It would at least appear on the surface that Barry Bonds just might be indicted for perjury before a grand jury – and possibly very soon.  The saying, "Treat your friend as if they might one day become your enemy" is apt in this case with Barry Bonds. 

Steve Hoskins, Barry Bonds’ friend since childhood, says he is prepared to testify if subpoenaed.  He apparantly has direct information about Bonds’ alleged steroid use, which he claims was heavy, and that Bonds was prone to ‘roid rage,’ or angry outbursts which put a further strain on their friendship.  This does not surprise me when watching some Bonds press conferences in which he points fingers and attacks the reporters. 

The noose appears to be tightening on Barry, and he might not finish out the season if he is to go to jail as his trainer Greg Anderson did after being found in contempt of court July 5.  His refusal to testify and all this nonsensical activity around Bonds virtually proves Bonds is a liar and a cheater.  If others go to prison to cover his hide, maybe it wouldn’t hurt him to do the same.  His ego may need to be knocked down a few pegs.  Prison seems as good a place as any to get that job done…

Either Greg Anderson likes jail, or likes it more than the consequences of telling on Barry Bonds.  I suppose once you reach icon status in any endeavor, you are immune to much of the outrageous fortune of everyday Joe’s like me.  It’s not fair, but then again, who said life was fair?

It was reported today that Greg Anderson, a personal trainer of Barry Bonds is refusing to testify to a federal grand jury investigating perjury charges against Bonds.  Anderson’s attorney, Mark Geragos claims Anderson should not have to testify because he claims the federal government conducted an illegal wiretap revealing Anderson’s recorded voice stating he gave Bonds drugs that cannot be traced or tested for.  Judge William Alsup, who will hold the hearing next week to decide if Anderson should be found in contempt of court, said the alleged wiretap was "not a wiretap, but a privately recorded conversation with a witness."

Either way it goes, the real question is, "What is Greg Anderson hiding?"  That should be obvious.  If he would rather go back to jail than testify, it is obvious he has something to hide concerning Barry Bonds.  That in itself makes Barry guilty in the court of public opinion.  If there is nothing to hide, Anderson testifies, doesn’t do more jail time than he already has, Barry is okay, continues to hit more home runs and all is well, right?

This is perhaps the most damning evidence against Barry of all – the refusal of his personal trainer to testify.  What if Barry is called to testify?  If he is, he will have to do so or face contempt of court charges as well. 

As has been widely publicised, there is no testing for human growth hormone, or HGH in baseball because it requires a blood test.  It is highly unlikely the Player’s Union would ever agree to such testing in a new collective bargaining agreement.  "Right to privacy" is the battle cry for those who would defend not testing blood, but is it not true that athletes by nature, by the work they do for an institution like baseball on a national and international stage have in some ways at least, given up a bit of that privacy? 

Several employers for jobs that pay a whole lot less to their workers than baseball teams do, have random drug testing as a matter of routine.   It is simply the right of employers to know whether or not its employees are under the influence at their jobs and will not disgrace the company.  Same with baseball teams, but the stakes are higher because the players are public figures that have millions of eyes glued on them.  Privacy?  Sure, but players are public figures, and baseball has a responsibility to protect the game’s integrity. 

Why?  Because that’s what the paying fans want.  We want to see a legitimate, competitive product on the field.  If we are told we are getting that, but learn we are not, or that the ones in charge are not doing their best to protect that legitimate competition, then we are being lied to and ripped off.  It is like false advertising.  It is not right. 

One of the sad things to learn from the whole Jason Grimsley episode was what he said about guys switching over to human growth hormone when MLB came down harder on steroids.  If that is the case, what’s the difference?  How is baseball better than before?  Unless blood testing for HGH is put in place, we will never know which records are legit and which are not. 

Where do we draw the line with this stuff?  Sure, I’m not in favor of the use of anabolic steroids in baseball or any other sport.  This issue of "greenies" or amphetamines which are now banned by baseball is a bit different, at least to me.  How many people have a cup of morning coffee before their jobs?  Obviously the answer must be in the millions.  Does it give them an unfair advantage with mental alertness at their jobs over those who do not drink coffee?  This may sound like an unfair comparision, but we’re essentially talking about caffeine here, a substance found in so many foods you could barely avoid it even if you wanted to – just by eating food. 

