Purging a Franchise's Image

[Migrant Redbird]

Slumming over on ESPN's MLB page....

Giant makeover: Bonds' images gone from AT&T Park

The San Francisco Giants have now removed prominent tributes in the stadium to Barry Bonds, who has steroid allegations and perjury charges hanging over his head.

Take a good look: The left-field wall at AT&T Park will look much different this season than it did in 2007.

The left-field wall no longer bears an image of Bonds chasing Hank Aaron for the home run crown, nor elsewhere is the number of Bonds' home runs in relation to Aaron posted.

There are no "756" signs -- signifying the home run he hit to break Aaron's record -- anywhere in the park, in fact. A team spokeswoman said the Giants would put up a plaque to note where he had hit his last homer with the team....

Wow!

Also....

Bonds' perjury case delayed as government seeks new charges

Sounds as though it's just a technical issue, not something new that's come up.

The perjury case against Barry Bonds was put on hold for three months Friday, with prosecutors telling a federal judge they plan to obtain a new indictment against baseball's home run king.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston had told prosecutors on Feb. 29 to fix their original indictment because it lumped multiple allegations into too few counts. Illston said that prosecutors needed to drop some of the allegations from the indictment or add more charges.... Illston ordered the sides to return to court June 6, making it likely any trail would not start before 2009.

Which should clear Barry to sign with some AL team in desperate need of a DH.

[Moose Milligan]

Interesting...Just on PTI Kornheiser and LeBatard were talking about how the Giants squeezed every penny out of him and supported him while he was there. Now that he's gone, they have no use for him and want to shed anything they want to do with him.

I'm a bit surprised, but it's actually kind of sad. I dont like Bonds, but he's arguably the greatest SF Giant to lace them up...some will argue Willie Mays and I think I'd side with them, but Bonds has a good case...and this is how they thank him?

IMO, the Giants didn't have much of an image and they still don't. It always seemed to be Barry Bonds and the Giants.

I just think it's a bit sad...he provided those fans with a lot of thrills over the years and its safe to say they wouldn't have reached the World Series without him.

I don't want to say "if you support someone, you support them all the way through", but I think for someone of his magnitude with everything he did for that town and that team. If Bonds came back to SF with another team, you can bet there'd be a huge ovation for him there.

[Migrant Redbird]

I have mixed feelings about it, and don't really feel that I know enough of the facts to have an informed opinion. Most of the stuff which was removed related to the ongoing pursuit of the HR record last season and is now old business which ought to have been deleted. At the same time, the media is presenting it as an excision of the Bonds legacy from the Giants stadium, relegating all mention of him to a single, tiny, lonely plaque. Since I don't know how the Giants have honored other former players, I have no way to ascertain whether Bonds is getting treated less fairly than other Giants legends. Maybe this is nothing but a tempest in an ESPN teapot?

[blueberryale77]

Interesting...Just on PTI Kornheiser and LeBatard were talking about how the Giants squeezed every penny out of him and supported him while he was there. Now that he's gone, they have no use for him and want to shed anything they want to do with him.

I'm a bit surprised, but it's actually kind of sad. I dont like Bonds, but he's arguably the greatest SF Giant to lace them up...some will argue Willie Mays and I think I'd side with them, but Bonds has a good case...and this is how they thank him?

IMO, the Giants didn't have much of an image and they still don't. It always seemed to be Barry Bonds and the Giants.

I just think it's a bit sad...he provided those fans with a lot of thrills over the years and its safe to say they wouldn't have reached the World Series without him.

I don't want to say "if you support someone, you support them all the way through", but I think for someone of his magnitude with everything he did for that town and that team. If Bonds came back to SF with another team, you can bet there'd be a huge ovation for him there.

Sometimes, Moose, I still agree with you. It's not like the Giants didn't have to have a pretty darn good idea they were profiting from "enhanced" performance. I mean the BALCO investigation became public, what, 3 or 4 years before they decided he wasn't profitable for them any more?

Reporter: Would you sleep with a rampant steroid user for $100 million?

SF Giants: Sure.

Reporter: Would you sleep with him for $100?

SF Giants: No! What do you think we are?

Reporter: We've already established what you are, now we're just haggling over price!

[Migrant Redbird]

Sometimes, Moose, I still agree with you. It's not like the Giants didn't have to have a pretty darn good idea they were profiting from "enhanced" performance. I mean the BALCO investigation became public, what, 3 or 4 years before they decided he wasn't profitable for them any more?

