hanging by a thread and could easily be released. I think this angle is overblown by the media.
- I’m not a Bonds apologist; I am just explaining why I think a team should/will sign him. It’s of no concern to me whether he plays.
