OK, I’m Convinced: K.C. Should Sign Barry
Posted: June 26th, 2008 | Filed under: Baseball | 98 Comments »
Here’s why 12-game losing streaks stink: The Royals have won 10 of 11, they have made mincemeat out of the Senior Circuit, they are again showing off some of the better young pitching around, and they are STILL digging out of the wreckage. You know, if they just win three of those games — JUST THREE — they’re within one game of .500, they’re within five games of the lead, there’s some buzz about them. Instead, they’re a less impressive seven games under .500, they’re only sort of in the race, there’s more of a “You know, they’re not as bad as I thought†kind of buzz, which isn’t the same thing.
Still, there’s something pretty nice happening. The Royals have four starters who are 27 or younger (and the other starter, Gil Meche, won’t turn 30 until September), they have Mariano v.2.0 in the bullpen, and offensively they have … well, they have four starters who are 27 or younger (and the other starter, Gil Meche, won’t turn 30 until September), and they have Mariano v.2.0 in the bullpen and offensively they have … well, they have four starters …
OK, they do have SOME offensive promise too, David DeJesus is stinging the ball and playing every day, Alex Gordon will be a good player, I still have a lot of hope for Mark Teahen, Mike Aviles keeps slugging .600 and Billy Butler is hitting .337/.417/.564 in Omaha and should be back up soon enough. I realize that at this point roughly 93% of you are now saying: “Sheesh, he’s talking about Royals MINOR LEAGUERS now, man, I don’t care about the Royals, would you get to the Barry part already?â€
All right. I’ve long had mixed feelings about Barry Bonds. On the one hand, as I’ve mentioned here before, Barry has treated me incredibly well through the years, about as well as any out-of-town player I can recall. I don’t chalk this up to anything but a few lucky spins of the roulette wheel, but I cannot in good conscience write anything about Barry Bonds without mentioning that the four or five times I’ve personally dealt with him in a one-on-one setting, he’s been gracious, engaging, patient, charming. I’ve always felt a little guilty about it when media friends start telling their Barry horror stories — I sort of feel like the guy who says, “Funny, every time I go into the Department of Motor Vehicles, there’s no line at all and they’re so nice to me.†Still, there’s a personal reality here. Barry Bonds has given me great interviews, and I’ve liked him a lot every time I have walked away. I’m not trying to make the guy sound like Will Rogers; but this is still part of the picture for me.
On the other hand … yeah, I know. I’ve read the two Barry books*. I’ve heard the stories of evil. I’m obviously well aware of the steroid stain, and I appreciate that it’s more or less accepted by the masses that he’s one of the game’s all-time cheats, and I’m also aware the many of his past teammates think he’s a Grade A Andujar and has been going back to his Little League days.
*1. Barry Potter and the Vial of Winstrol. 2. Barry Potter and the Half Blood Test.
So, my feeling about Barry has long been: Not worth the trouble. Sure, he could put up big numbers,* but there would be a circus around, the home fans would boo him, teammates would grumble, every home run would make a lot of us feel bad for Hank Aaron all over again. Plus, there’s a reality; even Barry Bonds has to age sometime, and who knows, maybe he would come back and be a shell. It’s not impossible. He’s going to be 44 next month. The sadness of seeing a 1975 Harmon Killebrew or a 1973 Willie Mays or a 2007 Neifi would not exactly be an uplifiting viewing or playing experience. It just ain’t worth it.
*If you plug in fairly conservative Barry numbers in the Royals lineup — say .450 and .550, which is still down from last year — the Royals lineup that was scoring 4.91 runs per game is suddenly scoring 5.34 runs. As many readers pointed out, that really is a huge, huge difference.
So that was my feeling before. But here’s what happened: Nobody has signed Barry Bonds. And nobody has signed Barry Bonds. And nobody has signed Barry Bonds. Then his agent came out and said that Barry has offered his services to all 30 teams for the minimum salary. The minimum! Then he said he does not even want the minimum; he would donate his salary so kids could watch baseball games. Kids!
And I started thinking: You know, the Royals should sign this guy. The circus? Hell, the Royals could USE a little circus. It’s been how long — Bo? — since they’ve had a good circus. The booing? You know, people in Kansas City are pretty friendly, and if Barry hit a few homers and showed up at a charity event or two and the Royals won a few more games the booing would probably lessen considerably — shoot, this town cheered Andre Rison. The teammates grumbling? Maybe not. In this clubhouse, some people would probably want Barry’s autograph. The steroid stain? Come on, there are heavy steroid users playing everywhere in baseball, and just because we don’t “know†who they are doesn’t mean anything. It’s like the old 1960s Mafia types — maybe you couldn’t convict them in court, but you sure knew they were around.
More than anything, though, I was thinking this: If Barry is REALLY willing to play for nothing, if he’s really out to prove something to himself and everyone in baseball, then you can bet he will be the good Barry for the final three months, the genial guy who I kept lucking into in interviews. He’d be on his best behavior. Three months? Anyone can do that.
No, it wouldn’t be easy — there would be a whole bunch of “If the Royals sign Barry Bonds, I’m done with them forever†fans. And if you’re being honest, sure, you’d have to concede the thing could turn into an out-and-out disaster, a Heaven’s Gate type disaster, with people getting fired, and fans fleeing the stadiums and mass hysteria. No doubt.
But let me say two things. One, as far as I know, Barry Bonds didn’t kill anybody. He didn’t assault anybody. He didn’t throw any games. He didn’t bet on any games. He didn’t get caught drinking and driving. He didn’t have any false gods, didn’t make any idols, didn’t covet any neighbors donkeys, didn’t steal, didn’t do much of anything that more or less half the other ballplayers in the game are doing. No team OWES Barry Bonds a shot, but I also think of America as a place that takes chances on people. I certainly do not see why a team couldn’t GIVE Barry Bonds a shot.
