Barry Bonds Was Cheated by MLB

I don't have a crystal ball. I don't use tarot cards. I don't have psychic abilities of any kind. But dammit, I'm tired of being right.

I strongly urge everyone to access my profile and dig up my older articles on Barry Bonds. If you care to read, you'll notice that I'm absolutely 100 percent correct on everything that is Barry Bonds and was Barry Bonds.

The fact of the matter is I don't have a college degree. Actually, I never went to college. That's right folks; all I have is a high school diploma! So I don't know how to treat an illness, build a bridge, or discover new species. All I know how to do is think.

Thinking is what led me to my conclusion on the Barry Bonds saga. Like in the title, it's beyond obvious at this point that Major League Baseball and the owners cheated the home-run king out of playing in the 2008 season.

Michael Weiner, a general counsel for the players' union, told the AP today that there is evidence the owners acted in concert to keep Bonds out of baseball. Weiner said the collusion against Barry was a violation of Article XX (E) of the "Basic Agreement" which states "Players shall not act in concert with other players and clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs."

Ironically, fan attendance went down 1.1 percent from 2007, which I suppose had nothing to do with the absence of the most highly-watched baseball player ever, right? Aside from that, I'd like to debunk every moronic statement I've come across via my article comments on Bleacher Report, the comment sections on mlbtraderumors.com, and the numerous forums I've encountered on the Worldwide Web.

"There is no collusion against Barry Bonds. It's just common sense that no one will hire him."

In America, businesses have the right to hire and fire whomever they want and when they want. But what businesses can't do is discriminate. Yes, there are federal laws against job discrimination. However, we're not talking about MLB owners passing on Barry's services due to individual choice, but rather a unified decision that led to the demise of the greatest player of all-time.

Now, in all fairness, there were some teams who were justified in their decision to leave Bonds alone. The Dodgers, for example, had way too many outfielders and, given the fact they're a National League team without the luxury of having the DH, bringing in Bonds would cause a roster mess.

No, instead they got Manny Ramirez. Funny how things worked out. Another example would be the Nationals, because they're the worst team in baseball and signing Bonds wouldn't have made a difference. In my very first article on Bleacher Report, I wrote, "...any team that falls short in the playoffs or getting there would not have if they had signed Barry Bonds."

Don't tell me the Mets couldn't have used Barry's bat and on-base percentage when they were gagging. How about the other New York team? Lots of home runs over there, right? The Yankees reportedly had a team discussion about Bonds, which led to nothing. Hank Steinbrenner allegedly supported the idea of bringing in Bonds. Maybe he should've taken over as GM for next season instead of Brian Cashman.

How about them red birds? Tony La Russa begged the organization to hire Bonds to bat behind Albert Pujols. Turned out Ryan Ludwick had a great season, but adding Bonds to the mix couldn't have hurt.

Here's one, the Astros. When Carlos Lee got hurt, what did Astros management do? Nothing. Believe it or not, manager Cecil Cooper threatened to quit if the team signed Barry. That's a guy I would never hire to be my manager. The 'Stros were in the wild card race until the very end but came up 3.5 games short behind Milwaukee.

The Rays? Okay, they're probably going to the World Series, and they did it without Bonds. But how many times did we hear about the low attendance at Tropicana Field? The Rays played the Yankees and Red Sox multiple times and the fans didn't show. Not to mention when the Rays were fighting for the A.L. East in September and fans still didn't show. Having a superstar like Barry Bonds would have changed that even when the Royals came into town.

What about the under-achieving Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of Arte Moreno of the area represented by mayor Curt Pringle and congresswoman Loretta Sanchez? Arte Moreno actually said on Costas Now that he "won't sign Barry Bonds." That's too bad, because they could've used the extra offense. The "best" team in baseball is now recognized as the team who couldn't get it done against the old, broken down Red Sox.

"Barry would cost too much, plus he has baggage."

If you thought Barry would "cost too much," you were sorely mistaken. Midway through the season, Bonds offered to play for a prorated share of the $390,000 league minimum and donate his salary to buy tickets for underprivileged children. That's a far cry from the $19.3 million he made in 2007 with the Giants. The funny thing is, Barry was a free agent, so he wouldn't have cost any players.

