Brian Wilson Being Awesome Like Usual

http://tvider.com/view/48701

Brian Wilson went on Jim Rome's radio show today, and obviously killed it. He is an awesome interview and Jim Rome just lets him have the stage, it's a great interview by both parties. Big Cat and I quoted Wilson all weekend and we might invest in Fear the Beard t-shirts. He denies that Pat Burrell is 'The Machine' and says that we are all machines. I just want/need him on the Milwaukee Brewers.

-Charlie.

Closing Time: The Machine Hanging With Smokes

You are all probably wondering what the hell this is, but it's The Machine also known as Pat Burrell. Who made an appearance on all the regular websites today.  The first sighting of The Machine was during this taping with Chris Rose. Brian Wilson is one of my favorite players who isn't a Brewer. I might get his jersey or at least a fear the beard t-shirt.  "He just comes over sugar once in awhile."

Barry Media Bias: Former Teammate Version

So now that Barry has tied the home run record, there are two things that you can expect; 1.) Barry is going to get walked like crazy. Seriously, nobody wants to be "that guy" that gives up 756. Barry walked three straight times after hitting 755, a streak that could continue for quite some time. 2.) The media is going to ramp up the lynch Barry campaign. While the first of those two points will have to wait until Monday, the media throwdown has already begun.

This time the media bias is coming out in this story over at ESPN about former Bonds teammate Brian Johnson.

I didn't know who the heck he was either.

In the article Johnson imparts the following bits of wisdom;

"You can make a fair argument that he may have been cheating," Johnson said. "Based on what has been documented, it's hard to dispute that argument."

"It was kind of a cloak-and-dagger society. Guys that were taking knew of each other and talked about things among themselves," Johnson said. "What I saw was that guys who were taking would never admit it, would never allow anybody to see. But it was pretty obvious to all of us that they were taking. ... Some people sold their soul to the devil and other people didn't."

Oh man, this is big news here! A former teammate seeing Barry huddling up with other steroid users? Saying it is hard to dispute that Barry cheated? This is such a smoking....pile of crap. What the story chooses to brush over is the fact that Johnson was only Bonds' teammate in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. For those not familiar with the Bonds' alleged steroid use timeline, that would be before Barry is alleged to have begun using steroids. Nobody has alleged that Bonds was juicing in '97 or '98...so why is Johnson such a Bonds expert, one worthy of being interviewed on TV and having his comments plastered on the front page of ESPN.com? The answer is that Johnson is not an expert on the situation, and that his interview is being spun against Barry just like the memorabilia story from yesterday.

It also really doesn't bolster ESPN's neutrality when this is on their front page as well:


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Barry Media Bias: Auction Version

Today another Barry Bonds story has hit the wires and as usual the media is trying its hardest to spin the story against Bonds. The story is as thus; Some auction company called Mastro Auctions had a baseball memorabilia auction yesterday. Some of the items that were sold included an autographed Hank Aaron jersey, Aaron's signed rookie contract, an autographed Aaron rookie card, an unautographed Aaron rookie card, and Bond's 70th home run ball from the 2001 season. During the auction the Aaron items each sold for more than the Bonds ball. So as can be expected from the Barry hating media, here is a sample of some of the headlines of the story:

Sportsline: Aaron items outsell Bonds' No. 70 HR ball
ESPN: Aaron memorabilia fetches more than Bonds items

And then here is an excerpt from the AP story:

"The ball was one of only a handful of items that didn't meet its estimated selling price, while all the Aaron memorabilia met or exceeded expectations, Allen said."

Now for some perspective that is sorely missing from both the headlines of this story and the story itself.


Point 1. We are talking about home run ball #70, not the record #73. Why should #70 really be expected to break the bank in an auction? Because it is a round number? I concede that the ball didn't meet the expected price, but who the heck appraised it? Expected auction prices are not an exact science by any means.

