Where's the justice anymore?

Isn’t California a “three strikes” state? Who the hell does Barry Bonds think he is?

First, his trainer is implicated in the steroid/BALCO mess, and Barry plays dumb. He thought is was flax seed oil. Oh. Our bad, Bar.

Then he tells us he got products from Gary Sheffield, and had no idea they might be steroids. Our bad, Bar.

Now, word comes out he failed a drug test during the 2006 season. Barry’s using amphetamines. Now, I’ve read Ball Four, and I understand “greenies” are a part of the culture. But, they’re now an illegal part of the culture, and Barry’s allegedly been caught using them. First official offense under the new MLB rules, so he gets a free pass. I can live with that.

And when word came down that Barry’d been nailed, magically the drugs came from a teammate’s locker. Has Bonds ever been responsible for anything he's ever done? Would this guy even take credit for drawing a breath?

Honestly. This is the soon-to-be home run king?

Roger Maris was ducking chairs in the outfield, and his family was threatened in 1961 when he broke Babe Ruth’s single-season record (and died before his own record was ever properly recognized), while Hank Aaron had the pleasure of being a black man in 1974 trying to break the most coveted record in American sport.

I, for one, do not look forward to telling my kids about watching the home run king Barry Bonds play ball. While Bar could play, he is in no way a hero the way his predecessors are.

Meanwhile, another chapter was written in the book of baseball double-standards this week when Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. were elected to the Hall of Fame.

Gwynn and Ripken are two fine ball players, and two fine human beings. Gwynn is soft-spoken and jovial, and a member of the 3,000 hits club, while Ripken is baseball’s iron man. The 19-time all star played in 2,632 consecutive games, a record that probably only other players can truly appreciate. They were two of baseball’s finest, on and off the field, and they will take their rightful places among Cooperstown’s legends.

Not joining them is Mark McGwire.

Not to take anything away from Gwynn’s 3,000 hits, or Ripken’s games-played streak, neither streak captivated fans the way McGwire’s pursuit of Maris’ record did in 1998. It’s not often fans or writers credit Gwynn or Ripken with saving baseball, the way they often have with McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s home run chase in ’98.

After the strike in 1994, so many fans turned their backs on baseball, the way baseball had turned its back on the fans. Attendance, TV ratings and revenues were all plummeting before McGwire and Sosa turned home plates all over America into launching pads. As they hit more and more home runs, more and more fans returned, and after three seasons in exile, baseball returned to the forefront of fans’ consciousness’.

Steroids, or no steroids. Blind eyes turned, or not. Cheating, or taking advantage of non-existent rules. No matter the circumstances, McGwire and Sosa are the reason this week’s Hall of Fame announcement ever made front pages. They’re principally responsible for current baseball revenues to allow for $126 million contracts.

The fact Hall of Fame voters turned their backs on McGwire this week is a slap in the face, considering he’s the biggest reason anyone cares what these old bats think.