Second, and this is selfish, I think there’s a shot that Barry Bonds could make the Royals contenders in the A.L. Central this year. The division is wide open, nobody’s any good (although the Tigers sure are coming on) and the Royals have all that young pitching, and they have a WIDE OPEN spot in the No. 3 hole. Barry could play a little outfield (Teahen moves to first), he could play a little DH (the Royals really don’t have one), heck, Barry might even be able to play a little first himself. And sure, I’ve talked about the potential disaster, but how about this: If Barry Bonds came to freaking Kansas City, played for the minimum, and at age 44 acted like a good guy and signed a few autographs and mussed the hair of a couple of bat boys and banged a few homers and led the Royals into a real live pennant race … holy cow, that’s The Natural come to life. The Royals might even carve lightning bolts into their bats. I’d have my next book!
You know what? I think they should do it Why not? They tried to trade for Milton Bradley last year. They signed Jose Guillen in the offseason. They’ve shown they’re not afraid to take on a little attitude. Take away the emotions and steroid talk, and Barry Bonds is one of the three or four best players in the history of the game, he’s on Mount Rushmoreno. I’m not saying he really WOULD come to Kansas City for the minimum (and give the money to kids for tickets!). I suspect that if it is Kansas City making the offer, he may suddenly have a lot of excuses (“Oh, I’d love to, but there’s the spider web in the corner of my garage, and I’ve just GOT to get rid of that thingâ€).
But if he’s serious, I’d do it. Absolutely. Yes, the commissioner’s office would howl behind the scenes (I suspect there is no way that Royals owner David Glass would ever do this … he’s close with Bud Selig). Other teams would grumble about the collusion that is really, really not happening. But I wouldn’t care. Baseball has kicked the Royals in the teeth for about 20 years now. I would sign Barry Bonds. I would kick back.
Loading ...
Do it! … and let the English see ya do it…
WOW… I hate to say it, but you have a point.
I don’t know how, but you did it again, JoeBlog. If you started a cult, JoeBlog, I’m afraid I’d be easily suckered into it given your special persuasive powers. You already have me thinking, “Must buy all of JoeBlog’s books. Must buy all of JoeBlog’s books…”
Amen
I wouldn’t want Barry on my team, but this is a terrific idea. (Incidentally, why do you think he could play first?)
No chance, from either end.
Rather simple question – this post starts with a reference to Billy Butler.
Where does he fit into the team with a Barry Bonds signing? As a platoon DH?
Regardless, I’ve been a supporter of this since April. I’d venture to say that 12 game losing streak would’ve been 3-9 with Barry in the lineup.
I don’t know if I’m buying this “let’s do it for the children” angle. Something about picking up Bonds feels like a deal with the devil, and that’s not a statement about Barry and his baggage directly. It just feels like a copout, like telling the fans who have roughed it out the past twenty years: “by golly, we’ve tried our darnest and we’ve made some strides in the past few years. But we want satisfaction now and we want attention even if it means dotting our lineup cards with asterisks for the remainder of the season.”
That being said, if I’m honest with myself, I’ll admit that I’d get behind the move if we made it. Wishy Washy. It’s my middle name.
If not team signs Bonds after this, then he’s got a heckuvan argument for his upcoming collusion lawsuit against MLB owners.
If I were Selig, I would head that off by calling my good friend David Glass and asking him to very publicly offer Barry Bonds the Major League minimum to play in the smallest market in the league. Sort of like calling his bluff.
Oh, and then I’d tell my good friend David Glass to play Bonds in centerfield until his knees disintegrated.
Plus, if we signed Barry Bonds, the Royals may actually get some attention on Baseball Tonight instead of having their highlights cut to make room for ridiculous renditions of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, hosted by that bad@$$ rocker, Peter Gammons.
Seriously, can someone tell that show to use this “extra time” to show more baseball and less of this creative* programming? Those of us that live outside of the Royals regional area need a place to see some highlights when we can’t catch the game.
* And by “creative” I mean “out of place, not entertaining, and utterly terrible”.
Even though he was a hated Giant, I wish the Dodgers would sign him. There’s an outside chance he’d outperform Juan Pierre in LF.
The guy broke the most hallowed record in all of American sports, by cheating. He ruined the chase for Aaron, which should have been one of the most exciting sporting events of my lifetime.
No thanks.
Can we please stop annointing a guy with 100 innings pitched as Mariano 2.0? If Soria keeps this up for fifteen years, we’ll call him Mariano 2.0. Or we’ll call Mariano “Soria 0.8 beta.”
Derrick Turnbow was Mariano 2.0 for a year too. So was J.J. Putz.
Mariano Rivera is the best reliever that ever pitched. We’re not calling Jay Bruce “Ruth 2.0″ are we?
I rest my case.
As for Barry
1) The agent is lying. Seriously. If Bonds said he’d play for the minimum, SOMEONE would have signed him. Heck, the GIANTS would have signed him back. He never offered that. If he did, then the union will have a 100% guaranteed win collusion lawsuit going by 2pm CST. Which is 4 minutes from now.
2) Bonds would add… what, 5 wins* or so for the rest of the year? That’s not going to make your Royals a contender. Bonds is an amazing player (and I say that as a guy who hates his guts and who thinks Bud Selig should be thrown OUT of baseball for allowing a steroid cheat to hold the Hallowed Record), but he’s not going to make your Royals play .600 ball the rest of the way.
