July 8, 2008
Why Not Bring Barry To Boston?
It suddenly feels like 2007 again. We’d be stupid not to mention the pink elephant in the room, the pink elephant being Barry Bonds. According to the unofficial Red Sox spokesperson, Peter Gammons, there have been discussions about bringing Barry to Boston.
We know, we know: Pitching wins games. We proved that in ’04 and ’07. But even with great pitching, you need to score runs. So why not sign a guy who can bring in runs? Maybe you think you’d rather have someone like Mark Teixeira, a great young player whose talents are being wasted in Atlanta right now. But that means you need to deal with Scott Boras. Do you really want to help the guy add another addition (or two) to his house or office?
If we sign Barry, we’re going to get him for a year at a low rate. And, if anything, he is going to do whatever he can to prove he’s worth it. Like Manny and V-Tek, he’ll be playing for a contract. So let’s think about it. Sure, Barry said he would never play here and he even talked about how racist the city is. But forget the charges, forget Game of Shadows, and remember what Bonds can do on the field. It wasn’t too long ago when people balked at the idea of bringing Randy Moss to Boston. Granted, Randy wasn’t awaiting a court date like Bonds, but he came here to prove he wasn’t the troublemaking thug everyone made him out to be. And that seemed to work out for us in the end, right?
Still not sold on bringing Barry to Boston? The top ten reasons to bring Barry to Boston are after the jump!
- Barry and the Boston media: the stories and impromptu press conferences would be priceless.
- Dan Shaughnessy needs a new shtick. He beat the Curse horse till the corpse was oozing and covered with sores. Curt isn’t around to be his punching bag; Shaughnessy needs a new hobby.
- The blog entries on 38pitches.com. Can you imagine what Curt would say? Please. He could even do a whole ‘My Dinner with Andre’ interview with Bonds.
- The Inside Track girls would be giddy like little schoolgirls if Barry came to town. Since most of the movies are done filming in Boston for now and the Tom/Gisele stories are getting old, they need something to gab about. Can you imagine the Bonds stories from the Naked City?
- Roger played here. Canseco did too. With Barry, we’d have the trifecta!
- Mo Vaughn can introduce Barry to the ladies of the Foxy Lady. Lord knows those ladies probably need the money—it can be yet another way for Barry to give back to the community.
- With Manny manhandling everyone lately, who wouldn’t want to see a Barry vs. Manny match?
- It would make the Red Sox/Yankees series a lot more interesting, especially if Joba or Farnsworth decided to throw behind Barry.
- The photo ops. He’d do anything to help his image. Instead of Baywatch, we could have BarryWatch, a “Where’s Waldo” style game where you send in your pictures of Bonds participating in various activities in and around Boston. (Barry re-enacting that famous scene from ‘Make Way For Ducklings’, Barry sitting next to Red, Barry grabbing a meal at Kelly’s Roast Beef.)
- He can’t be any worse than Eric Gagne. Give a brother a chance!
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Well, there are the abysmal offensive numbers from last year. And the fact that he hasn't played baseball since last September. And that his bloated head clogs the base paths every time he gets an intentional pass.
On the other hand, the rest of America needs another reason to hate Boston.
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Bah. Barry would only serve to disrupt what has been a great locker room vibe in the past few years. Barry needs to become nothing more than a footnote as soon as possible.
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The strangest thing is that Barry claims Boston to be a racist city without empirical evidence.
To quote the referenced Globe article:
"Only what guys have said," he said, "but that's been going on ever since my dad [Bobby] was playing baseball. I can't play like that. That's not for me, brother."
When it was suggested the racial climate has changed in Boston, Bonds demurred.
"It ain't changing," he said. "It ain't changing nowhere."
If it "ain't changing nowhere," then it hasn't changed in Pittsburgh or San Francisco, two cities in which he played? They don't have racism in New York, where he has stated he wants to play? Why doesn't he fear playing in New York? I mean, it ain't changing nowhere!
What makes Boston so special in terms of racism?
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tbobtubb,
Barry's godfather, some guy named Willie Mays, famously was passed over by the Sox before signing in New York. In fact, the Red Sox would be the last team in baseball to integrate.
Barry might not have cited the empirical evidence. Does that really diminish the point?
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I really enjoyed how this writer speculated on the reaction here in Boston. What a great, funny list!
It's a wonderful idea, though I think the Sox would do it only because they were afraid the Yankees would sign him. Of course, that wouldn't be the first time this provided a motivation for the Sox to do something. The real reluctance would come, I think, from Barry himself, for all the reasons which have already been cited.
Barry's numbers were actually far from abysmal last year: playing about 3/4 of the season, he had a .276 batting average, 28 HR, and 66 RBIs, not to mention leading both leagues in walks. Certainly the team that picks up Bonds will be well positioned for the playoffs, as his stunning numbers in his last appearance there would suggest. Steroids or not, he's still the greatest player anyone in his 30s like me is likely ever to see on the field. I really like Barry, but I can't imagine many others in Boston will respond in the same way.
