Reasons why Bonds should be our DH next year

[Fan4Life]

I know that I would be cheering. I mean, are we looking for a baseball player that can help propel the O's out of 9 losing seasons, or are we looking for a preacher or something? I just don't understand the concept of the character issues. The O's have had many people with character issues (Belle comes to mind) play for them and they will have many more. Its what they do on the field that counts for the O's team.

Plus Bonds still has never been charged with anything or tested positive on a steroids test. Don't you think that as much as he is investigated, that he would have tested positive by now? Yet, he still managed to put up 26 homeruns, 77 rbi, .454 OBP and a.545 SLG when he had to play the field with a banged up knee. He outperformed many of our players and many players in the MLB on one knee basically. Imagine what he can do, when he doesn't have to play the field and can just go up and swing the bat 3 or 4 times a game.

I don't know if Bonds is innocent, I don't know if he is guilty, but I do know one thing. I am tired of the losing and if Bonds can help us turn that around (and he can), then I am all for signing him.

I see some irony in your comments and your username. Maybe the Ripken you are a fan of isn't the one that played for us, because he is the exact polar opposite of Bonds and your support of him.

[Dipper9]

I see some irony in your comments and your username. Maybe the Ripken you are a fan of isn't the one that played for us, because he is the exact polar opposite of Bonds and your support of him.

You know, Ripken is my all-time favorite baseball player...did you read that? BASEBALL PLAYER! But at nightime, he didn't come home with me. He didn't raise my children. He didn't put food on my table. He didn't do a damn thing to help my family. Neither will Bonds. However, I don't NEED them to do that! What I need them for is to help my Orioles win! Ripken didn't do it except for his first year, and he was hardly the main star at that point. I am sorry if this doesn't meet the ethics of some people on this board, but Cal (nor Barry) are my family members. I only know of their personal lives through the media. What I care about is the laundry they wear when they step on my field in downtown Baltimore. If Barry can help us win, fantastic! End of story! Its not my job to pay the man. Its not my job to deal with his off the field troubles. Its not my job to do anything except hope like hell that some day before I die, I can have MY Orioles return to consistent winning! Ripken didn't do it, nor have Miggy, Roberts, and the bunch! They are all good guys, but good guys do not always finish first! When they get to heaven, let God be their judge. I am no Saint and I have made mistakes just like these guys (well, maybe not THAT bad) so it's not my job to judge them. Barry, you will be welcomed by the Dipper in Baltimore as long as you play well on the field, which I KNOW beyond any shadow of a doubt that he would!

[Fan4Life]

You know, Ripken is my all-time favorite baseball player...did you read that? BASEBALL PLAYER! But at nightime, he didn't come home with me. He didn't raise my children. He didn't put food on my table. He didn't do a damn thing to help my family. Neither will Bonds. However, I don't NEED them to do that! What I need them for is to help my Orioles win! Ripken didn't do it except for his first year, and he was hardly the main star at that point. I am sorry if this doesn't meet the ethics of some people on this board, but Cal (nor Barry) are my family members. I only know of their personal lives through the media. What I care about is the laundry they wear when they step on my field in downtown Baltimore. If Barry can help us win, fantastic! End of story! Its not my job to pay the man. Its not my job to deal with his off the field troubles. Its not my job to do anything except hope like hell that some day before I die, I can have MY Orioles return to consistent winning! Ripken didn't do it, nor have Miggy, Roberts, and the bunch! They are all good guys, but good guys do not always finish first! When they get to heaven, let God be their judge. I am no Saint and I have made mistakes just like these guys (well, maybe not THAT bad) so it's not my job to judge them. Barry, you will be welcomed by the Dipper in Baltimore as long as you play well on the field, which I KNOW beyond any shadow of a doubt that he would!

Fair enough.. you are entitled to your opinion, we will have to agree to disagree, some of us want to win what we consider the right way, and others just want to win.

[osfan83]

Fair enough.. you are entitled to your opinion, we will have to agree to disagree, some of us want to win what we consider the right way, and others just want to win.

Answer me this:

Lets say the O's win the series in 2007. (stay with me)

And after the series we find out Gibbons cheated on his wife and Bedard smoked a joint during the seaon. Would you throw away your World Champions T-Shirt and stop following the team?

[Fan4Life]

Answer me this:

Lets say the O's win the series in 2007. (stay with me)

And after the series we find out Gibbons cheated on his wife and Bedard smoked a joint during the seaon. Would you throw away your World Champions T-Shirt and stop following the team?

I would want Gibbons to be traded so that he didnt represent our Team, Our City, or be a Role Model to OUR kids. In that light, answer me this:

Bonds has the O's in the World Series.. You and your 8 y/o son are watching the game, Bonds hit's a Grad Slam and you stand and cheer and perhaps make some comment about how great a player Bonds is...

your son says: "Dad, is that the Barry Bonds I hear about in the news that cheats by doing drugs, treats his teammates poorly, and has a girlfriend even though he is married?"...