* Bonds had a WARP1 of 5.6 and 5.7 the last two years. Take into account the fact that he would DH, he’d probably stay a bit healthier and wouldn’t play crappy left field, he’d raise to that to about.. 7.0 or so? 8.0?
Ofcourse, he’s already missed 3 months of the season. So 5 wins is probably being EXTREMELY generous. If we set his WARP1 at 8, and he plays half a season, he’ll add 4 wins. That’s just not getting it done for the Royals.
So why bring the whole circus on you?
missed this part :
“the Royals lineup that was scoring 4.91 runs per game is suddenly scoring 5.34 runs. As many readers pointed out, that really is a huge, huge difference.”
It’s 4 wins per 100 games. Which is exactly what I said above. It’s not enough. So why bother? Does it make that much of a difference if you finish 72-90 or 76-86?
You have a pretty convincing argument here. And I’d expect Barry would be off any ‘roids while playing, also to prove a point. And if it didn’t work out, everybody could say “well, I guess he just couldn’t adjust to AL pitching” and “The Royals weren’t going to get much worse by taking a chance on it”. I loved Barry in Pittsburgh, maybe a small market is what he could use right now.
““Take Me Out to the Ballgameâ€, hosted by that bad@$$ rocker, Peter Gammons.
Seriously, can someone tell that show to use this “extra time†to show more baseball and less of this creative* programming?”
Please please please PLEASE go here :
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=2826900
and tell the ombudsman what you think of all these IDIOT segments on what is supposed to be a news show. She’s the one who got “Who’s Now” off the air on Sportscenter and got it turned into a more serious show, rather than the Stu Scott “Bumpin’!” crap that it has been.
Complain about this long and hard. Please. I feel like I’m fighting all by myself. Yes, Winston Marsalis is a fantastic musician. If I want to listen to Winston Marsalis, I’ll buy his CD. I’m not watching BASEBALL TONIGHT to listen to Winston Bleeping Marsalis!
Complain to the ombudsman. She really does get things done if enough people complain about it.
Digression — This Best National Color Commentator poll is annoying me now. It’s taking up a huge chunk of space and the result is already clear. Congrats, Jaworski. Now go away!
I loved those Barry Potter books. I hear there are more on the way:
Barry Potter and Victor Conte’s Stones
Barry Potter and the Chamber Pot of Urine
Barry Potter and the Prisoner of Folsom
Barry Potter and the Goblet of Clear
Barry Potter and the Mistress in Phoenix
I was just reading through the poll and realized a horrible thing….I can’t stand ANY of these guys anymore! I submit Jerry Remy as a write-in…..
NO. Barry Bonds needs to go away and never play again. He needs to join McGwire, Palmeiro, and Sosa and leave our game alone. They’ve all done enough damage.
I can’t stand Barry, and you have me wishing this would happen. I agree though, I just don’t see Royals ownership going for it. I am surprised though, that somebody like Oakland or the Chicago (White Sox) haven’t signed him.
Joe, were you changing the ink on your printer and get a few too many fumes in your nostrils by accident. Please, be serious. The Royals will get better and be first division team eventually. if they fire thier manager. What they need most is respectability, not a name player who won’t give it to them. Winning games is the idea. And there’s no guarantee that Bonds would do that for them. It didn’t work in San Francisco the last 3 years. Why would it work here?
“Winning games is the idea. And there’s no guarantee that Bonds would do that for them. It didn’t work in San Francisco the last 3 years. Why would it work here?”
Winning games is actually about the ONLY thing that Bonds is guaranteed to do. But he’s only one guy. You can’t take a fantastic hitter, surround him with a Molina, Randy Winn, Omar Vizquel, Rich Aurilia and several little leaguers and expect to field a competitive team. No one guy has ever been that good. Not even Ruth.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
Sign bonds now!!!!!!
I agree with everything you said, just replace “KC” with “Cleveland”.
Thanks
To answer an above comment, yes, I think it would make a difference if the royals went 76-86 vs. 72-90. Its not all about making the playoffs, they need to convince free agents that they are for real, and have a legitimate chance at winning. Whether or not 4 extra wins convinces another bat to come here this off-season is debatable, but the cost of finding out doesn’t seem all that high to me if he is willing to play for the league minimum for 3 months.
“Its not all about making the playoffs, they need to convince free agents that they are for real, and have a legitimate chance at winning”
There is no free agent (of note) that’s going to come to Kansas City because you won 76 games, rather than 72 games. Once you win 90 games, FA’s will probably take notice, but still won’t come, because everyone wants to play on the coasts.
“but the cost of finding out doesn’t seem all that high to me if he is willing to play for the league minimum for 3 months.”
Right. But Bonds isn’t going to be a long term part of your plans. And while he’s on the team for 3 months, he’d be taking up a spot that you could, presumably, give to somebody who WOULD be a long term part of your plans.
If KC was 2 wins away from going to the playoffs, you can say “Let’s roll the dice with Bonds.”
But since you’re not, why bother? You wouldn’t trade for CC Sabathia this coming deadline, would you?
Bonds would be perfect for a team that’s got a good shot at the playoffs and needs a big bat to make them a serious contender for the WS.
The White Sox and (sadly) the Cardinals would be two teams where he’d make a big difference. For Kansas City, it just doesn’t really do anything.
Anyone who protests Bonds because he is a cheater must, from now on and forever, boo Guillen every time he comes up, make “cut Guillen” comments on every Royals blog, and in general rabble-rouse as his status of cheater.
I don’t care that Guillen may have only received one shipment of HGH, and that Bonds broke some “Hallowed Record”**. Substance abuse is substance abuse, and there is no question about the motive of either player — to get better.