Bonds hit .276/.480(major league leading)/.565 with 28 homers, 66 RBI, 75 runs, and 132 walks (also major league leading) in only 340 at-bats last year. He was also the starting left-fielder for the N.L. All-Star team. Those numbers and accomplishments are a strong indication that the man can still play.

As far as the "baggage" goes, that's just a lame excuse to not hire him. What "baggage" are we talking about? Steroids? The attitude? The recliner? None of those things should've been relevant to his ability to perform.

First of all, the steroid allegations began in 2001 when he broke Mark McGwire's record. Why should this year be any different? Barry played six full seasons with the steroid cloud over his head in which he won four MVPs and two batting titles, led his team to the World Series, and hit 268 home runs. Peter Magowan didn't seem to mind all the money he was making off him.

Second of all, Barry's personality has been blown way out of proportion. Other than the Jeff Kent incident, when was the last time you heard about Barry causing a fight in the clubhouse or pulling antics on the field? You never heard anything because it never happened. Barry has a strong personality and at times he can be arrogant, but find me a professional athlete who doesn't have an overblown ego.

So what if he refuses to talk to the media? The media asks him stupid questions in which they receive angry responses and that's what the public sees on ESPN. Barry's no angel, but the press have made him public enemy No. 1. And, of course, the American people believe it. In regards to the famous recliner, I don't know about you, but I love my recliner!

"Barry's too old."

Whatever.

"It's too late to sign Bonds anyway."

New York Mets. Houston Astros.

"Bonds is facing a federal trial."

Now we have something to talk about. It was declared by Judge Susan Ilston on June 6 that Barry Bonds v. U.S. Government wouldn't begin until Mar. 2, 2009. I suppose an owner could make the argument that signing Barry before a set trial date would be a risk.

I suppose there could also be a clause in the contract stating the deal would become void should Barry face the trial during the season. Wow, what a concept! Even if a team signed Bonds on June 6, that would've been roughly four-and-a-half months, plus the postseason of the home-run emperor. There was absolutely no excuse to dismiss Bonds once it became known the trial wouldn't conflict with the remainder of the season.

There you have it. Major League Baseball and the owners colluded against Barry Bonds. To think that such an act of injustice can occur in this country is appalling and disgusting. I'm still convinced Commissioner Bud Selig was behind it. What's to stop Selig from making an agreement with the owners? The owners love Selig. That's why they unanimously re-elected him to be commissioner through 2012.

Selig makes the owners money and that's all they care about. I remember listening to Steve Phillips on ESPN when he said that he spoke with a lot of GMs, in which most of them wanted to pursue Bonds, but their respective owners shot it down.

Bud Selig and Major League Baseball wanted to wash away the poster-child of the "steroid era." They got what they wanted. Bonds was erased from the game. It's amazing what lengths the two of them went in order to illegally and immorally keep Barry from doing his job.

In conclusion, I'm going to have to make a few predictions.

If Barry wins his trial either before or during the regular season, he will try to get back into baseball. According to his agent, Jeff Borris, Barry would still play if given the opportunity.

The result will be the same as it was this year. Barry will have a hard time finding work, and if that happens, the grievance with the union will be filed. It states in Article XX (E) of the "Basic Agreement" that if two or more teams are found to have colluded against a player(s), "any injured Player (or Players) shall be entitled to recover in monetary damages three times the lost baseball income, he (or they) would have had but for the violation."

In the 1980s, major-league owners lost three collusion grievances filed by the union that cost them $280 million. In Bonds' case, according to the agreement, he would stand to make $57.9 million based on his 2007 salary or $1.2 million based on the league minimum. Maybe he'll get both and make $59.1 million. Either way, Barry would essentially be suing Major League Baseball.

So, to everyone out there who hates Barry Bonds, just remember that prejudice is a dangerous habit. People have already formed their opinions on Bonds based on media spin. Bonds has been labeled a cheater and a criminal in this country because people can't think for themselves.

This country was founded on the basic principles of freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Remember that little thing called the Constitution? I guess our founding fathers left out the part where any baseball player who allegedly takes steroids should be banished from their work.

The people who believe a guy like Bonds should go to prison are the same people who think there's nothing more to life than a complicated custom-order from Starbucks, the mall, and American Idol.

And the scary thing is they all vote.

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