Barry Bonds, steroids in baseball, steroid scandal, new steroid-testing policy, BALCO, Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire testimony, Jose Canseco

04/03/05
VICTIM #1: So who was the first player to get nabbed by baseball's new steroid policy? A meathead slugger with redwood arms and a couple 50-homer seasons on the back of his baseball card? Try Alex Sanchez, the owner of four big-league homers in 365 career games. Baseball announced Sunday that Sanchez was suspended 10 days (not games) without pay for violating the league's drug policy, though they did not come out and actually say that Sanchez had tested positive for steroid use. Still, steroids are the only substances that carry the 10-day suspension so we can pretty much put two and two together. As for Sanchez? "I'm going to fight it, because I've never taken steroids or anything like that," he said after learning of his suspension. "I take stuff I buy over the counter. Multivitamins, protein shakes, muscle relaxants. That kind of stuff." Perhaps Sanchez got a hold of Barry Bonds' magical flaxseed oil. ~JayC

03/23/05
BOO-HOO BARRY: This guy just makes me sick. Following yet another knee surgery and the news that his former mistress ratted him out to a federal grand jury, Barry Bonds paraded his son Nikolai out in front of reporters the other day to say that he was "tired," both mentally and physically, and that he didn't know if he'd return before the end of the season. What, now you want us to feel sorry for you, Barry? Seriously? He blamed the media for making his kids cry and bringing his family down, adding, "You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally did."

Give me a friggin' break. Throughout this entire ordeal, Bonds has never once accepted any responsibility for his actions. The media is making your kids cry, Barry? You sure it's not the fact that they know their daddy cheated on the field and on his wife? The media is responsible for all the drama you've been dealing with this year? Really? I don't think Rick Reilly or anyone from the San Francisco Chronicle hooked you up with your "flaxseed oil," and last time I checked, Greg Anderson wasn't a card-carrying member of the media. Didn't Barry's mom ever tell him that there were consequences for his actions? How about a little accountability? After all, reporters and writers are just doing their jobs.

I hope Bonds makes good on his weak threat and actually walks away from the game, enlarged head hung low, once and for all. It's about the only dignified thing he could do at this point. It would be a disgrace to see this cheater's name ahead of Hank Aaron in the record books. ~JayC

03/21/05
MORE ON BONDS: Kimberly Bell, a former girlfriend of Barry Bonds, testified before a federal grand jury that the San Francisco outfielder told her in 2000 that he had started using steroids. Man, this will help Bonds repair his failing reputation. Not only is someone else squawking about his steroid use, but it's a woman he cheated on his wife with who's doing the squawking. What a stand-up guy. ~JayC

03/18/05
ARTIFICIALLY BIG MAC: If you're a baseball fan, you watched Mark McGwire chase Roger Maris and Sammy Sosa chase McGwire in 1998. It was a magical season, a season largely credited for the revival of baseball's popularity following the '94/'95 strike. Unfortunately, after McGwire's congressional "testimony" in front of the House Government Reform Committee Thursday, during which the former All Star and Rookie of the Year repeatedly refused to answer questions about his alleged steroid use by stating "I'm not here to talk about the past," we now have every reason to believe that McGwire's historical season was artificial. In written statements following the release of Jose Canseco's tell-all book, McGwire denied ever using steroids during his 16-year career, but when put in front of Congress under oath, McGwire basically pled the Fifth...even though he wouldn't even admit that he was doing that. It was a sad showing for baseball history's sixth-leading home run hitter, a man once considered a probable first-ballot Hall of Famer. Now, you've got to wonder if McGwire will ever find himself in Cooperstown. One thing's for certain: Once remembered as one of the game's premier power hitters, McGwire will now be remembered as one of the game's biggest cheaters.

As for the rest of the players who testified with McGwire, Canseco no doubt appreciated the additional pub for his book, Curt Schilling managed to get off a couple Democrat cracks, and Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro claimed they never used steroids. I'm sorry, but while I tend to believe Raffy, I have a hard time taking Sosa at his word. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but Sammy had the same guilty look on his face that he had when addressing the public following his corked bat incident from a couple years ago. I didn't believe his excuses then, and I don't believe him now. ~JayC

01/13/05
20/20 HINDSIGHT: Major League Baseball players and owners have modified the steroid-testing policy in the wake of the BALCO scandal, implementing more frequent tests, including offseason testing, and stiffer penalties for those who test positive, with first-time offenders getting slapped with a maximum 10-game suspension. This new system isn't perfect by any means, but it's much better than the sport's previously pathetic policy. Now that players will be tested year-round and randomly, it won't be nearly as easy to circumvent the system. With the admissions from Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, the players' union had no choice but to agree to an improved policy, but it'll take more than this to polish up baseball's tarnished reputation. ~JayC

12/08/04
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: So now the players' union is willing to talk to the owners about tougher steroid testing. Wow, how noble, how honorable, how responsible. How pathetic. The players had a chance to right this wrong a few years ago when they negotiated the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, but they refused to sign off on a legitimate testing plan, instead forcing the owners to agree to a diluted system that merely suggested to the fans that the potential steroid problem was being addressed. And sure, it worked to a certain degree -- look at all the weight Jason Giambi lost last winter -- but most argue that the program needs major improvement. Apparently, the players finally agree, but only after two of their biggest stars have been exposed as liars and cheaters. That's like strapping on your seatbelt after driving your car into a telephone pole. ~JayC

12/07/04
REAL HR KING SPEAKS UP: Finally, one of baseball's big names is saying the right things about Barry Bonds and this steroid scandal. Hank Aaron, the man Bonds is chasing on the all-time home run list, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that steroids wouldn't help Bonds hit the ball, but they could help the 40-year-old outfielder recuperate faster at his advanced age. He then added, "Any way you look at it, it's wrong." Amen. Baseball may not be able to punish Bonds, Jason Giambi or Gary Sheffield, despite their admissions, because the league didn't actually ban steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs until September 2002, but that doesn't save them from public criticism. Hopefully, more of the game's legends and high-profile figures will speak out against Bonds, Giambi and anyone else exposed in the coming months.

By the way, if you get a chance, check out the photo gallery ESPN put together of Bonds throughout his career. From a skinny, 185-pound rookie in 1988 to the hulking home run machine he is today, this amazing gallery illustrates just how much Bonds' body structure has changed throughout the years. Pay close attention to the size of his head, though. Last time I checked, bench presses and flaxseed oil didn't make your forehead bigger. ~JayC

12/03/04
STEROIDS = MVP: The idiots who have been claiming that steroids don�t help players hit a baseball have had a tough week. We now know that at least four MVPs, Jose Canseco, Ken Caminiti, Jason Giambi and now Barry Bonds, used steroids during MVP seasons. Let�s end all this ridiculous talk about Bonds being the best player in history. He certainly was a great player even before he took steroids, but we now know that his amazing physique (and monstrous head) was the result of using steroids. That helped him juice his HR numbers and overall game. Any mention of Bonds as the greatest player ever is an insult to Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and many other truly great players. Bonds is a liar and a cheater, and that�s how he should be remembered. ~G

12/02/04
JUICED GIAMBI: Jason Giambi admitted to a federal grand jury last December that he used steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in 2003, which he obtained from Greg Anderson, better known as Barry Bonds' personal trainer. Well...DUH! Look, these guys can deny, deny, deny all they want, but the fact of the matter is that many of baseball's biggest stars (pun intended) have been using this stuff for years. They know it, we know it, and they know we know it. So the question is, who's next? The smart money, of course, is on "BALCO" Bonds, but before this thing's over several high-profile players will likely be exposed. This is only the beginning. ~JayC