I like Guillen. I also wouldn’t mind signing Bonds. I don’t think it’s the best match in the world, but for the league minimum, why not? We spend more than that on high school kids that will never step on the field.
**Hallowed Record. What bullshit. There are a million impressive records out there. What makes home runs more impressive than, say, career on base percentage? Do we talk about modern baseball statistics and then turn into morons when it comes to talking about records?
I like the new blog look. One quick suggestion, can you put links the the last five blog posts or so (like in the old looks)? The front page is not as work conducive as the actual blog posts and it would be nice to surf around from the posts.
Also, just finished “Soul of Baseball.” Fantastic. Truly very very good. It’s like the Tao of Baseball as well. Buck O’Neill can change your life. Well written, too. Thank you.
Well, to anyone wondering why this hasn’t happened already, it’s pretty clear that there’s collusion at play. Otherwise, there’s NO WAY no one would take a chance on the guy, even if he was asking for millions. He’s old, sure, but he was old last year and still had a higher OPS+ than anyone in the NL last year (though he came a few plate appearances short of qualifying).
I wish the Expos were still around so they could sign him. At the press conference, the GM could wink into the camera and say “right back atcha, Bud.”
Creston is a complete and utter moron. Never have I seen Sabermetrics butchered and skewed so badly to prove a point. What a cynical douche.
You’re out of line, ME, and you’re lowering the signal-to-noise ratio ’round here that has been extremely high.
I fear as the JoeBlog becomes more popular, there will be more Baseball Think Factory-like discussions that are reduced to insults, profanity, and nonsense.
Let’s not let that happen!
I would love to hear any American League GM explain how signing Barry Bonds for less than $400,000 wouldn’t improve their chances of making the playoffs.
Reasonable exceptions: Boston doesn’t have any at-bats for him. Seattle and Toronto could sign Babe Ruth and they’re not going anywhere.
But for anyone else, yeah, why not?
Signing Bonds now is kind of like renting a Hummer Limo while your real car is in the shop.
If you’re gonna rent, he’s one heckuva rental.
“You wouldn’t trade for CC Sabathia this coming deadline, would you?”
No you wouldn’t. But in Sabathia’s case you’d have to give up something substantial and you’d be on the hook for a pro-rated salary of 8.8 million.
For Bonds you give up nothing and pay a pro-rated 390k.
And if it doesn’t work, you release him. What have you lost?
As a Rays fan, I would exchange Cliff Floyd for him in a heartbeat.
I’ve been wishing a team would sign bonds since last off-season. I just wanna watch the man bat again. He took steriods, so did probably half the league (including pitchers). He was STILL far far far and away the best and its not even remotely close.
PLEASE ANYONE SIGN THE MAN!
It’d be an internal conflict for me. I can’t stand him, but it would raise their profile as far as signing free agents is concerned even if he didn’t perform well…
I’ve been here since the beginning of the old TSOB blog, and I agree with you Damon. You’re outta line, ME.
But to be fair, Creston is consistently cynical (not that there’s anything too wrong with that – I consider myself a cynical bastard), negative and a little scream-y.
His first comment (out of how many on this post alone?) is to bitch about calling Soria “Mariano 2.0″. And then he allegorically compares Mariano to Babe Ruth.
I appreciate the passion, but Creston, can you tone it down a bit?
First the reason behind Joe Morgan’s issues. Then Barry Bonds. What’s next, the misunderstood Latrell Sprewell? A column on the “real” Jose Canseco?
Joe, love the addition of the Recent Post spot to the new look. That should be serviceable for people like me who can’t check in with the blog every day so we have the option to quickly catch up and maneuver to the next post. I still think it’d be best if they linked to each other, but this will do for now or if it’s just not possible in this theme.
I am surprised by this article. I love Joe. I guess I have changed my opinion.
However, I am surprised that no one has mentioned the biggest problem with Barry is his lying. He lied to both the public and judicial system. I would have to boo him for that as I would Roger the big fat liar.
Yes, Roger and Barry would probably make the Royals win a few extra games, but if they could only tell us the truth, we would probably be able to forgive them. I think most of us have forgiven Pettite.
But Andy, the difference is that Joe didn’t sway me one bit with his Joe Morgan post. This Barry thing is ridiculous, though, if any of the offers he made are true. And if it is true, proving collusion should be pretty much open and shut. I’d LOVE to see someone like KC or TB or Cleveland or Texas pick him up to see what he has left without the enhancements. I venture a guess that he’s still quite a bit better than many of the DHs out there.
To anyone who is talking about taking the whole moral high road business please get real. Nice guys don’t win you baseball games. Players who have nearly a .500 OBP and is a truly feared hitter to where pitchers have to work around him do though.
Sweeney was a really, really nice man. Had some great years but he didn’t do anything for the actual team standings. Great for the community and the rookies. On the other hand sometimes you can hurt a player by making him feel like a champ even when he screws up.
I know everyone wants to hear about the boys sitting around in the clubhouse hugging and engaging in shenanigans but sometimes you need a Jose Guillen to keep the kids heads straight and you definitely can’t be hurt by having a guy who is going to be on base half the time he comes up to bat.
Don’t sign a player because of steroids? Please do blood tests on all the players and see how many players you really have to choose from.
I want it to happen just because I like it when stuff happens, but here’s my two cents: let’s say Bonds hadn’t broken the record, and at this point it was basically out of reach. Let’s say he was behind Aaron by 120, and it was more or less accepted that he didn’t have much of a shot of getting there at this point. Would there have been all this hullabaloo? Guillermo Mota and friends had no trouble finding jobs, and there’s no question that a lot of teams would be better with Bonds. I respect the opinion of those who never want him near a piece of lumber for the rest of his life, but seriously, go ahead and try to get angry at Mota. Get worked up over Paul LoDuca. See how much hair and sleep you can lose over Mike Cameron. Barry is still Barry, but I bet he’d have a job if he didn’t have the record.
