Barry Bonds sitting on 713

Barry Bonds went without a home run last night, continuing his month of May without going the distance. Never before has a race for 2nd place been given so much attention. Personally, I am getting sick of all the "live look-ins" every time Barry steps to the plate. Let's face it, Bonds will pass Babe Ruth sometime soon, but I really don't care when and where it happens. All the evidence, books, and BALCO nonsense points to the fact that Barry's career has been tainted, and it just seems ridiculous to give it this much attention.

The worst part about it all is that Barry has lost his step. Watching him swing is like watching a 3 year old use a fly swatter. He is reaching for every pitch, forcing himself to try to go yard. I'm sure that somewhere, the Babe is looking down and laughing. I can just see him upstairs chatting with DiMaggio and Mantle: "I did it on hot dogs and beer fellas! He can't do it on 'roids?" Seriously though, it seems that the ghost of Ruth is hovering over Barry a little bit. His demeanor has changed since this all started, and he looks tired and worn out. Is there some sort of curse preventing a hitter from reaching the Babe? Someone call Hank Aaron and ask him.

The funny part to me about this whole race is that the record will be shattered in the near future anyway. For a while I have thought that Alex Rodriguez will reach Aaron, and it's pretty clear now that Albert Pujols stands one heck of a chance getting there as well.

I have to admit, sometimes I feel bad for Bonds. Not because he took steroids, but because the blame is all on him. Mark McGwire cries in front of Congress and gets a free pass? Bonds is one of the only great hitters left in the league from the steroids era of the 90's. And yes, I know many people think there are players out there still shooting up, but not nearly as many as the days of the McGwire-Sosa race. If you ask me, I still look at Roger Maris as the single season home run leader. Forget about McGwire and Bonds, both of them did it under controversy, but both were cheered along the way. Maris hit 61 in a 162 game season, all the way being booed as fans wanted to see his fellow Yankee Mickey Mantle take the record. After all, who cares about Roger Maris? Well hats off to you Roger, for playing through animosity from the fans, all the while putting it aside to cleanly breaking a record.

By the way, it all goes back to the Babe. Ruth held the original record for home runs in a season with 60, but he did it under a 154 game schedule. Pretty impressive for an overweight alcoholic folks.