Anabolic steroids without prescription are illegal.  Caffeine is not.  I think there is a big difference between the two.  Can we be sure Lou Gehrig did not take greenies during his streak?  From what I understand, amphetamines have been in baseball for decades, and some even say there would sometimes be "candy bowls" full of them in clubhouses.  What does this alleged use of these substances do to the stats and records of players who played during that era – Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, etc?  At some point this argument becomes pointless, and is honestly debated mostly by people who have never taken greenies as a performance enhancing substance and don’t know what they are talking about. 

Cal Ripken may or may not have taken "greenies" during his amazing streak of consecutive games played, passing Gehrig for the record.   Will we debunk his record because evidence comes up he drank a cup of coffee before a game, or ate a chocolate bar which contained caffeine?  When you watch this line of thinking, it becomes clear how absurd this argument becomes. 

We live in a society that loves to create heroes, and equally loves to tear them down.  That is the hypocrisy of our society.  So many writers just want something to write about, some nonsense to print.  I suppose it is a natural reaction to our ever-skeptical way of living, but it is not an excuse to tear apart the record books because of… coffee??? C’mon now!

It is a name I never though about, but one that was mentioned by my friend long before his name came out formally in the latest witch hunt of "who’s on it, who’s not."  Luis Gonzalez, who hit 57 homers in 2001 is under scritiny for possible steroid abuse, and soon, anybody who has a breakout season or has "off-the-chart" numbers will be suspected as well.  While we’re at it, maybe we should just call this the "asterisk era" and place an asterisk beside the numbers of every ballplayer who played in the 90′s and early 00s. 

It is always a red flag when a player’s numbers, especially long-time veterans such as Bonds and Gonzalez have ridiculous spikes in their stats suddenly in the second half or end of their careers.  It simply defies nature.  A freak occurance or two may occur once in a blue moon, but logic dictates something other than the "same old routine" resulting in the dramatic statistical changes. Bonds averaging 35 to 40 homers per year going to the 70s is cause for pause.  Gonzo’s 57 does the same.  Gonzo was not able to sustain that "new found pace" as Bonds did for a time, but you have to at least look at it and scratch your head. 

Jason Grimsley was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks today after his home was searched by federal agents after he admitted to have used human growth hormone, steroids, and amphetamines.  He also named names of other players who he said used illegal drugs, which have been blacked out from court documents.  Isn’t it funny how guys on the way out of baseball or out of baseball all together decide to muster the courage to name names when they suddenly have nothing to lose? 

If these guys wanted to be real heroes they would come out during their careers.  I don’t think it’s right to have it both ways.  These cheaters have no problem taking everything they can monetarily and otherwise from their fraudulent baseball careers, and then after their career is over, ascend their moral pulpit to preach on how he and others cheated, and why it is bad for baseball.  Pretty pathetic if you ask me.  You cannot have it both ways.  Either cheat and shut up after you’re out of the game, or don’t cheat at all and if you do, say it while you’re in the game.

I will not deny Jose Canseco’s positive influence in breaking open investigations and stricter drug policies in MLB, but these guys all too often have no problem tricking on other pro players when their careers are over.  If you’re gonna trick on your fellow players, do it like a man while you’re in the game.  Don’t stab them in the back like a little sissy.  Pathetic. 

He is only the second player in recorded baseball history to have hit a home run number 715, and there was no doubt about this one as it sailed into the centerfield seats, then dropped behind the wall under the batter’s eye at AT&T Park.  Barry Bonds has done something only one other player has done, but it is unfortunate to be surrounded in doubt and controversey. 

Everybody knows Bonds is not the most beloved figure in baseball.  Even without the steroids speculation controversey there would be mixed reactions to this milestone.  Many were not happy when Marris passed the Babe for the single season record, and many more were not pleased with Hank Aaron’s surpassing Ruth for the career all-time home run record.  The reasons for this were not because these guys were bad guys, but that Ruth was so beloved in baseball lore. 

