Come To Think Of It...No Collusion for Unemployed Bonds

Look, people, it's not collusion.  It's common sense.

The Major League Baseball Players Association is examining whether the lack of offers for one Barry Lamar Bonds stinks of collusion. And I say that while many things in baseball may stink right now, not signing Bonds certainly isn't one of them.

In fact, it may just be the things that stink; i.e., steroids, that have kept some clubs at an arm's distance from signing Bonds.

And that, my friends, makes perfect sense to me.

First of all, we're not talking about the juiced up, bloated, 70 homer hitting machine of a few years ago. In fact, Bonds now is probably good for no better than about 20-25 home runs and perhaps a .270 batting average. However, if it was anyone else, there would be a market for those numbers. Especially when you add in an OBP better than .400. Hence, the potential for cries of impropriety from Donald Fehr and Co.

But you see, it's not just anyone else. For when you sign Bonds, you sign the baggage that comes with him. The surliness, the nastiness, the questions, the cameras, the negative publicity. The fan base that calls you a hyprocrite for signing the poster child  of the steroid generation. 

And he really can't play the field any longer, so that eliminates the NL from considering him. Subtract the teams that already have a DH, and that further limits the number of clubs that could even consider adding the 43 year old Bonds to their roster.

And who knows what he's asking for in terms of salary? Given his recent staggering paychecks, one might expect that even if he has toned down his expectations, Bonds is likely to be looking for better than $5 million dollars this year. So take an already limited market and reduce it even further.

Recognizing all that, why bother even looking into collusion?

I mean, it seems so obvious that no one really wants Bonds.  And the couple of teams that may be slightly interested either don't have openings for a DH, can't afford him or have owners with common sense.

Come to think of it, that makes perfect sense to me.