As for the issue of racism, MosesFleetwood makes an excellent point about Bonds's personal history of which I wasn't aware. Even without that in his background, we need to remember that Bonds came of age in the 1970s, at a time when Boston had a reputation for being the most racist of all major Northern U.S. cities. I'm not saying that Boston deserved to be so uniquely designated--of course not--but there's an ugly history that it shared with other cities, a history that much of this town has forgotten. Check out the work of even a white writer like Michael P. MacDonald, who witnessed it, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
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point taken about Bonds's numbers. they are not abyssmal but they are the numbers of a slugger on the decline. i don't see why the Sox would want a player like that, especially when you would need to factor in a few weeks to get Bonds back into baseball shape after 10 months away from the diamond.
presumably, the sox would be getting bonds for his pop and not his OBP. surely the Sox can find a younger player who can go yard but who doesn't have Bonds's baggage or probable rustiness.
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Rick -
Bonds has probably been working out since the season ended last year. According to Larry King, he's been practicing at Fenway. But then again this Larry we're talking about... One of the reasons the Sox would sign him - no one knows how's Ortiz is going to be when he gets off the DL. What if this time off doesn't work? What if he does need major surgery? Then what? Something else to consider, Bonds lead the MLB in walks....if no one throws to you, how are you going to drive in runs?
As for getting youth, as mentioned above, there's always Mark Teixeira. But consider this... He plays first base. What do you do? Get rid of Youk? There's also the option of Matt Holliday for Colorado -but I doubt the Rockies would let him go and there's no room for him out in the field.
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The point of Bonds is the threat he'd represent in the lineup next to Manny. He might not have home run power like he used to (for whatever reason) but he could eat up extra pitches to get an ace out quicker. Do you walk Bonds to get to Manny or do you pitch to Bonds?
I doubt they'd sign him...if they did the reason is he won't cost much in the way a trade or salary. This is why age/rust isn't a big problem.
The Sox clubhouse seems stable to me so I don't see Bonds disrupting it. (See Moss and the Pats for reference.)
The only issue is the steroid issue. How would Sox Nation receive him?
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Moses,
You opine that "Barry might not have cited the empirical evidence. Does that really diminish the point?"
No, it most certainly does not. In fact, my point was that he didn't cite any empirical evidence. It's just that he simply relied on unfounded word-of-mouth.
Think of it this way: if I were your father/Godfather and told you I refused to eat fruits and veggies, because I didn't like the taste, would you be validated in your public announcements that fruits and veggies were horrible?
What if I told you that all cars explode after reaching 5000 miles?
I think you missed my main point: that racism pervades the entire country, and Boston is no less racist than other communities. If you want to believe Boston to be the sole epitomy of racism, thats fine, but if so, I encourage you to venture outside of the Route 128 corridor sometime.
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tbobtubb,
So did Gary Matthews Jr. had no right to say we were racist? The Dee Brown incident did it not happen?
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Interesting article that has sure sparked some comment, but ... no Barry Bonds in Boston please. With Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs we have had enough self-centered egomaniacs for the last 15 years and who needs to deal with all of that off-field distraction that Barry will bring.
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Jocelyn, once again, you missed my point, which I had made in the final statement of my most recent post: making the argument that Boston is any more racist than other municipalities/regions of the country is simply hogwash.
I could care less whether Barry comes here, but it was his second-hand claim of Boston's racism that bothered me, when clearly we're not Racism Central.
And, unlike Barry, I'm not basing my argument on what my father or Godfather told me...I've seen it with my own eyes all across the country.
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Tbotubb,
He said it was too racist for HIM. He didn't say it was the most racist city in all the universe.
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Yes, but again, according to the article, he based his statement purely on word-of-mouth, not personal experience. Which can indeed support an argument, but doesn't complete it.
And if I gave the impression that I thought he said Beantown is the "most racist city in all the universe," I stand corrected. I was simply trying to imply his hatred for Boston via rumor. I have no clue whether he thinks Cleveland, Denver, Houston, etc. is more racist than Pittsburgh, SF, or NYC.
I dunno, I may have misread the article.
But consider this: we've got Manny and Papi, both of whom are Dominican. They are revered heroes. We've got Dice-K and Okajima both of whom are likewise lauded by fans.
And look at the Celtics. Their primary players, including most of their bench, are black. Even their coach is black. Why isn't Barry acknowledging this?
I guess I simply believe he knows the fans here are so fervent that he'd encounter friction with them via his HGH allegations, and wouldn't be liked. Thus his assertion of our "racist" behavior.
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Also, Jocelyn, don't take my comments as a personal attack on you...I just don't agree with the comments made by Bonds in the referenced article.
I actually think your top ten list is funny and clever.
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Ok tbotubb, the fact is, the old ownership of the Sox waited almost TWENTY YEARS to integrate the team.
Just last year before the 2007 ALDS, Gary Matthews Jr. said he didn't like playing here because of the racist comments he would hear playing the outfield from Sox fans.
I've seen people in the stands say GOD AWFUL to players like Kenny Lofton, Griffey and even our precious COCO Crisp. Whether you want to admit it or not, he had a valid point.
And no, I'm not offended by anything you said - I've been called worse. I just don't think you really understand or want to admit, racism is alive and well here.
And come on your Celtics example is the same as saying 'some of my best friends are black!'. haha jk