Barry haters need to remember… Even if you believe it all – “pre-steroid” Barry was still a first ballot HOF’er. Some random examples:
1987 22 yo 99 r/34 2b/25 hr/59 rbi/32 sb/ .261/.329/.492
1990 25 yo 104r/ 32 2b/33 hr/114 rbi/52sb/ 93bb/.301/.406/.565
1993 28 yo 129r/38 2b/46 hr/123 rbi/29sb/126bb/ .336/.458/.677
etc… etc… etc…
JoePo… you are so right. I’ve been saying they should sign him since spring training. What’s the worst that could happen? We have to cut him after a month or so… so what?
And we’re still in this thing with or without Barry. Let’s roll the dice. Couldn’t be any worse than signing Tomko.
Wynton.
This is ridiculous. Sure, signing Bonds for $5 million would be a horrible decision.. but you’re seriously not willing to give up THE LEAGUE MINIMUM (the same minimum they refer to when discussing replacement players?????)
You seriously think bonds isn’t worth a replacement player???? I don’t know what his VORP is but I GUARANTEE it’s higher than any of the Royals’ replacement players. I simply don’t understand how ANYONE wouldn’t sign Bonds for $390k.
Somewhat bearish on the idea. But without the financial sacrifice, I’d be okay with it. We’d finally get some BBs (walks). That can’t be bad for the kids in the dugout to observe.
Don,
I admit to being a cynical person, so perhaps this is undeserved, but if you believe Andy Pettitte’s “story”, you are lying to yourself. The same with Brian Roberts. They are just as guilty as Clemens or Bonds, and I don’t even think its questionable, personally. They just had smarter, more persuasive agents, and were smart enough to listen to them. Neither Clemens nor Bonds has EVER cared what anyone thought of them, and they’ve ultimately gotten just what they’ve deserved. But to presume that the guys who “apologized” for trying to “heal” injuries are telling the truth is total denial…by the late 90’s, “known” roiders had spent time on most teams at some time or another…
I can’t and won’t “forgive” these guys, but I also accept that this is part of the “reality” that we, as fans, have to understand and make sense of. Just as it should color our view of their HOF stats…
It is ultimately up to us, as fans, to “understand” what these numbers mean in the context of their “era”…The early 30’s were a high-offense era. Fine. The 90’s were a high-offense, high-K era. Fine. When 3,000 K’s and 500 HR’s don’t matter anymore, its up to us to recognize this, not the guys shooting for those numbers.
All that said, if I’m a Royals fan, I’m hoping Barry Lamar Bonds is involved in a press conference in Kansas City tomorrow. Is he a huge risk? Hell yes. Does he bridge the full gap KC needs? No, he doesn’t. Is he a nightmare in the clubhouse? Assuredly, but somehow SF found a way to make the WS despite him being a complete ass…And the AL Central is devolving into a mud-wrestling match, and I’d prefer to be the guy who brings the gun to the mud-wrestling fight ahead of the guy who brings Tony Pena Jr (making a point, not ignoring he can’t play SS – snark) to it…
Jumbo Shrimp
Military Intelligence
Compassionate Conservatism
Royals Highlights
Okay, so we all hate Bonds. I’d sign him in a heartbeat–he didn’t do anything that different than the other steroid users in baseball over the past decade, he was just a jerk, and set records. Kinda sounds like Ty Cobb, spikes up. Anyways, anybody who thinks its foolish to add him is completely ignoring his abilities to show our younger guys how to swing a bat.
Put it this way: would you hire Bonds as a hitting coach? I am positive I would. Just like Octavio Dotel meant much more to our team last year than his stats indicated (well, he was pretty mediocre, honestly, the stats indicated that correctly), he was a great influence on the rest of the bullpen, and really helped our younger guys develop. Who are our sluggers to help the younger guys learn to swing? Jose Guillen is the only real veteran that comes to mind.
And who cares that Bonds is an asshole, I haven’t heard too many great stories about Brett’s personality, and he’s a God around here. Why? 1-He was damn good. 2-He wanted to win. 3-He backed it up. Sounds like Bonds to me, sign him now. No other move Dayton could make would have nearly this kind of cost/benefit potential.
I’ve been rooting for the Royals to sign Barry since spring training. Adding his bat to this line-up would have us in first place. Look at it this way, here’s the opening day line-up with Bonds:
CF: DeJesus
2B: Grudzielanek
DH: Bonds
RF: Guillen
3B: Gordon
LF: Teahan
1B: Butler
C: Buck
SS: Pena
Ok, so Pena still doesn’t hit. But I bet Butler never heads to Omaha because hitting 7th in this line-up, there’s a LOT less pressure on him, and he can just go up there and play. We still see Avilels coming up, but either Pena or German would have been sent down (Likely German). Gload is a utility player (like he should be). That line up doesn’t go through a 12 game or a 7 game losing streak. We win at least 1/3 of those games (6 of the 19 for those keeping score at home). That makes us 42-37, or .5 games back of the White Sox. Add a couple more wins somewhere along the line, and we’re in first. We can win this division with Bonds in the line-up. You want our young players to get used to winning? Sign Barry Bonds. Winning is contagious. We may not win the division this year, but it’ll go a long way to winning it within the next 2.
You know, this is just me, but I think if the Royals try to sign Barry Bonds, he’ll turn it down. I mean, they’re the fricking Royals! I’d like to see Dayton Moore try to sign Bonds just to see that happen. XD
I don’t hate Barry Bonds. But then, I’m a Giants fan. Steroids or not, the man can hit. Holy Hannah, can he hit.
