Friday, May 26, 2006
"Weighing in" on Bonds
Since the publication of my "Chasing Barry" story this week in mediabistro.com, I've published numerous comments. Here are some of the emails I've received from friends, family and associates:
"Bottom line as far as I'm concerned as it relates to Barry Bonds is twofold:
1- Historically, he's been his own worst enemy. Bad attitude towards the fans and the media.
2- No question about it, he's a great one-of-a-kind athlete BUT his record(s) and legacy will always be tainted because of the (probability) that he was "juiced."
Think about it, his numbers skyrocketed in the past 4-5 years at an age when the average athlete's skills diminish. He never embraced the fans or the media, and the backlash towards him today is directly related to that."
-Rick Stangel
"ahhh...the famous bloom brothers are at it again! now i know who barry bonds is!"
-cara:-)
"Nice job."
-Mike Fine, Patriot Ledger
"Interesting article. I have to say that the SIexcerpt of Game of Shadows left me hating Bonds a lot, but I've also been disturbed by the racial dimension of this and pretty much sickened by the away fans who've been jeering him and baiting him with signs. So basically I hate everybody involved, which is why I'm just ignoring it!"
-Michael Hogan, Vanity Fair
"read story. i still hate bonds."
-John Fortunato, Bonghitter
"Nice job. Really thought that was balanced and came out well."
-Barry Bloom, MLB.com
"Yeah, parks come into play too (thanks, Bill James). They aren't building hitters' graveyards like Shea or Dodger Stadium these days. But I don't think we'd have seen the explosion of home runs in the late '90s without steroids. We're not talking guys inching past Maris, with 63 or 64; we saw the records almost routinely demolished. I've also heard the argument that 'you need the skills to hit, steroids won't make you hit a 90-mph fastball.' True. But if you have those skills, the extra muscle mass can turn a warning-track fly ball into a home run. (So if Reyes was on steroids, we could have turned off the TV happily after 12 innings the other night!)
I don't know about Mantle, but Maris might actually have hit fewer home runs in the new Yankee Stadium-it doesn't have that 296-foot right-field line any more."
-Steve Wishnia, former High Times senior editor
"I enjoyed the article very much."
-Zero Boy
"That's easy stuff: to shoot from the lip and not show up. I don't know about this comment. That's like saying you shouldn't comment on Bush because you don't know him personally or haven't been to the White House to interview him. People in the public eye get picked on by everybody but particularly by the media. It goes with the territory of being 'famous' or just successful. The more successful you are the more you have people who comment and 'pick on' your achievements.
Barry [Bloom] might just like Barry Bonds because he gave him 'access.' Other journalists might not like him because of the lack of access. Just my 2 cents!"
-Ed Bender, Sundance Solar
"The Bonds story is on the money."
-Barry Sacks
Read the original Chasing Barry story
"Bottom line as far as I'm concerned as it relates to Barry Bonds is twofold:
1- Historically, he's been his own worst enemy. Bad attitude towards the fans and the media.
2- No question about it, he's a great one-of-a-kind athlete BUT his record(s) and legacy will always be tainted because of the (probability) that he was "juiced."
Think about it, his numbers skyrocketed in the past 4-5 years at an age when the average athlete's skills diminish. He never embraced the fans or the media, and the backlash towards him today is directly related to that."
-Rick Stangel
"ahhh...the famous bloom brothers are at it again! now i know who barry bonds is!"
-cara:-)
"Nice job."
-Mike Fine, Patriot Ledger
"Interesting article. I have to say that the SIexcerpt of Game of Shadows left me hating Bonds a lot, but I've also been disturbed by the racial dimension of this and pretty much sickened by the away fans who've been jeering him and baiting him with signs. So basically I hate everybody involved, which is why I'm just ignoring it!"
-Michael Hogan, Vanity Fair
"read story. i still hate bonds."
-John Fortunato, Bonghitter
"Nice job. Really thought that was balanced and came out well."
-Barry Bloom, MLB.com
"Yeah, parks come into play too (thanks, Bill James). They aren't building hitters' graveyards like Shea or Dodger Stadium these days. But I don't think we'd have seen the explosion of home runs in the late '90s without steroids. We're not talking guys inching past Maris, with 63 or 64; we saw the records almost routinely demolished. I've also heard the argument that 'you need the skills to hit, steroids won't make you hit a 90-mph fastball.' True. But if you have those skills, the extra muscle mass can turn a warning-track fly ball into a home run. (So if Reyes was on steroids, we could have turned off the TV happily after 12 innings the other night!)
I don't know about Mantle, but Maris might actually have hit fewer home runs in the new Yankee Stadium-it doesn't have that 296-foot right-field line any more."
-Steve Wishnia, former High Times senior editor
"I enjoyed the article very much."
-Zero Boy
"That's easy stuff: to shoot from the lip and not show up. I don't know about this comment. That's like saying you shouldn't comment on Bush because you don't know him personally or haven't been to the White House to interview him. People in the public eye get picked on by everybody but particularly by the media. It goes with the territory of being 'famous' or just successful. The more successful you are the more you have people who comment and 'pick on' your achievements.
Barry [Bloom] might just like Barry Bonds because he gave him 'access.' Other journalists might not like him because of the lack of access. Just my 2 cents!"
-Ed Bender, Sundance Solar
"The Bonds story is on the money."
-Barry Sacks
Read the original Chasing Barry story
