More Thoughts on Barry Bonds

Some more thoughts and observations on Barry Bonds and the steroids scandal:

- The thing I'm most curious about is the timing of the Giambi / Bonds revelations. Who benefitted from this timing? Well ABC clearly benefited as it coincided very nicely with the 20/20 episode featuring BALCO's Victor Conte. Funny how that worked out - heh? Is bribing someone to reveal confidential Grand Jury testimony a crime? Should 20/20 and ABC be investigated? I say - YES!

- Baseball also benefitted from the timing. Giambi, Bonds and others on steroids was clear to anyone who follows or is involved in the game. The truth had to come out sometime and now was probably the best time. The original free agent period has passed, there is still some time unil teams announce what players will be getting arbitrations, this is basically a "dead" period of time for baseball. MLB wouldn't want the revelations of steroids use to take away from some major free agent signing or drag into Spring Training. Now is the best time to come clean (so to speak) and get this crap out of the way.

- I'm sure MLB has done some polling and that the polls said that the average fan thinks Bonds and others were on steroids. I bet the poll also probably said that the average fan doesn't care so much (with the possible exception of Bonds breaking Aaron's record). More reason to believe MLB was involved in the timing of all this.

- In a strange way another person who may benefit from all these revelations is Jim Rice. His Hall of Fame candidacy has been hurt because of the inflated numbers of the 80's and 90's make his look almost pedestrian. However, voters may now take another look at the hitter who was the most dangerous hitter in the AL for almost a decade. Good luck Jim!

- If they make a movie about BALCO - I hope they get Gilbert Godfried to play Victor Conte.

- The Feds were wise to offer Jeremy and Jason Giambi immunity. First off - we're not talking about the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree here. It would be easier to manipulate the Giambi's than a smarter player. Also the Feds probably played one brother off against another - "tell the truth or we send your brother to jail".

- It is impossible to put an asterix against these players numbers because steroids technically weren't illegal as far as baseball was concerned plus who's to say definitively who was on steroids? If you take away an MVP award to give it to another player - who's to say that player wasn't also juicing? Baseball can survive this steroid problem but I don't think it could survive taking away Jose Canseco's MVP to give it to Mike Greenwell (oh - the horror! The horror!).