I have always been a Bonds fan, and I would love to see him on the Yankees this year, but I think its obvious that he has been blackballed by MLB.
Does he deserve it? In my opinion, no way. If the full story about PED’s ever came out, I believe that they were being used by the majority of players.

Put me down as a yes.

But we don’t know what the injury to Matsui is? If it’s a 2 week stint on the DL, then you don’t need anyone to replace him.

I can’t see the Yanks signing him since they went to the trouble of getting rid of some of the bad apples in the clubhouse (Sheffield and Johnson) over the last couple years.

With all due respect, Ben, are you aware of what Bonds has been indicted for? He’s not in trouble for taking steroids. He’s in trouble for potentially lying about it to a Grand Jury while under oath and for obstruction of justice. No one’s doubting that he took steroids, but no one is doubting that Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte used PEDs. Somehow, we’ve all managed to deal.

and lets not think the yankees are all of a sudden high and mighty.

lets not forget who’s taking the mound tonight at Shea for the pinstripes.

if Cashman can import Ponson, he’s got no moral bearing to not bring in Bonds.

I know that. He said, in a Grand Jury, he did not take steroids. He did take steroids. So he is guilty, which is why your “innocent until proven guilty” argument has no merit here. That was my point.

Until a jury comes back with a guilty verdict, he is, in the eyes of the law, innocent. That’s the way it is in this country.

You may think he’s guilty, but that’s your opinion. There’s no legal basis for it.

Ponson is completely different from Bonds. The only moral qualm, that I am aware of, is he likes to drink before starts and doesn’t really care. I don’t think it’s the best idea to bring him in, but as long as it’s just this one start so that we don’t have to disturb the development of our young arms beyond what we already have, I’m ok with it. If he becomes a bottom of the rotation replacement, I’m not ok with it.

No one’s doubting that he took steroids

That was why I said the only reason this douchebag would not be going to jail is because of a legal technicality, which is entirely possible. And, even though the trial doesn’t start until 2009, do you really think no new evidence will come out and it will not be brought up on ESPN and in the newspapers until then? The reason the story is buried is because nothing new is happening with Bonds. If he gets signed by a team, especially the Yankees, his situation blows up. First person to answer questions about how he feels about Bonds hitting in front of him in the lineup: Jason Giambi. Distraction?

if anything, Ponson, legally, is actually much worse than Bonds.

he was charged with assaulting a judge in Aruba in 2004 and spent time in jail, and then was charged with DUI twice in 2005.

Bonds, while indicted, has still yet to actually be found guilty of anything.

and all Bonds is potentially guilty of is lying to a grand jury… Ponson physically assaulted another man, and then drove drunk, not once but twice.

i think thats worse than lying to save your own ass.

I wasn’t aware of that about Ponson but that does not change my argument. What Barry Bonds did to the game of baseball is more relevant in this situation than Ponson being an idiot. Not to mention the fact that Bonds’ situation is more high-profile and much more likely to cause a distraction in the clubhouse, even if his legal situation is, technically, less serious then Ponson’s. Athletes, regrettably, get DUI’s and assault charges and the like all the time. While these situations cause minor distrubances, they are nothing of the magnitude that Bonds would cause. Similarly, Ponson is not currently pending trial for any of his crimes. If Mike Vick had gotten busted for dogfighting in August, should a team have signed him for a few months to play while he was awaiting trial? (different i know, but still, the analogy applies)

if you’re going to bash Bonds for what he did to the game, then you better not be rooting for Giambi and his stache to drive in runs over the weekend, or hope that Pettitte gets the ‘W’ tomorrow, either.

Pettitte and Giambi are different. I have my qualms about rooting balls to the walls for them, but they came out and said, I did it, I got caught up in it, it wasn’t illegal when I did it but I did it. I’m sorry, and I’m giong to take steps to rebuild my image. Bonds is flat out denying it, even UNDER OATH. In my mind, he has no credibility, and he is a scum of the earth. Same with Clemens, Palmeiro and McGuire(spelling?). I have so much more respect for people who admit when they are wrong and admit when they do something then people who try to deny it so openly.

so what you’re saying is that you dont like liars?

I think that is a major reason of why I hate Bonds and a major reason why the majority of this country despises what the steroid era has done to baseball. If everyone came clean with it, we knew who did what, and we could wash our hands and be done with it, it’s not as big a deal. Obviously people are not going to do that, which is a testament to what Pettitte and Giambi did.

Actually… Just as a point of accuracy… Giambi never really admitted anything. And, even when he did admit “something,” it was only because he was under oath (and he only admitted his vague wrongdoing to the public because his grand jury testimony was leaked). Pettitte, also, only admitted anything when he was under oath. He denied using PEDs for years prior to that (and even his admission was not completely forthcoming, as additional details came out later). Both of them lied for years and only came clean, to whatever extent they ever did come clean, because they were basically forced to.

I’m not bashing these guys, I really don’t care much about this whole issue. I just think it’s a little unfair to say “well I root for these guys because they’re so forthcoming and honest, and I don’t root for those guys because they’re not.”

