Will the Red Sox sign Barry Bonds?
Posted on June 5, 2008
Filed Under 2008 Season, Baseball Miscellaneous | 3 Comments
There have been a lot of rumors floating around since David Ortiz got hurt that the Red Sox might be interested in Barry Bonds. The rumors have been proven false by the front office and despite leading the entire NL in OPS and OBP last year, that doesn’t shock me one bit. Here’s why..
1. Barry Bonds is the kind of guy that is referred to as a ‘clubhouse cancer.’ Theo Epstein and company are one of the few groups that believe it’s necessary to mesh performance with chemistry. There are some teams that try for one but not the other (ie: Tigers and Yankees?) The Red Sox have consistently gotten rid of guys that don’t fit the profile like Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton so I don’t think they would bring Barry Bonds into the mix.
2. There is no reason to look for an outside temporary replacement while we have such a stocked farm system. Brandon Moss has been hammering the ball lately, Chris Carter is hitting .310 with 10 HR, and Jeff Bailey is hitting .310 with 17 HR and an OBP of over .400. All three of these guys have had excellent seasons while down in Pawtucket. In fact, Chris Carter was just called up to Boston on Tuesday and Jeff Bailey was sent back down after spending some limited time with the Red Sox.
3. The Fenway ownership group has really been pushing the idea of Red Sox games being great atmospheres for family outings. Half of the new seats they added over the winter were for families. Boston hasn’t had a morality scandal over a Sox player in quite a while (I’m looking at you Big Mo!) so I’m not sure they would be thrilled with inviting someone with a big steroid background that is going to be on trial for perjury soon.
4. That brings me to the perjury trial itself. How much time would it cause Barry to miss? Would it be worth paying him only to have him leave the team and have to go to court? There is a slim chance that could happen but a chance is a chance.
5. Barry has consistently bashed Boston by saying it is a racist town. He tried to make up for it a little bit his last time up here by saying that he had a nice time but that was after he started his post-roid PR spinning. Even if the Sox DID make him an offer, I’m not sure he’d accept it; and if he did, the fans would probably be relentless.
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3 Responses to “Will the Red Sox sign Barry Bonds?”
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In my first draft of this, I wrote “perjury” as “purgatory.”
What a Freudian slip.
Great analysis! Bonds = a cancer!
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