Reporter: We've already established what you are, now we're just haggling over price!

Good one!

But they could always fall back upon the argument of "innocent until proven guilty". There's a gray area in between "alleged" and "convicted" into which cases like the Duke lacrosse players, Tony La Russa, and Scott Spiezio all fall. Some organizations over react; others don't react soon enough; others never react at all.

[Mad Mark]

The Giants are going to spend the next several years like the Orioles have spent the last several...as a footnote and a joke.

Perhaps we should send their fans a sympathy card.

[giantfan]

If they left bonds stuff out there maybe people would forget about how bad the current players are. That worked for the past 4 years.

[PoorMike]

This makes the franchise look bad to me. It's telling everyone that they were just involved with the whole Bonds hoopla as a gimmick. As soon as he's gone, they erase all traces of him.

You're telling everyone that the last few years were a joke. It's not like he didn't go to the World Series there.

The "new direction" should have started before last year when his contract ran out...not this year after a one year extension and a home run record.

[MikeAD]

It is just very sad that it came to this.

I wonder what will happen if the witchhunt catches up to other great players, are we going to erase the legacy of greats all over the league?

I guess the name that comes to mind is Clemens...but its not really analagous since he played for 4 teams (4 right) and Bonds is most notably a Giant/Pirate.

[Sports Guy]

This is a disgrace by the Giants...If they don't want anything to with him, then they should pay back all the money they made off of him.

It is a complete joke.

[olehippi]

This is a disgrace by the Giants...If they don't want anything to with him, then they should pay back all the money they made off of him.

It is a complete joke.

Although we seldom, if ever, have agreed on anything, we're definitely on the same page with this. The Giants squeezed every penny the could out of Bonds' notoriety....both the good and the bad.

[RShack]

This is a disgrace by the Giants...If they don't want anything to with him, then they should pay back all the money they made off of him.

It is a complete joke.

What's a disgrace? That they took down the big signs about Barry chasing Hank after he already caught him? How is that a disgrace? Do the O's still have the huge Cal-streak numbers on the Warehouse? How is this any different? It's the same exact thing: there was a big hoopla about chasing a record, and once there's a new record, then all the chase-hoopla is old news, so they take the signs down. It's 100% normal.

What about this is a disgrace? Absolutely nothing. Putting up a plaque about the famous dinger is exactly the right thing to do.

[Moose Milligan]

What's a disgrace? That they took down the big signs about Barry chasing Hank after he already caught him? How is that a disgrace? Do the O's still have the huge Cal-streak numbers on the Warehouse? How is this any different? It's the same exact thing: there was a big hoopla about chasing a record, and once there's a new record, then all the chase-hoopla is old news, so they take the signs down. It's 100% normal.

What about this is a disgrace? Absolutely nothing. Putting up a plaque about the famous dinger is exactly the right thing to do.

I think you're missing the point, friend-o.

Bonds image isn't anywhere to be found in the park. I'm willing to bet that you can find Cal stuff around OPACY.

[RShack]

I think you're missing the point, friend-o.

Bonds image isn't anywhere to be found in the park. I'm willing to bet that you can find Cal stuff around OPACY.

Oh, I missed that... I just saw the stuff about big obsolete signs plastered on the stadium.

I never get trinkets at the stadium, so I have no idea what kind of Cal stuff is there. Ripken-8 t-shirts?

The Giants won't have Bonds-25 t-shirts for sale? (Do we know this?)

[MikeAD]

Oh, I missed that... I just saw the stuff about big obsolete signs plastered on the stadium.

I never get trinkets at the stadium, so I have no idea what kind of Cal stuff is there. Ripken-8 t-shirts?

The Giants won't have Bonds-25 t-shirts for sale? (Do we know this?)

You know that giant "8" statue right next to Brooks' 5 and Eddie's 33 at the Yard? Or the plaques of Cal, or the pictures framed as you walk around the stadium?

(I know you will say that this is because Cal etc. have retired numbers and Bonds doesn't, but really Cals image is all over the stadium, not just becasue of a retired number but because of his importance in our Franchie's history)

Come on, they have completely done away with Bonds' name from the ballpark in an effort to move out of the "Bonds Era." As if he wasn't one of the 3 biggest and most important players they've ever had...