And being apart ain’t easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy of rediscovering you Oh Bonds You stand by me I’m forever yours Faithfully
Originally posted by BigSteveOriginally posted by MonteShit?
Or the best player.. ever.
Babe Ruth has risen from the dead?
And what does that have to do with Ted Williams?
(edited by gugs on 13.9.05 1434) "He is the most overrated piece of crap in the league. He bitched and whined after he got his ass beaten in New England last year, so the NFL changed the rules. Then he got his ass beaten in New England again. Every year he's the top MVP candidate. Every year he's supposed to be the best. Every year he's going to carry the Colts to the Super Bowl. And every single year he goes to New England and gets his ass beaten. And his brother's a whiny little bitch." -A friend of mine, on Peyton Manning
I'm still living in last week, where Barry's rehab workout was shut down by the Dodgers' team photo. THAT'S funny!
I want to see Barry's reaction away from San Francisco. If Rafael Palmeiro's bombarded with as many boos as he gets, then why shouldn't Barry, who's more than likely STILL on the juice?
And you thought selling Amway was his career lowlight?
Originally posted by It's FalseI'm still living in last week, where Barry's rehab workout was shut down by the Dodgers' team photo. THAT'S funny!
I want to see Barry's reaction away from San Francisco. If Rafael Palmeiro's bombarded with as many boos as he gets, then why shouldn't Barry, who's more than likely STILL on the juice?
I think most of the violent reaction against Raffy is that before this scandal broke, the fans all thought he was a good guy. We already knew Bonds was an a-hole before steroids were even mentioned.
On the flip side, congrats to ABC for hiring Tim McGraw to tailor the lyrics to "I like it, I love it" for every halftime highlight show throughout the "Monday Night Football" season. Just last week, my buddy House and I were discussing Cosell's classic highlight narratives in the '70s, and how nobody had approached them since, and I told House, "Only one thing could ever come close, and I know it's a long shot, but what if ABC hired Tim McGraw to tailor the lyrics to 'I Like it, I Love It' for each week of NFL highlights throughout the season?" And wouldn't you know, it happened! See, dreams can come true. --- Bill Simmons, www.sportsguy.net
Originally posted by Gugs And what does that have to do with Ted Williams?
Teddy Ballgame was great, but he's still number two. I mean, Babe Ruth had more HR than any other team one year. (!) But as long as we can agree that Bonds isn't the greatest player ever, that's fine.
Although the Padres are trying to give away the West, the Barry Bonds Bunch probably was eliminated when Armando Benitez pulled an Armando Benitez September Special. Could have gotten to within 4, but Armando spit the bit in the clutch. In a related story to Armando Benitez choking, the sun rose in the East today.
My problem with Bonds as "greatest of all time", is the fact that he had a career year at age 35. Then he hit a Brady Anderson-esque 73 homers at 36, another career year. Then he hit .370 at 37. Basically the man had career years for five consecutive years, from age 35-39. Even if you want to pretend the Grand Jury testimony doesn't exist, that's a run unprecedented in the history of the game. These 'feats' don't pass the believability test on face value. Not to mention he's been a bust in 6 of his 7 post-season chances.
I also don't think you can compare eras in any case. I think Ruth was the greatest player of his era (was on his way to a Hall-of-Fame pitching career until converted to an outfielder). Ted Williams was the greatest of his era (lost four or five seasons to military service). Bonds certainly has the numbers for this era, but as I said - I don't believe he earned them fairly.
For this era, at one time it looked like Frank Thomas was going to approach Williams' numbers, and then Junior Griffey looked like he would reach 800 homers. Not that I like it, but for now I would have to bet on A-Rod to eventually get the nod for "untainted" play, although he needs to show a heart. (edit: Somehow I forgot about Albert Pujols, who looks like Frank Thomas did at the start of his career - if he can keep that going for another 12-15 years, we have a winner.)
Fun fact: Ken Griffey Jr. entered this season as a 35 year old. If he matched Bonds' production for the years 35-39, Junior would have 2,876 hits, a .303 lifetime average, a record 759 homers, and 1,988 RBI which would rank 5th all-time.
Other projections: If Sammy Sosa matched Bonds homer for homer from age 35-39, he would have 797 homers. Mark McGwire would have 715 homers in the same hypothetical. Ruth would have 774, Mantle 754, Frank Robinson 733 and Willie Mays 763. Aaron would 'only' have 758, but he still played three more seasons in which he hit 42 homers. Which makes 800.
Just to give some perspective on how the last five years have skewed Bonds' place among the greatest of all-time. Not to say he wouldn't have been a Hall of Famer, but not at the very top of the list.
Until someone shows that they can pitch as effectively as Ruth could at the beginning of his career and THEN go hit 700+ homeruns. NO ONE can come close.
The end.
As of 2/28/05: 101 pounds since December 7, 2004 OFFICIAL THREE-MONTH COUNT: 112 pounds on March 9, 2005 OFFICIAL SIX-MONTH COUNT: 142 pounds on June 8, 2005 As of 9/12/05: 164 pounds "I've lost a super middleweight"
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