The prevailing story is that Jim Edmonds is a raging a-hole and possible/probable ex-’roider as well. My team picked him up off the scrap heap for 200K or so, and I didn’t like or want him. Now he’s hitting doubles and homers all over the yard and suddenly I’m glad he’s on my team. Funny how that works.
I think fans of any team would be able to choke down their disgust for Barry if he was shooting some over the fence for their boys.
> Okay, so we all hate Bonds.
I don’t hate the man, and I don’t think he’s an asshole. I don’t even know him, and I sure as hell am not going to believe what the media says about him (JoeBlog being the exception. And Bonds was nice to him three out of four times!).
Anybody who doesn’t recognize the difference that replacing Ross Gload with Bonds has lost it. Yeah, maybe Bonds’ value is only for 4 wins the rest of the way. How about us getting Ross’ horrible bat out of our lineup? That’s probably another 2-3 wins there. I am sure he’s playing below replacement value as a starting 1B. He’s gritty….great. Let him pinch hit twice a week. Let Teahen, Dejesus and Guillen play the OF, bring up Butler for 1st and drop Bonds directly into the #3 hole at DH.
If we’re willing to sign Guilen, there’s no more remorse anyone can feel with signing Bonds. As another poster pointed out, if he had 100 less HR’s he’d already have a job. Get over yourself, you know you might be one of those “I go to Kaufman because it’
s a great family atmosphere” people, but in reality we all go because we LOVE to see good baseball. Bonds can still swing the stick, and OBP and some \power is EXACTLY what the team needs. Not to mention it’s WAL-MART cheap. Heh.
The problem I see with signing Bonds:
If and when we got to the playoffs, everyone would say it was because we bought our way there; that we wouldn’t ever have the chance without snatching up Bonds.
In essence, because we sank low enough to get him.
I’d rather have it known that we got to the playoffs by developing players and playing good ball.
Why not sign Barroid and let him prove he can still play til July 31st- then trade him for picks or prospects.
Makes too much sense, right?
Why not? Really – if it backfires would we lose any more of a chance to win the AL Central? We probably won’t win without Bonds. Why not try it with him? Would he do any serious harm to the FUTURE of the Royals?? The answer is no?
No way Jo(s)e. Not even for “the children” — which, btw, is a really crappy rationale. Anyone who signs Bonds is consenting to and aiding and abetting his cheating ways. The Royals are *way* better (in the moral sense) than that.
Bonds would put butts in seats and make more money for the team. Take that money and reinvest it in players and you’ve got a good thing going.
I agree with the poster that talked about how if we win it will be tainted because we bought it, but then again, I don’t see Bonds putting us in the playoffs by himself. The money he brings in may put us in future playoffs though.
I think the Royals should sign Chacon. He can clearly hit, or at least push.
Who is Pokey Joe and why does he think Military Intelligence is an oxymoron? I could introduce him to some Intel Officers that would make him think otherwise.
Jesus, I had to put up with Bret (I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY DID STEROIDS, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT) Boone in a Twins uniform and he hit .170/.241/.170. How is signing Bret Freaking Boone better than signing Bonds? Teams should be lining up to get Barry to sign at the league minimum.
Barry wouldn’t be good for the Royals clubhouse. Not when there’s a decent free agent class coming this offseason. I could see them landing Adam Dunn or maybe even reaching for Jason Giambi.
Just to make their lineup that much more formidable. There’s plenty of other ways to fix their problem without signing Barry.
All of these people against this signing are ignorant! If and yes IF you can get him for league minimum or even a little above that, why not take the risk. He won’t make us any worse that is for sure, and if and yes WHAT IF he comes in and can give you 15HR and 55 RBI with a .400 obp the second half of the year?? hell id take it
Guinevere….The Royals signed cheater Jose Guillen. I’m sure there’s other ex-roiders on their team. Get off your moral high horse.
oh and a comment on buying our way to wins? Isn’t that what every other MLB team in the playoffs does??? Seriously people get off this crappy “moral” stance about Barry, ya he screwed up and really messed up baseball, hell he deserves s second chance. oh and is there any serious discussion of this at all in the royals organization??
The difference between Bonds and Guillen is that Jose didn’t break the all time home run record. I’m pretty sure very few in baseball cheated with the intensity and sheer volume of drugs taken that Bonds did. Look at his freaking head.
It’s one thing to say everyone else is doing it, so I’d better to keep up. It’s quite another to take it to a whole new level purposely to break two of the most hallowed records in sports. To this fan anyway, that part is unforgivable.
Assuming that Bonds ONLY wins the Royals an additional 4 games this year why wouldn’t you sign him? As a fan of the Royals, (I’m not..I got to site via MLBrumors) wouldn’t you like to see 4 more wins. Paying for a ticket an leaving with a win feels a lot better then a loss. The beers tast better and the ride home is shorter. A bunch of kids get to see Bonds play (say what you want..but..unfortunatly he is the HR King until A-Rod passes him) and tell thier kids about what it was like when they saw him play at Kauffman.
This really is a no brainer, especially if the Royals can get him on the cheap. If he give the $ to kids to go to the game the Royals would even get more profits by selling more food, drink, shirts..etc.
As a fan, I’d like to see it.
Just not in my town
I’d like to see the Royals sign Bonds for the league minimum just for the wow factor of having one of the game’s greatest hitters being on the same team as today’s worst hitter (Pena Jr) and making less than him.
