Enough already---Bonds cheated

Enough is enough.

I’m officially tired of the cycle of blame in the steroid mess.

You’re familiar with the cycle of blame. It occurs when someone does something wrong, but you, for whatever reason, don’t want to believe it. So you try to blame everything else you can think of. You try every reason but the most painful, until each reason falls aside like a weak criminal defense, and your left with the real culprit.

The cycle of baseballs steroid mess has been as predictable as it has been long. Baseball fans loved the 1998 home run chase. We didn’t want to believe it wasn’t real; that it was a feat of science, not of humanity.

So when the tightly knit cabal of steroid users in baseball began to unravel, at the hands of the unlikely team of federal investigators and Jose Canseco, fans and writers began the cycle.

Step one: denial. It’s Jose Canseco, we said, you can’t believe him. He’s a liar. Look at the inconsistencies in his book. But a year after the Congressional hearings, Jose looks like one of the few honest men in baseball; friends, when an honest cheat is the best baseball can muster, it’s a sad day. Evidence began to pile up against the heroes of our day, and we could deny no longer. Jose may be a liar, but that doesn’t change the fact that steroids are a problem in baseball. Step one was over.

The next step was to try to ignore the problem. Ignoring is Bud Selig’s specialty, and he’s been practicing ignoring the steroid problem for over a decade. He’s the master. Fans and writers have tried in vain to match Bud, but the lure of money has proven too strong. See, Bud gets paid to ignore problems. Sportswriters get paid to expose them. This spring, three writers have written two books detailing Bonds steroid use. Capitalism works, you see. There was money to be made by exposing the story, and it got exposed. We could ignore no longer.

Step three: The case is weak; the evidence against Bonds is merely circumstantial, and those quoted in the books recently released are either unknown or unnamed, so how can we trust them? This statement is true. Bonds hasn’t tested positive, so circumstantial evidence will have to do. How do you verify circumstantial evidence? You see what how the evidence fits known facts.

Several sources state that Bonds decided in 1998 to begin using performance enhancing drugs. Each source agrees on the date and the reasoning; thus lending credibility to their stories.

Bonds showed up at spring training in 1999 with 15 lbs of muscle added to his frame. Bonds told Federal investigators that he began taking supplements from BALCO in 1999. Bonds admitted to taking the “clear,” a steroid, though Bonds said he thought it was flax seed oil. BALCO’s founder was involved in providing steroids to other athletes, including former sprint champion Tim Montgomery.

Prior to 1998, Bonds hit one homer every 16 at-bats. From 2001 on, he’s hit one every 7 at-bats.

I don’t know who the anonymous sources are in Jeff Pearlman’s book. Nor do I know Kimberly Bell, the former lover of Bonds who left Barry on less than amicable terms. But their stories make a lot of sense. And, they fit perfectly with Bonds performance increase and size increase.

Face it; he did it. The lawyer in me says I'm risking a liable suit by saying that. Truth, however, is a complete defense. I'll take my chances in Court.

So now we blame baseball. They ignored the problem, so its their fault players used steroids. Steroids weren’t even against the rules of baseball, radio personalities say, so we can’t hold their use against those who took them.

This argument drives me nuts. First, steroids were placed on the banned substances list in 1991 by Fay Vincent. That closes that issue. End of story. It doesn’t matter that baseball had no testing. Speeding is illegal whether there are police out or not.

Second, this position ignores the fundamental reason we’re talking about this right now. Barry is 48 homers away from Hank Aaron. It’s a sacred record. You have records to measure the players of our day against the players of all time. If Bonds used steroids and passes Hank, will you care?

Let me ask it this way. Assume baseball allows aluminum bats next season, and Albert Pujols hits .400. Will you care? Even if steroids were “legal,” which they weren’t, they tarnish the accomplishment beyond an asterisk.

Blame Barry for his use. Maybe he had reasons, maybe those reasons could even make us feel sorry for him. Certainly he wasn’t the only one. But he’s the only one about to do something that, without the steroids, would be amazing.

As it stands, he’s about to accomplish something that many before him have done. When he passes Ruth and Aaron, he’ll join a long list of Soviet weightlifters, the entire 1984 East German Women’s Olympic Team, and most modern US Sprinters as people that accomplished amazing things by cheating.

Congratulations.

So the question for baseball is: Do you value your records and do you value your Hall of Fame? If you value your records, you’ll investigate steroid use in baseball. You’ll start with Bonds. Is that fair? Nope. Not at all. Bonds is but one user, and I want to single him out. Why? He’s gonna break a record, and no one should be impressed.

If baseball values its home run record, Bonds must be investigated. If he's done what's been alleged, then his post 1999 numbers should be stricken from baseball. If he's still a hall of famer, fine, let him in. But don't put him in the same class as Ruth or Aaron. Just don't.

So far, I've heard Bud say something to the effect that Barry hasn't tested positive, so what can we do? It's a good damn thing Bud wasn't commissioner when Pete Rose was betting on baseball. I can imagine Bud saying, "well, Pete's urine is clean, so I guess we'll never know if he bet on baseball." Nice, Bud. Rome is burning, and I hear violins.

Final note: The reason we’re talking about Bonds now is he’s about to pass Ruth. In about six months, we’ll be talking about McGwire. Should he be in the Hall of Fame? McGwire’s squirmy testimony to Congress led most of us to believe he used the juice. Was it constant use throughout his career, or just a few times? I dunno, but at this point, I don’t care.

If McGwire wants in, then he has to prove to us he belongs. He has to prove his numbers are legitimate. If McGwire’s body had given out after 375 HR, no one would argue he’s a hall of famer. He’s also not in if the last 200 HR were roid-aided.

Mark, the floor is yours. Convince us you didn’t use, and you can go in. As it stands now, you look pretty guilty. And come November, there will be a few sportswriters ready to make some bucks off of printing circumstantial evidence against you. They’re just waiting for you to be relevant again.

As for me; I paid a lot of money watching McGwire hit those homers in 1998. I want my money back.