The Barry, Joe and More

--Last week Barry Bonds said in an interview on MSNBC that if his record-setting homerun ball is sent to the Hall of Fame with an asterisk on it that he will not attend induction ceremonies when he is elected to the Hall. Barry, Barry, Barry. First of all, who said you're going into the Hall in the first place? I'm sure that the same voters who refused to vote for Mark McGuire will probably vote you in because you were such a great all-around player, even though you were more than likely juiced all those years, what with baseball writers in particular being a bunch pantie-waisted "yes men" who are more interested in kissing ass than telling the truth. The sheer irony of the very people whom you treated with so much disdain will more than likely be the same guys who put you into the Hall. That being said, whatever happens to the ball is none of your business. If you wanted it so bad, you should have bought it fair and square. Designer Mark Ecko bought the ball and then left it up to a vote of baseball fans as to what should happen to the ball and the fans, the fans Barry, the poor schmucks who paid your salary all those years so you could double dose yourself on HGH, the fans decided that the ball should be branded with an asterisk. Very fitting in my opinion. Fact is, Barry, no one will care if you don't show up. It will probably be better for all. As a matter of fact, do us all a favor and retire, stay home, disappear and quit disgracing the sport and embarrassing your self any more, if that's possible.

--Joe Torre was hired as the manager of the LA Dodgers replacing Grady Little. Now there seems to be a bit of controversy about how the firing of Little and hiring of Torre went down. Now Little is a career baseball guy and probably deserved a better fate. But fact is that a guy like Torre doesn't come along every year so the Dodgers did what they had to do. Torre is 67 years old and the rumor is that he will bring Don Mattingly along with him as a coach, grooming him to eventually take over the managerial reins. I don't know if Torre can bring the Dodgers back to the World Series, but wouldn't it be fun to watch them play the Yankees next year and kick their butt?

--The hypocrisy of MLB continues this week with the Cleveland Indians picking up a 7.5 million dollar option on pitcher Paul Byrd's contract. Yes this is the same Paul Byrd who on the day of game 7 of the ALCS was revealed to have purchased $25,000 worth of HGH from a Florida anti-aging clinic. Byrd claims that it was used to treat a tumor but the prescription had been written by a dentist. LOL!!!!! You would think an idiot like that would at least have the common courtesy to make up a good lie. The sadness lies in the fact that MLB will do nothing about it and they will continue to do nothing. They will issue spotty suspensions here and there but nothing with any teeth or grit. Fact is, as long as the TV money rolls in and the fans keep coming out in record numbers, MLB really doesn't care.

--Last but certainly not least, King A-Rod has now proclaimed that he is ready to meet prospective owners of those that he may allow himself to negotiate with. Um.......cough, cough, BULLSHIT..........cough, cough. Warning to all teams: A-Rod is a cancer. Has the guy really ever won anything, other than individual awards? NO!!! How many World Series rings did the Yankees win under Joe Torre before A-Rod showed up? 4. How many did they win after he got there? ZERO!!! A-Rod is starting to remind me of Barry Bonds 10 years ago. Produce something in the playoffs and help your team and maybe I'll have some respect for you. But with $350 million dollars, why should you care anyway?