You say, "yes son that's him, but the drug part hasn't been proven"

Your son says: "And you cheer for him because you like him?"

And you say: "Well son, I think he is a great baseball player, that's all"

Your son says: "Hmm, so it's ok for me to have girlfriends even though I am married, treat my teamates poorly, and maybe cheat so I can perform better than other playees as long as I am a great baseball player?"

And you say:??

[osfan83]

I would want Gibbons to be traded so that he didnt represent our Team, Our City, or be a Role Model to OUR kids. In that light, answer me this:

Bonds has the O's in the World Series.. You and your 8 y/o son are watching the game, Bonds hit's a Grad Slam and you stand and cheer and perhaps make some comment about how great a player Bonds is...

your son says: "Dad, is that the Barry Bonds I hear about in the news that cheats by doing drugs, treats his teammates poorly, and has a girlfriend even though he is married?"...

You say, "yes son that's him, but the drug part hasn't been proven"

Your son says: "And you cheer for him because you like him?"

And you say: "Well son, I think he is a great baseball player, that's all"

Your son says: "Hmm, so it's ok for me to have girlfriends even though I am married, treat my teamates poorly, and maybe cheat so I can perform better than other playees as long as I am a great baseball player?"

And you say:??

I will say "Son you are not listening to what I am saying, listen again." As a fan of any team, actor, musician, ect, I don't know what they do in their private lives, only what the media tells us. But that's OK because I'm not impacted by what happeneds in their private lives. I like Baseball, and I was born in Baltimore so I became an Oriole fan. So I root for the O's. Some of the guys who have played for the O's have probably made some poor decision in their lives. And they have had to pay the consequences for those decisions. I don't choose who plays for the Orioles, and yes I like some players more than I like others.

"Son, It is possible to be a great baseball player and a bad human being, there have been many. Regardless of the job you grow up to do, you should strive to do the right thing, it will make YOUR life much better."

[Fan4Life]

I will say "Son you are not listening to what I am saying, listen again." As a fan of any team, actor, musician, ect, I don't know what they do in their private lives, only what the media tells us. But that's OK because I'm not impacted by what happeneds in their private lives. I like Baseball, and I was born in Baltimore so I became an Oriole fan. So I root for the O's. Some of the guys who have played for the O's have probably made some poor decision in their lives. And they have had to pay the consequences for those decisions. I don't choose who plays for the Orioles, and yes I like some players more than I like others.

"Son, It is possible to be a great baseball player and a bad human being, there have been many. Regardless of the job you grow up to do, you should strive to do the right thing, it will make YOUR life much better."

If you were the son and that was your dad playing, it would be interesting to hear you give that explanation to your mom.

I represent the group of O's fans that don't want "bad human beings" on our team. You represent the group that wants to win and is only concerned with on the field performance. I think we've beat it about as far as we can.

[osfan83]

If you were the son and that was your dad playing, it would be interesting to hear you give that explanation to your mom.

I represent the group of O's fans that don't want "bad human beings" on our team. You represent the group that wants to win and is only concerned with on the field performance. I think we've beat it about as far as we can.

You do realize Earl Weaver smoked like a fiend and swore like a sailor. Should we not celebrate the '66 and '70 series?

There were rumors for years that Brady Anderson was gay. How do you feel about him?

Have you been to Markakis' MySpace page? Seams he likes to drink alot and may be loose with the ladies. Should we look to cut him from the team?

[El Gordo]

You can use a heavier bat when your facing 80 mph fastballs. Please the athletes of those times cant compete with athletes of today, its physically impossible. Hey ruth did some amazing things but he was facing single a talent. Just like athletes in other sports, none of those guys 80 years ago can compete with todays athletes.

Leave ruth where he belongs, in the past.

If you would read more carefully you would see that I'm not talking about hitting pitchers or the number of HR's, I'm talking about pure power and distance. It's easier to drive a 100 mph fast ball out than an 80 mph fast ball. Ruth's bat speed was measured during his career and it is the same as Pujols is today with a bat that sometimes weighed 10 to 20 ounces more. It doesn't matter what the level of talent was in pitching, though I think he faced some of the greatest pitchers as well, he hit the ball farther more often.

[El Gordo]

Ruth was great. The best. Well, maybe the best. Since he didn't even play against many of the best athletes, it's impossible to say. The athletes have gotten bigger, stronger, faster, in every single sport. It's been 80 years since Ruth play. He was perhaps the greatest of his era. To assume that Ruth is as good or strong as the best athletes of today is a giant leap of faith, IMO. The best football players of the 1920's would have trouble making the USC football team. That doesn't take anything away from them. They were the best of their time. It's life, evolution, and progress.

