The Only Defense He's Got

Today The Missourian, like every other newspaper in the country, ran an article about Barry Bonds. Why? Because a new book is coming out in which two San Francisco Chronicle reporters put forth evidence as to Barry Bonds taking steroids. It seems as though that everyone in America is pointing to this as more evidence that Bonds "cheated" at baseball by taking "performance enhancing" steroids. How can someone defend Bonds? This seems like the proverbial ax decapitating him. He is finished. There is no way after this book hits the stands (and it might not even have to get that far) that the public will ever accept Barry Bonds again.

But he has one chance, Bonds supporters have one glimmer of hope, and here it is.

I heard this idea mentioned by Bill Plaschke, a high-ranking sports writer for the Los Angeles Times, on Around the Horn (a television show on ESPN where four sports writers from around the country debate the sports issues of the day) on Tuesday. Plaschke questioned the book by saying that he was unsure why the material was published in a book and not in the San Francisco Chronicle (where the two reporters worked). The reporters said they have been working on this story for over two years and have secret government and court documents as well as conducting over 200 interviews. Plaschke theorizes that the reason behind none of this information being published in the Chronicle is the fact that the Chronicle has to live up to journalism ethics, and perhaps thought that the material that had been collected by these reporters lacked the factual credentials the newspaper demands. I think that is a very compelling argument, and I have taken Plaschke's idea and run with it. It only makes sense, if a reporter were covering a story for over two years, some of that material would have to go into the newspaper, there is no reason why it wouldn't; other than factual accuracy. Plaschke also painted the picture that these two reporters were hoping to win a Pulitzer Prize for their work when the original BALCO story broke nearly four years ago. The Pulitzer committee apparently went nowhere near their reporting. Leaving me to question whether this book is more for the glory than the actual "facts" in it. Because a story about Barry Bonds and steroids is going to get a lot of recognition.

Other parts of this story also leave me questioning. First of all, the fact that so far there has been no mention of Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield in any of the reports, even though both players admitted to the grand jury to unknowingly taking the same "steroids" that Bonds did, and denied doing so publicly, just as Bonds did. They are all in the same boat, yet there has been no mention of the other to at this point. Which makes it look like even more of a personal attack on Bonds. Numerous other factors go into my doubt. My personal favorite being these "undetectable" steroids. That seems like such a joke to me. Think about it for a second. That is the ultimate argument. You can say, "That guy is on steroids, but they are undetectable." Nobody can question you. All in all there is some doubt about this new book. Don't let the presence of it in the national media be the only information you take when forming your opinion as to whether or not Barry Bonds is a cheater. I'm not doubting that Bonds took SOMETHING, but as to whether or not he took a steroid, I don't know, you don't know, the guys who wrote this book don't know, and even Bonds might not know. The only people who really know are probably Victor Konte (the head of the BALCO lab, but even he might not), and Greg Anderson (Bonds's trainer). Bonds admitted to unknowingly taking two substances known as "the Cream" and "the Clear." Quite frankly I have no idea what those substances are, whether or not they are steroids, and what even classifies a steroid.

Simply, this isn't the open and shut case this new book would like to present. There are many holes in it, and a few different angles one can take in attacking these holes.

Publish Date: March 8 in the Missourian.