Two former MLB sluggers, forever linked by huge muscles and the era in which they played, have put their respective homes up for sale. Barry Bonds is selling his Beverly Hills home, probably because it costs a lot of money to fight the United States government. Jeff Bagwell has put his Houston home up for sale because, presumably, all the guys that hit home runs in the “steroid era” do all the same stuff.
Let’s take a look at what these two luxurious homes have to offer.
The “Hall of Fame” is what we’re calling that section of old Yankee Stadium, probably a $7 cab ride from home plate. Additionally, this ball surely would’ve landed in Cooperstown had it not plunked into the lap of Yankees fans in the upper, upper, upper, upper mezzanine of the House that Babe Ruth Built and Barry Bonds Summarily Destroyed.
Bonds is elected along with the sound Yankee Stadium made after this blast, an unusual blend of scorn and satisfaction that everyone in attendance got to see exactly what they hoped would happen when they walked through the turnstiles that sunny afternoon.
Elbow pad adjustment to our friend Wendy.
It is somewhat fitting that Mr. Marvin Miller died yesterday. The baseball pioneer who transformed the labour landscape for all Major League players and, by helping funnel more of the profits towards players, helped infuse the game with top talent from around the world. Yet, as we all well know by now, Marvin Miller is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame – a sad fact that casts a pall on the entire idea of the Hall as a great museum of the game.
Later today, the official Hall of Fame ballot is announced and there will be blood. The vote this year figures to be one of the most contentious in years, possibly ever. Barry Bonds, Rogers Clemens and Sammy Sosa headline the players now eligible for Hall of Fame voting, three of the most divisive superstars of the last generation.
Another edition of the Getting Blanked show on a Friday, another topic we beat into a bloody pulp. This week we talk about legacies and lasting memories: what kind of damage can a player do to your impression of them with off-field or post-career shenanigans?
…or download the mp3 directly right here.
This week, Phil Mickelson has a baseball team, Dusty Baker has cliches, and Barry Bonds has hubris.
“Yeah, of course. Of course we can do better than that,” Valentine said. “I don’t think that’s so optimistic. I think if we stay healthy, and right now we have some concerns in the bullpen, if we can stabilize, there is big runs ahead.”
So, Bobby Valentine thinks the Red Sox are still a playoff team. I mean, maybe, I doubt it. What really worries me is his rationale sounds exactly the same as the way I talk about the Blue Jays’ season. This does not bode well for either of our teams’ futures.
