If I have to choose between the media and Barry, it's pretty much a toss-up. Barry refused to play the media game, the media takes offense. They take every negative spin on him they can. Screw objectivity, Barry is a jerk. On the other hand, the media game is part of Barry's job. He is a total jerk. Great ballplayer, probably a cheater (who isn't -- if they can get away with it, they will do it -- corked bats, spitballs, stealing signs), big ass jerk. But the media does have it out for him, which skews their reporting.
No matter how you slice it Bonds is one of the ten greatest players to play the game, and probably in the top 5. He is less surly and antagonistic to the media than Ty Cobb was, & Cobb cheated every chance he got, including going out of his way to injure players on the opposing teams. Plus he was an unreconstructed racist. Babe Ruth was an oaf, also a racist & eventually an alcoholic. I think Bonds is approximately as distrustful of the media as Ted Williams was in his day, and a) Williams never had to face 24-7 talk radio, cable sports channels, etc. and b) he hated the media even when they were busy adoring him! War hero & all that.
Did Bonds do anything wrong in his career, sure, make a list of all the 'unwritten rules' he broke. Did he cheat? If he used a banned substance, sure, but if he used substances that
weren't banned at the time then he's only guilty of being unethical, NOT of breaking the rules. You can't convict him of committing a crime that didn't exist.
And if you look at his accomplishments it is hard to see how using steroids can account for most of them. Steroids create bulk, not speed and certainly they don't improve your vision. Anyone who knows anything about hitting will tell you that it's bat speed, not bulk strength that creates home runs & it's superior vision of the ball that lets you hit for average, avoid strikeouts & pile up the walks. And it's pure mental fortitude that lets you do any of those things consistently over years and years. Let's say just for the sake of argument that Bonds & McGwire BOTH used steroids (which
weren't banned during practically all of Big Mac's career). There might be a bunch of home runs that without steroids turn into line drive double off the wall, and that puts an asterisk next to McGwire's eligibility for the HoF, 'cuz he was all about the longball (although if you chopped 20 feet off of every one of Mac's 683 home runs he probably still hits 600 or so). But it wouldn't take much away from Bonds' batting titles, OBA & OPS & walks records.
And let's just cut the crap with the "oh the poor media, they're just trying to do their jobs" argument. These are not journalists digging for the truth, these are media company employees trying to provoke a response that will sell papers & get people to tune in at 11:00. Barry is an idiot for opening his mouth & saying anything to them at this point in time, and frankly I don't know why he didn't do like Robert Parrish years ago. But do I applaud the media for teh way they treat Bonds? Ha! If we are really concerned about the media the BIG question is "Why don't you treat the President & Congress the same way?"