Ruth's bat speed was measured? Really? And how scientific was the test? Anything like Bob Felller (20 years after Ruth) throwing his fastball as a motorcycle zoomed by?

This is not rocket science Ruth hit many 500 ft HR 's that are verifiable. How many have Bonds or Pujols or Howard or Ortiz, all bigger and stronger guys than the Babe, hit. Unless I'm missing something a foot in distance is the same today as it was in 1920, though the air may be denser( and maybe more than the air) with all the polution.

[TonySoprano]

Ruth's bat speed was measured? Really? And how scientific was the test? Anything like Bob Felller (20 years after Ruth) throwing his fastball as a motorcycle zoomed by?

They gave Pujols the same tests as Ruth.

Pujols, like Ruth, was asked to demonstrate his hitting form while hooked up to various machines that monitored the strength and speed of his swing. Pujols, complaining of a strained back, may have "held himself back a bit" on some of the tests, but his results compared favorably with those of Ruth.

In terms of sheer batting speed, Pujols swung his preferred 31.5-ounce bat at a speed of 86.99 miles per hour. Ruth, on the other hand, using a 54-ounce bat, swung at an estimated speed of 75 miles an hour.

"Making exact comparisons between the Pujols and Ruth test results is difficult because the tests given to Ruth were not very well normed," suggests White. "But it's clear that both Ruth and Pujols performed well above average on a number of tests that are very similar in nature."

Source -Washington University

[Ripkenfan2632]

Bonds is much like T.O., he will just destroy our clubhouse, and will end up retiring in a year to leave the mess. Why would we want to pay top dollar for another washed up veteran that is past their prime? Albert Belle anyone?

[DrungoHazewood]

You can use a heavier bat when your facing 80 mph fastballs. Please the athletes of those times cant compete with athletes of today, its physically impossible. Hey ruth did some amazing things but he was facing single a talent. Just like athletes in other sports, none of those guys 80 years ago can compete with todays athletes.

Leave ruth where he belongs, in the past.

Yes, Ruth played against largely inferior talent. Yes, Bonds plays against athletes that are better conditioned and better trained. No doubt about that.

But so what? If Ruth had played today he'd have access to all of today's advances, and if Bonds had played in 1920 (well, and been white) he'd have had the same access to training as Ruth.

The only thing you can do an an analyst is to compare them to their peers, and factor in the growth and development of baseball over time. Thankfully people have already done this - BP's WARP3 takes into account league difficulty levels.

So, yea, if all you care about is absolute baseball skill without context there's little doubt today's stars would be somewhat better than Ruth. But I never saw the point of that. If Jim Thorpe or Jesse Owens had today's training they'd probably be running 9.8 second 100-m dash times, just like the best athletes of today do.

IMO the best is whoever dominated to the largest degree once you've figured out (and compensated for) how hard the conditions they faced were.

[Fan4Life]

Yes, Ruth played against largely inferior talent. Yes, Bonds plays against athletes that are better conditioned and better trained. No doubt about that.

But so what? If Ruth had played today he'd have access to all of today's advances, and if Bonds had played in 1920 (well, and been white) he'd have had the same access to training as Ruth.

The only thing you can do an an analyst is to compare them to their peers, and factor in the growth and development of baseball over time. Thankfully people have already done this - BP's WARP3 takes into account league difficulty levels.

So, yea, if all you care about is absolute baseball skill without context there's little doubt today's stars would be somewhat better than Ruth. But I never saw the point of that. If Jim Thorpe or Jesse Owens had today's training they'd probably be running 9.8 second 100-m dash times, just like the best athletes of today do.

IMO the best is whoever dominated to the largest degree once you've figured out (and compensated for) how hard the conditions they faced were.

And what were their findings?

[DrungoHazewood]

This is not rocket science Ruth hit many 500 ft HR 's that are verifiable. How many have Bonds or Pujols or Howard or Ortiz, all bigger and stronger guys than the Babe, hit. Unless I'm missing something a foot in distance is the same today as it was in 1920, though the air may be denser( and maybe more than the air) with all the polution.

I'm not sure all those 500-ft homers he hit are really verifiable. He's supposed to have hit a 690-ft blast in spring training once. I take all stories like that with a big fat grain of kosher salt. Even some of Mantle's shots (like he 565-ft homer in Washington) had questionable means of measurement after the fact.

If you want to believe those kind of things then Big Dan Brouthers tops them all. He once hit a homer at old Union Park for the NL Orioles that supposedly rolled down the hill behind the park, ended up on a train, and went all the way to the west coast.

Ruth was a very great player without embellished stories.