E.K. NATION

The Across The Seams site directed me to this screed about Barry by Fox announcer Joe Buck, whom I have respected a great deal up until this point. I can say right now that a huge dent has been made in that respect.

One passage in the column, isolated on the site, is as follows:

Barry evidently made up his mind long ago that he did not need any help from the media to live life in the big leagues. That is well within his rights. But when you make that choice, you cannot expect those same people to paint a rosy picture about your amazing athletic ability or, more important, give you the benefit of the doubt.

I agree with the site's Marty Cortinas when he says:

Oh how brilliant. In other words, kiss our "journalist" ass or get screwed. That, my friends, is pathetic.

Another reason Buck doesn't admire Barry is

the public's skepticism regarding Bonds' possible use of performance-enhancing drugs. That accusation is unfortunate but understandable. It is hard to ignore the transformation his body has undergone over the past 10 years.

First, the public gets a lot of its information and opinions from journalists like you, Bucko. The public doesn't know motherfuck. And when it hears tripe like this, it only exacerbates the problem.

Ask the schmucks sitting next to you at the sports bar to explain specifically what they don't like about Barry Bonds, and they are hard pressed to give you an answer. They just say, "Aww, he's just a jerk." Why do they think that? Did they hear from some hack writer that Barry has a lounge chair in front of his locker, and they assume he's a jerk because of that? Tell them that there is no rule in the Giants' clubhouse against anyone from having a lounge chair in front of his locker, and see what they say.

For all this talk about how much of a jerk Barry Bonds is, I don't see it. I've seen Barry act questionably precisely once: Before one of the games of the 2002 World Series, he went straight to his spot on the first-base line when being introduced, instead of going down the line to give high fives to everyone. I admit, that was off-putting.

That, my friends, is it.

I don't have personal access to Barry Bonds on his off-time, so I can't tell you a thing about his private behaviors. And quite frankly, do I care if he's a jerk off the field? Not really. Unless he's committing crimes, lay off the guy.

Buck also says

As I watched the highlight of that monumental moment, I wondered if Bonds was going to hug the home plate umpire after he finished his trot--because nobody else was there to enjoy the moment with him.

Maybe Bonds requested that his teammates not go out there and mob him. Maybe he didn't want to hold up the game. After the 71st homer at Pacific Bell Park in 2001, Barry took his congratulations, and then exhorted everybody to get the game back on. Maybe Barry doesn't care about 700 as much as he might care about 715. I can almost guarantee you, that since Barry seems to really want to break Babe Ruth's record, when he hits 715 sometime next spring, his entire team will be out there.

But here's where Buck really goes off the deep end--he addresses the steroid issue:

Having a new hat size the same as Mr. Met's can lead to questions. His body keeps getting bigger, and age does not appear to be a factor as his bat seems to get quicker every year. It is totally wrong to say that he is guilty of anything before the final chapter is written, but there is no doubt that his association with BALCO has damaged his reputation forever.

Amazingly, he says this in the same column in which he praises--actually, he ejaculates onto--Mark McGwire. Mark McGwire! Who also had allegations of steroid use hit him firmly on the forearm. Anyone seen a picture of Mark McGwire from the late 1980's? The guy was a fucking beanpole, and now he looks like he could hold his own in a WWE ring. I'm not saying McGwire used steroids. I'm just saying that as people get older, they tend to get bigger. (I was a stick in college. Now I'm back under two bills, after having been 210 at one point. And I'm sure many men have the same experience.) Why, Joe, do you believe Mark McGwire, but not Barry Bonds, when they tell you they don't use steroids? Because he was nice to you and Barry wasn't? Isn't it your job not to take things peronally in this business?

Buck wraps it up by saying

The nights over the next season or two leading to Barry's official crowning as baseball's heavyweight champ will be fun, but imagine what they could be if not for his perceived arrogance.

"Perceived"? Buck's mitigating his own claims now. He's saying maybe he's not actually arrogance, he just seems that way?

Yeah, no wonder Barry has a bad rep. He gets flogged daily by journalists like you, Buck. Get over yourself, dude.