Scenarios: Bonds In The American League

In his latest column, Baltimore Sun writer Peter Schmuck doesn’t buy the collusion talk going around baseball circles regarding one Barry Bonds. He argues that the owners have no need to collude when Bonds’ bad health, bad ’tude, bad rep, and age are doing just fine in keeping bidders at bay.

Like many other baseball pundits, Schmuck thinks Bonds could be of some service to an American League team in need of a DH, but the reality is that only a few teams have a hole at that spot.

He does raise a good point, mentioning the Tigers’ decision to plop Gary Sheffield in left field (and cut Jacque Jones), creating an "apparent" need for a pure DH. For those of us too young to remember, Tigers manager Jim Leyland was instrumental during the early part of Bonds’ carreer in Pittsburgh, and Schmuck believes the 43-year-old slugger helped build Leyland’s reputation in return. (Another former Leyland protegé, Edgar Rentería, was acquired by the Tigers in the off-season).

But don’t add Bonds to your fantasy yeam just yet,  because as Schmuck points out, "it probably wouldn’t be a great idea reuniting Sheffield and Bonds after the BALCO mess."

Alejandro Leal writes for UmpBump.com