Toronto Has A Big Void With Barry Bonds' Name On It
Published April 21, 2008
(Announcer: Previously, on BC Sports ... The savvy sports editor explains why nobody in their right mind would sign Barry Bonds.)
Going team by team, at the time, made sense assuming only that all those teams still had their existing DHs. I mean, the Red Sox could use Barry Bonds if David Ortiz decided to retire and open up a Pottery Barn. And now Toronto has a big honkin' spot for a man with a bat now that they released Frank Thomas into the wild. Indeed, the Big Hurt was playing baseball poorly, and was recently benched much to the dismay of the two-time MVP, but the move is perceived as a cost-cutting once, since if he reached about 400 at-bats this year, a $10 million option would have kicked in for next year.
So now they have a cool eight figures in their back pocket. What to do with it, what to ... hey! Why not? Unless, of course, as a Blue Jays fan you have enough confidence in the 40-year-old Matt Stairs to aptly become the full-time designated hitter. His numbers are fine enough so far this year, but, might I remind you: Matt Stairs.
Right now the Jays are sandwiched between the surprising Orioles and the sputtering Yankees in that acclaimed American League East. Toronto has the star power to hang with the Red Sox and Yankees, but they've been hanging with them for several years now. They might need something that can overtake one of those teams to reach at least the Wild Card.
Signing Bonds would definitely bring the sense of urgency that Toronto desperately needs. It would also remind people outside of Ottawa that Canada still has a baseball team. In fact, there are many good reasons now that Frank Thomas is no longer punching in as the DH. The cons, of course, all involve negative publicity.
The hunch is that Bonds has such a stigma, Toronto probably won't risk it. But I'd respect them if they took a gamble on improving that lineup in that dangerous division.
Matt Sussman is the former sports editor of BC Magazine and also writes for Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, The Futon Report, and the Toledo Free Press. Catch him with Tuffy on Treehouse Fort, the official show of BC Sports. Feed the feedback back to matt.sussman@blogcritics.org.
- Toronto Has A Big Void With Barry Bonds' Name On It
- Published: April 21, 2008
- Type: News
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Baseball
- Writer: Matthew T. Sussman
- Matthew T. Sussman's BC Writer page
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Comments on this articleComments
Perhaps they don't want to risk the possibility of the SF Chronicle gathering something on Bonds, or the perjury case flaring up and having Blue Jays' logo emblazoned on his hat when it happens.
If you remember, when Jason Grimsley was finally caught by the feds with amphetamines, he was wearing a D'backs uniform. He wasn't with them for very long, or even an integral part, but the team tailspinned after that news. Same deal with Rick Ankiel last year and the HGH story, ditto with Paul Byrd and Game 7 of last year's ALCS.
There's some substance to the argument, but it sounds like the Jays are doing more research on "will something on the federal level fall on Bonds this year" more than "can he still hit the baseball this year."
"will something on the federal level fall on Bonds this year"
The probability of anything unexpected happening -a re-indictment is expected - has got to be way out there. The Collusion word is much more likely than the alternative scenarios. The Jays on the Canadian news, particularly former teammate Accardo, would welcome him. The only negative would be the possibility of throwing good money after bad, considering they just paid Frank Thomas $18 mill for a little more than a season.
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According to the Canadian press:
"The Blue Jays are not considering Barry Bonds as a potential LF/DH following the release of Frank Thomas on Sunday. While a team source described Bonds as "enticing," he added that baseball's all-time home run leader "in the end would probably harm more than he helps.""
and, Bonds' agents states that he has had numerous conversations with the Jays and they have no interest.
I'm trying to figure out how it harms more than helps. Is winning more games, increased attendance, and press coverage a bad thing?
By the way, it seems all AL DH's have fallen off the cliff at the same time.