Point 2. The comparison of a Bonds item to Aaron items is inherently unfair. The price of sports memorabilia is highly dependent upon time and historical context. So is it really that suprising that fifty year old pieces of rare Aaron memorabilia outsold a not terribly historically signifigant Bonds home run ball that is less than a decade old? Of course not.

Point 3. It is not like these were the only items for sale at the auction. The press merely chose to ignore the other items, focus on the Bonds-Aaron angle, and make a binary Good/Bad comparison. What a joke. Anyone who believes the press isn't biased against Bonds after reading a story like this needs a lobotomy.

Also, the assertation by the auction house spokesman that the steroid scandal will forever hamper Bonds memorabilia...please. The 10th best selling piece of baseball memorabilia of all time is Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy" bat. I guess the whole gambling scandal really had a lasting effect there.

Bonds' Ex To Appear In Playboy

Just when you thought that the Barry Bonds situation couldn't get any stranger, the New York Times is reporting that Bonds' ex-girlfriend Kimberly Bell is scheduled to appear in the November issue of Playboy. And just like you might have guessed, it won't just be pictures;

Bell’s agent, David Hans Schmidt, said that in addition to the photographs would be an article detailing her “personal and sexual relationship” with Bonds.

So what kind of details might we expect from such an interview? Well, take a peek at this article from the San Francisco Chronicle after Bell testified against Bonds in the BALCO case;

"Kimberly Bell, 35, a graphic artist from San Jose who says she dated Bonds from 1994 to 2003, told the grand jury Thursday that in 2000, the left fielder confided to her that he had begun using steroids, according to two sources familiar with an account of her testimony."

To make things even more interesting, the November issue of Playboy hits newsstands October 1st, right smack in the middle of baseball's playoff drama. So if you are sick of Bonds now, get ready for a whole new round of accusations and controversy just in time to ruin your enjoyment of the playoffs.

Barry Bonds Doesn't Play Well With Others

In Barry Bonds continues his pursuit of the career home run record, it appears that he has another record in mind as well: lowest career public relations batting average. Bonds is already one of the most loathed figures in sports, yet somehow he keeps finding ways to lower the public perception of himself. Case in point: A recent report saying that the Hall of Fame is afraid Bonds is not going to give them anything to commemorate home run 756. Now why do they think that? Well...

"'I'm not worried about the Hall,' the San Francisco slugger said during a recent homer drought. 'I take care of me.'"

What is even more interesting though, is what Barry has been doing with his memorabilia instead of donating it to the Hall. I think people could actually be sympathetic to Bonds on this issue, if he was keeping his bats and other keepsakes as family heirlooms, proudly displayed in the Bonds family abode, resting in a place of prominence for his friends to see, glorified and...

"Bonds is careful with personal items related to his home run pursuit. He makes certain that hats, jerseys and other things he wears are authenticated, and he keeps them in a warehouse.

He marks them, he said, 'so people don't steal my stuff.' By his count, he's already able to take care of his next three-plus generations."

So Barry the Businessman is stockpiling basbeball history in some rank warehouse, waiting to unleash it on auction houses the next time money gets tight around the Bonds family house. So why is Barry doing this? Is he this greedy? Nope, I don't believe that for a second, Bonds has more than enough money already to last his family three generations or whatnot.

In my opinion there is one reason and one reason alone that Barry is stockpiling the Fort Knox of Bonds schwag: He doesn't think he is going to get into the Hall of Fame, and he isn't happy about it. To be honest, why on earth should he give them his stuff? Five years after he retires he is going to be rejected by their uppity press cabal, told that no matter what he does or no matter what has actually been proven, he is not worthy to be honored with a plaque in their honored Hall. Do you think Mark McGwire would have given items to the Hall if he knew he was going to be turned down by them? Of course not. That is like giving your boss a Christmas present when he has already told you that you are being fired on New Years.

Say what you will about Bonds, but there is no denying that he is a smart person. And in his mind, his warehouse full of items could even be operating as some sort of dowry for his admittance into the Hall, only delivered upon his enshrinement. And if Bonds is rejected? Well, better get your eBay fingers ready guys, because it'll be time for a firesale.