[...] one of the best sports writer’s alive today, but I’ve got to disagree with him about Kansas City signing Barry Bonds. I’m all for sticking it to the man, but not by playing to one of the most well-documented [...]
By the way, I’m impressed that 91 people in the poll took the time to express the opinion that they are unqualified to have an opinion!
Twins have won nine in a row and have beaten four Cy Young Award winners….Barry of 2001 couldn’t help the Royals top that.
KC fans cheered Andre ‘mr mojo’ Rison? Wow.
I think it would be more like ‘Major League’. I can see Barry now, sayin’ ‘Hats for bats, keep bats warm’.
The other thing that a 12 game losing streak does is make you think the team is a lot worse than it actually is. That 12 game streak looks a lot different now, because of a larger sample size.
>>The problem I see with signing Bonds: If and when we got to the playoffs, everyone would say it was because we bought our way there; that we wouldn’t ever have the chance without snatching up Bonds. In essence, because we sank low enough to get him. I’d rather have it known that we got to the playoffs by developing players and playing good ball.
Do you think the Yankees or the RSox fans care about their teams’ “buying” their way into the playoffs? I mean, c’mon! The most frustrating thing about being a Royals fan is that whenever we DO develop good players, they get snatched up for more cash (Damon, Beltran, Dye). And until we’re out of such a small-market trend, we’ll never be legitimate contenders.
Yes, Bonds cheated. And I think that the majority of the baseball-viewing public is smart enough to know that Bonds was just a very small fragment of the problem–baseball itself is tainted, not just Bonds. Yet people are still going to games, aren’t they?
I think, as somebody said earlier, that a small market club (I hope the Royals) could VERY PUBLICLY call Bonds’ bluff, offering him very little for a short term contract. Bonds will absolutely obey himself, and the team will spin it as if they are charitable for giving one of the game’s greatest players a shot to clear his name and give back to baseball.
Bonds would absolutely help the Royals. And he would pack seats. If nothing else, it’s just a wise investment–the move would bring in more money that can be reinvested in different players.
How can anybody disagree with this? It’s the Royals! Something has to be done, at least.
RE: “Funny, every time I go into the Department of Motor Vehicles, there’s no line at all and they’re so nice to me.â€
As a reader who used reconciled accounts for a KS Treasurer’s Office (in KS these offices issue car tags, much like DMVs across the US), I gotta’ set the record straight.
The office is only busy 4 or 5 days a month. All those days are at the end of the month deadlines… about 80% of the time there’s not even a line. I love seeing people who know these offices have a bad rap, but are willing to voice a positive opinion. Everyone I’ve worked with was really friendly, even though they’re paid well below the salary a similiar job in the private sector.
Jon, that’s funny. But I will tell you all this: If Barry’s a Royal, I will order my Bonds jersey and wear it proudly to the first playoff game at the K. And that will involve flying in from Nashville
I will repeat – if you sign Bonds, where does Butler play?
First Base.
[...] (By the way Joe Posnanski thinks the Royals SHOULD.) [...]
“Barry Bonds has given me great interviews, and I’ve liked him a lot every time I have walked away.”
Do you suppose Barry Bonds is prejudiced towards people who treat him respectfully and intelligently? Or maybe he scouts writers and figures he’ll get a fair shake from you?
“Plus, there’s a reality; even Barry Bonds has to age sometime, and who knows, maybe he would come back and be a shell.”
For the minimum, it’s worth a look. Brett Tomko was a reasonable gamble at $3M and Barry Bonds isn’t at $390K? Hell, if Tomko is worth a $3M look, Bonds is worth, what, at least a $10M look? Past performance is no guarantee of future performance, but what else do have to go on?
“rather than the Stu Scott “Bumpin’!†crap that it has been.”
By the way, any idea who Stu Scott is bumpin’ these days?
Pretty darn clever, Adrian Gabriel.
“I am surprised though, that somebody like Oakland or the Chicago (White Sox) haven’t signed him.”
Oakland went for Frank Thomas instead. The White Sox already have two sluggers with severe defensive issues and much warmer and cuddlier personalities.
“Signing Bonds now is kind of like renting a Hummer Limo while your real car is in the shop.”
Signing Bonds for the minumum now is kind of like getting a Hummer Limo for free and getting a free gas card while your real car is in the shop.
“Put it this way: would you hire Bonds as a hitting coach?”
Ted Williams, another noted jerk (and I suspect a cheater, but that’s another story), seemed to have a positive effect on Frank Howard. Maybe that’s just the sort of thing Billy Butler needs.
“You know, this is just me, but I think if the Royals try to sign Barry Bonds, he’ll turn it down.”
You’re one of the guys who never asked one of the cute girls to dance in high school, right?
“Why not sign Barroid and let him prove he can still play til July 31st- then trade him for picks or prospects.”
You can’t trade picks in baseball. But you have to figure that anyone who uses the word Barroid. . .
“The Royals are *way* better (in the moral sense) than that.”
Not really. They have not released DeJesus. They just like to feel smug while they finish last. Or feel smug and finish last.
“I could introduce him to some Intel Officers that would make him think otherwise.”
Intel gets a bad rap. They are disregarded by their higher ups.
“There’s plenty of other ways to fix their problem without signing Barry.”
But none for less than the price of, say, Jeff Fulchino and none likely to make a more positive impact on other free agents. Jeremy Giambi and Adam Dunn will be available next off season, as has been mentioned, if you want to write off this season, but they will cost somewhat more than the minimum. Giambi isn’t exactly a “moral high ground” choice, either.
No disrespect to Mr. Fulchino, he’s just somebody who’s earning a little more than a half season of major league minimum.
If Barry signs with the Royals, I might actually have an incentive to make the drive from Omaha.