Obviously no one is going to come out and say, I did this, unless they get called out for it. I meant to say that I respect Pettitte and Giambi for not lying when they did get called out, unlike Bonds and the like. A quote from Giambi:

Giambi apologized again for using steroids on May 16, 2007, and urged others in the sport to do the same.[6] “I was wrong for using that stuff,” he told USA Today. “What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players, ownership, everybody — and said, ‘We made a mistake.’”

btw, “legal technicality” is one of the worst phrases in the English language. The rule of law is nothing but technicalities. Everybody who is acquitted, has their case dismissed, or doesn’t have charges filed against them “got off” on a technicality. Everybody who was found guilty was guilty on a technicality - technically, they committed the crime. The phrase “he got off on a technicality” implies some sort of pejorative slander against the inability of the justice system to punish somebody, but legally he shouldn’t have been punished, because the system is intentionally stacked against the prosecution so that the government can’t go throw anybody they want in jail on bullshit, weak, circumstantial, poorly investigated cases with little-to-no evidence. There’s a difference between an act and a criminal act - in order to make a act criminal, the authorities must prove to society that you’ve done the act, and they have to prove it using evidence that is so complete and compelling that it can’t possibly be argued with.

Bonds isn’t getting off from anything on any “technicalities”. “Technically” speaking, he isn’t guilty of any crimes because there isn’t sufficient evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that he’s done anything criminal. There’s evidence, sure, and the court of public opinion is free to do whatever they like with that evidence, but as far as the LAW is concerned, you must have evidence beyond any reasonable doubt in order to be able to strip someone of their liberty or livelihood.

Ugh, come on. I’m not saying he’s definetely going to go to jail, but he’s definetely guilty. The reason I said innocent until proven guilty doesn’t matter in this case is because there is no doubt that he took steroids, but it is possible that the evidence of him taking steroids would not hold up in court beyond a reasonable doubt. It’s not like the question is up in the air of whether he took steroids and lied about it or not. The question is, can you prove it. I’m glad he’s innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but that doesn’t mean we should use that as a base for saying he’s innocent and we should sign him. I don’t give a fuck if he gets convicted or not, but if the Yankees signed him, he is convicted in the court of public opinion, and he would be a distraction. Wait until the media brings back Pettitte and Giambi’s stories, and see if they keep performing at the same level. Wait until questions start to loom against Alex Rodriguez, and see if he doesn’t get distracted. It’s not worth it, get a speedy high OBP guy and throw him in the nine hole. Contrary to what Billy Beane says, there are other ways of scoring runs then the 3-run home run.

Obviously I would be psyched, but a part of me would know that the win was tainted. I could not look at Red Sox fan in the eyes with a straight face and say we deserved the WS if Bonds played a major role in getting it. Obviously the team shuold not base decisions on what I have to deal with, but shuoldn’t they base decisions on the team’s image? If Barry Bonds was the difference between winning and losing a WS, I can’t say that I would definetely sign him. I’m sorry, I can’t. I like what we have in the minors, I like the enthusiasm that Joba/Robby/Melk have brought to this team. I love the new image the Yankees are building, and I would hate to see it tarnished by the signing of a guy like Barry Bonds.

I can say we 100% deserve it if we won it with or without Bonds on the team. The Red Sox won it with Manny “I play hard when I want to” Ramirez which I think is a crime in baseball so who cares? We had Mr. Drugs Strawberry on a championship team and nobody complained then

I will respectfully disagree and say what Bonds has done to the game and the image he has would be 100 times worse for the Yankees then Manny for the Sox (he just doesn’t try in the field, the guy really does hit the cage like a maniac) or Strawberry for the Yanks. Is Strawberry any different from Josh Hamilton? Would you complain about Hamilton?

Nope, but I wouldn’t complain about Bonds either

Ben C. - How about this: Would you rather (a) the Yankees sign Bonds and win the World Series, or (b) the Yankees do not do not sign Bonds but do not win the World Series?

Either answer is fair, to each his own. The guys at FJM had this argument a few weeks ago and KT argued strenuously against Boston signing Bonds; you wouldn’t be alone in that opinion.

Why would a World Series with Bonds be tainted? Do you think he is still taking PED’s? I’m sure if he were back, he would probably be tested every other day.
The man had a pretty good year last year, and I’m sure he was the most tested player in the game.

A Yankee WS win with Bonds would be tainted, yes. However, every single WS win for every team for the past 20 years is tainted. You don’t think anybody on those Cardinals, Indians, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Red Sox, White Sox, etc. etc. etc. teams juiced, at all?

What, all of the anecdotal evidence that you can point to Barry Bonds over doesn’t apply to Luis Gonzales, or David Ortiz, or Paul Konerko, or Jim Thome, or Carney Lansford or Candy Maldonado? How many pitchers in the last 20 years have used steroids to get a few more MPH’s on their fastballs? Maybe we were robbed of a title in ‘03 because the Marlins staff was full of juicers…

All the investigations have come to the same conclusion - steroid use was so widespread and pervasive that the entire era was tarnished, and you can’t pick and choose what individual performances or team results are legit and which are tainted because every team had juicers on it…