But with Bonds, many believed they had reason not to like him before with his surly attitude with the media.  The steroids controversey only make it worse and actually give us pause to wonder…. should this be celebrated?

It is sad for me to say that I had a "ho-hum" response when I learned of Bonds’ tying Ruth at a career 714 home runs.  It just doesn’t mean much to me when I consider all the controversy surrounding Bonds and Balco.  Indeed, Barry Balco Bonds along with leaked grand jury testimony spoiled what could have been quite the magical moment in baseball history I could have witnessed in my lifetime.  No magic.  No wonder.  Big deal.

Perhaps that is taking my apathy too far.  After all, on something or not, to make the kind of solid contact with a baseball 714 times in your professional career to enable its flight out of the ballpark is still quite a feat.  But it is hard not to feel the home runs are cheap.  The record meant something  when non-roiders like Ruth, Aaron, and single season champ Marris accomplished great home run feats.  Now, it means little to me, and from what I’m seeing from others, not much to them either.  And sad as it is to say it, pretty much any player, especially those who are exceptionally big like Pujols and put up monster numbers, are going to be under suspicion because of what has transpired. 

Magic in baseball is for me, not found in the individual records anyway.  Records are dead.  Records are static information on paper.  But each new, living moment of baseball is where the magic lies for me as a great fan of the game.  That is what I love about baseball – you can’t script it, you cannot predict it.  You have to watch the magic unfold. 

That is why steroids and gambling are so damning to the sport.  They take the magic away.  Baseball becomes professional wrestling – a joke, a mockery, a fabrication.  Well… it has not quite become that.  But baseball’s integrity must be protected so that it remains the great game that it is, not a one-dimensional home-run derby contest. 

Barry sent a baseball to the moon off his bat last night off Jon Lieber.  His team lost the game, but his personal quest for the Babe is just about complete.  I did not actually see the game, just the highlight of Barry’s homer.  I did get to listen to some of the radio broadcast as I drove in my car.  During the broadcast, one of the signs in the stands was read reading something like, "Ruth did it with hot dogs and beer, Aaron did it with class, how did you do it?"  A little less abrasive than some of the other references and signs used for Barry.  Philadelphia is a tough town on its own players let alone opposing ones. 

Still, while Bonds will make headlines when he ties, then surpasses Ruth, it is sad to me that this milestone in baseball history has to be shrouded in doubt and negativism.  I for one will always have that asterisk firmly planted in my mind when Bonds name is mentioned.  A phoenomenal hitter with or without the juice to be sure, but with Balco and grand jury testimony, etc., etc., it’s hard to ignore all that.  Barry Bonds has never been a media darling nor always a fan favorite, and he certainly did not need to create more reasons for people to get on him.  Still, he found a way.  It will be interesting to see how everyone, including Barry, reacts after he breaks the record. 

While I must confess I did not actually see the show "Bonds on Bonds,"  I know it is much easier to simply create a version of his story to his specifications instead of answering hard questions at press conferences.  We all know how Barry loves those press conferences, pointing his finger back at the "evil media" telling them, "All of you have dirt."  Sad to say it, but that essentially verifies guilt based on no direct answers and angrily deflecting attention off himself to others. 

It doesn’t matter if Bonds says he never failed a steroid test.  When was he ever given one?  You cannot fail a test you don’t take! The advertising I’ve seen for "Bonds on Bonds,"  appears no more credible than a politician’s mudslinging campaign, or a campaign to make themselves looks credible and honest, when in truth they are neither.  The advertisements on television make "Bonds on Bonds" look like nothing more than a carefully planned and constructed campaign by those around him seeking damage control to his image. 

Too late.  This guy has been despised by many for a long time.  And breaking out the tears ala Mark McGuire isn’t going to help his image.  No matter what Barry does, he just comes off insincere and fake.  Hard to believe such big, tough guys like Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds have not learned the lesson there’s no crying in baseball.  They may think they can hide behind their tears, but can they really?  Most fans I know are not buying it.