Barry Bonds can't find a job. This is a bad thing?

John Brattain of The Hardball Times has an article on the site this week stating that he believes Barry Bonds is the victim (my word, not his) of collusion by the MLB establishment.  Brattain paints a portrait of Bonds that almost makes you feel as though MLB has always had it in for him, and that the (cowardly) media has portrayed him unfairly.  He then expands on this idea by suggesting that some team, somewhere, simply has to have room for a guy who could hit 25 homers and bat .280, if only to then flip him to a contender in return for prospects.  He suggests this is a “market inefficiency” that he is surprised no GM has discovered.  With all due respect to Brittain, I say hogwash!  First of all, Bonds was barely able to play two games back to back during most of last season because of the various body parts that are breaking down on his steroid addled frame.  Right off the bat, that basically excludes any National League team from taking him on.  Bonds really cannot play the field and is only useable as a DH on an American League club.  Next, there are a limited number of teams that have the money to pay out the $10 million dollars it would take to sign him.  That assumes he is seeking that amount of money, although I cannot see him seeking less, given his salary history.  The next and most difficult issue would be the matter of staying healthy.  Brittain’s argument rests on Bonds playing well and staying healthy through the first half of the season and having trade value at the deadline.  Suffice to say, the level of risk involved there is considerably higher due to his drug use history, not to mention all of the ailments he has had over the last five years.  Finally, there would have to be a second insane GM to take him in a trade, forking over prospects for the right to bring Bonds and his Barcolounger into a contender’s clubhouse.  Everything about Brittain’s argument ignores the right of teams to insist on some genuine character in their players.  You can argue all you want that Bonds can still play the game, and that he would have some value as a trade commodity after producing for some team.  But why on Earth would any GM pay to have the clubhouse cancer that is Bonds play for his team?  How do you measure the cost of a fractured group of players, or poisoned team chemistry?  I seriously doubt that there is any group of players on any team that would be happy with bringing Bonds aboard and putting up with his massive ego in their clubhouse.  The bottom line is, Bonds has more than worn out his welcome in the world of baseball.  You can cry wolf all you want about the notion of collusion, but the fact is, Bonds isn’t worth all the baggage he brings with him and I applaud the GMs around baseball for keeping Bonds and his ego out of the game.  Had the Giants done so, instead of cashing in on his trashing of Aaron’s record, the game of baseball would have been better for it.  There is no collusion.  If nobody wants him, it is only because of what he has brought upon himself through his actions and words.  He should have retired years ago.  Don’t encourage the man to keep hanging around.

Mark Reynolds is mashing for the Diamondbacks in the early going.  He hit his fifth homerun Tuesday night, and his third in the last two games.  He’s batting .344 with 12 RBI just 8 games into the season.  Methinks Chad Tracy is going to get Wally Pipped by Mr. Reynolds.  Tracy should get his first base glove broken in because there is no way Bob Melvin is going to take Reynolds’ bat out of the lineup while he’s hitting like this.

I’m lovin’ what Zack Greinke is serving up for the Royals.  He blanked the Yankees last night for 8 innings, during which he held them to 6 hits.  He walked 2, struck out 2, and lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.60.  If you’re wondering whether it is real or not, take a look at last season in the second half.  Greinke returned to the rotation then after a stint in the bullpen, and posted an ERA of 2.42 while holding opponents to a .239 batting average.  He also struck out 47 batters in 52 innings of work over his seven starts.  He is a legitimate mixed league option at this point.

It’s been a painfully slow process, but Jason Bay appears to be coming out of his yearlong funk.  He hit a homerun in the ninth inning off Kerry Wood to send the game into extra innings, and is batting .316 over his last five games.  More importantly, he looks more comfortable at the plate and is swinging the bat like the Jason Bay we all know and love. 

I was looking at Todd Wellemeyer’s stat line from his last start – 7 IP, 2R, 5H, 1 BB, 7K.  He’s got 13 strikeouts in his first 12 innings of work, and looks like Dave Duncan’s next stud in the making.  I am not a believer just yet though.  I’d like to see him do it a third time, perhaps against a better team than the Astros.  Then, maybe…just maybe, I’ll believe.

Word out of Chicago is that White Sox closer, Bobby Jenks, is topping out at 93MPH on the radar gun, with no evidence of his usual 98 MPH cheese.  He’s only got one strikeout in his four innings of work so far, along with 3 walks and 4 saves.  The lack of Ks and the loss of velocity have me a little concerned about Jenks long-term.  Watch him closely.  It’s usually a bad sign when a pitcher loses 5MPH of velocity at the tender age of 27.

Scott Baker pitched just well enough to win last night for the Twins, striking out 7 Pale Hose batters in just 5 innings.  He also gave up 3 home runs in the game, and needed an inefficient 89 pitches that has to have the Twins wondering if he is really 100% ready.  If you’ve got him, keep him benched until he does a little better.

Bill Hall hit homerun number 4 of the season last night.  Lots of folks think ’06 was a fluke.  I think he hated playing outfield last season, and that’s what led to his off year.  He’s going to come back strong this year.  There is no reason he can’t hit 25 homeruns.

Nick Swisher is hitting .269 with 2 homeruns as the leadoff hitter for the White Sox, but it’s his .457 OBP and 7 runs scored that makes him so valuable as a fantasy commodity.

Joe Crede has the White Sox feeling a little better about sending Josh Fields back to the minors.  He’s got 3 homeruns, 11 RBI, and is hitting .406 so far. 

That’s it for me today folks.

Shake it easy!