If were are looking to say that “Royals could USE a little circus” then let’s use the Barry circus of 3,000 hits or 2000 rbi’s. He is only 65 hits short right now. If the Royals went out and signed him at league min during the All-star break, there’s no way he couldn’t get 65 hits and bring a little Baseball Tonight action to KC. Already the Royals have 4 players with more that 65 hits (Guillen w/88, DeJesus w/77, Gordon w/ 77, Teahen w/ 72.)
Sign him up for 390K
Gack. -> JASON Giambi
You guys who want to sign him just don’t get it. This is something that has to be let go of. Great, bring him back because he can still hit a few homeruns–meanwhile, you have to drag the whole ugly steroid issue along with him and to your team. Why? There is something larger and more important to the game of baseball as a whole than one team getting a few more wins from Barry Bonds. Think larger, guys. And PLEASE don’t bring up some crap argument that he didn’t kill someone. Most people don’t, but that doesn’t mean you use it to excuse people who do some very serious and wrong things. Gee, why do we have to get parking tickets when there is a war on terrorists, blah, blah, blah. Barry Bonds is dead weight and a dark mark on baseball, and the logical and healthy thing to do is let it and him go once and for all. Kansas City’s team, season, and future will go on fine without Barry. If you think that is not the case, and you need Bonds to save your team, season, or baseball, then K.C. is doomed anyway, so . . . get over it, let go!
I like Jerry’s post.
That said, I’m kind of leaning toward getting Barry now, thanks to most everyone below my initial post.
The point that he’ll bring in serious revenue is one that, for some untold reason, I didn’t even consider. It’s true; think about how many people came just to see Bo Jackson play, and multiply it by 2 or 3. THEN think about the national coverage and attention we’d get, and there’s got to be something financially attractive about that.
What I fear, though, is making the playoffs, and then witnessing the hordes of balloon-poppers chiming in with, “Yeah, but the only reason you guys made it is Bonds. You had essentially the same team you’ve had for the last 20 years, except for Bonds.”
For some reason that just feels like achieving some great feat, getting all excited and proud of yourself, but then seeing your name in the history books–with an asterisk beside it.
I really don’t understand the arguement that Barry Bonds is worse than Jose Guillen. Honestly.
The only difference is Bonds was a better player prior to his (accused) steroid use. Jose Guillen has been on, what, 8 teams? Been kicked off of one after LEADING THE TEAM to the playoffs, bought thousands of dollars worth of HGH and gets a new $36M paycheck over 3 years.
The only difference is those people who were hoping for some “magical moment” as we “chased Aaron”. C’mon. Bonds is no different than Guillen, Guillermo Mota, Paul Lo Duca, Jason Giambi etc.
Wait….he is…..He’s one of the greatest players of all time; he gets on base .450+; he slugs the hell out of the ball; he already was a hall of famer; I guess that makes him more guilty?
In the end, its all about GOOD baseball. Would Barry Bonds make this team better in the same manner as Jose Guillen has made this team better? Anybody that argues no is either a perfect human being themselves, or an idiot.
its all about GOOD baseball
Watched BB here in SF since ‘93.
He hits, but Good Baseball is something you will not see.
Got young players with a future?
Keep ‘em far away from this selfish negativity.
I beg to differ El, Barry Bonds IS good baseball, “gritty” Ross Gload is not.
Yeah. Keep the young players far removed from the selfish negativity that is Barry. Plug their innocent ears and cover their sensitive eyes.
And don’t tell those impressionable kids that Barry is donating his salary to charity.
I say sign Bonds because clearly he is a great player and will dramatically improve the team. As a Giants fan I’m sorry to see him go but it was the right decision since we have no chance of contending.
With regards to Bonds’ use of steroids, seriously just get over it. In 30 years people will just refer to this as the steroids era in much the same way people refer to the deadball era (God I hope I’m right on this one). Plus just to make a point how do we know that Junior Griffey, yeah Junior, never used steroids, because hes a nice guy? There is no definitive proof either way, with the amount of drugs that must have been used EVERYONE has to be considered not just the players we don’t like. I hate to make that point but seriously being a nice guy is a great way of covering for the fact you use steroids.
Barry cheated, and so did half the rest of the league (at least half, in my opinion) and he still OPS+’d (in order, from 2000-2004_
188
259
268
231
263
Those pitchers he was hitting off were in ‘roids too – he was just better, on the juice or off. Oh yeah, he also had a 170 OPS+ last year.
And more than any player in my lifetime, and perhaps since Williams or even Ruth, he’s the one player that you absolutely HAD to stop and watch if he was at the plate.
I feel blessed to have been able to watch him in San Francisco as much as I was able. Will Clark forever, but Bonds gave me more memories than I can count. And they aren’t tainted in my mind one bit. The playing field was just as level when he played as it’s always been. Whether it was greenies,roids, spitballs, whatever, cheating’s always been in the game. Shoot, Mays and Morgan and Mantle took amphetamines….aren’t those illegal? And don’t they enhance performance?
Absolutely sign Barry today. The VALUE is better than any other free agent available. Increased revenues and attendance, low financial risk (if the story is true) and most of all a POWER hitter that walks a ton. You walk him late in the game put Gathright in. Lets be honest next year is the year unless we could sign CC Sabathia tomorrow and add another power bat to the lineup. With that said we are only 9.5 games out. Wasn’t it the Royals who had a huge lead a couple years ago and missed the playoffs??
In terms of steroids…..we act like he is the only player to ever use them. Let’s agree that a high percentage of players have used them and probably still are.
Whatever the Royals do I am totally happy in the direction Dayton is taking the team and hope to be a contender real soon.
http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh