Tampa, Fla. – Barry Bonds isn’t a baseball player. He’s a live episode of “Law & Order.”
On Friday, Bonds sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the authors of “Game of Shadows” from profiting because they obtained their information from secret grand jury testimony.
So he wasn’t saying it was wrong, just that they shouldn’t have it? By not first suing for libel, which Bonds’ attorney Michael Rains hasn’t ruled out, it seemed to validate the book’s claims that the slugger used steroids, human growth hormone, insulin and other banned substances.
Rx, lies and videotape at 11.
In contrast to Bonds sit the Houston Astros, the team your mother never warned you about. They are about as flashy as a spotted grouper, even after reaching the World Series. Their body types are a blend of high school and slow-pitch softball.
Bring up performance-enhancing drugs in this clubhouse and something weird happens. They don’t offer passionate knee-jerk defenses for accused players. Instead they defend the game’s right to be as pure as the fallen snow.
“I am so excited about the fact that we are cleaning up baseball,” Astros star third baseman Morgan Ensberg said. “I am a strong, strong advocate for making sure that nobody is using any kind of drugs, whether that be steroids or amphetamines.
“I think we are taking a real step in that direction. Naysayers think it’s not strong enough. Believe me, those guys who have cheated in the past are scared to death. No question about it.”
Of all conversations had this spring, this was the most refreshing. Ensberg over the course of several minutes painted a picture of a changing culture. That drug users would no longer be greeted with a nod and a wink, wink when they showed up in spring training 25 pounds heavier.
This isn’t to suggest some aren’t still cheating. As long as baseball doesn’t test for hGH, those with financial means and lacking morality will pursue an edge. This type of behavior is true in almost any business.
Money will always be a motivating factor. But so much of what happens in sports is connected to the climate. Is it cool? Is it accepted? For too long, baseball operated as a safe house for lawbreakers. To listen to Ensberg, that is slowly changing.
“You have to understand that you are in a bad clubhouse to talk about guys who are cheating,” said Ensberg, sitting next to shortstop Adam Everett, who is thin enough to be faxed to road games.
“Truly, I believe that nobody in here is cheating. Our guys have regular physiques, none of those crazy, morphed bodies. And more than that, we have a strong clubhouse with guys who let it be known that we don’t want anybody using that crap, um, I mean stuff.”
Nice, polite and sanitized. Yep, the Astros are everything Bonds is not.
Advantage: scouts
Japan claimed the first World Baseball Classic title. But scouts might have been the real winners. The inaugural event allowed bird dogs a three-week look into the otherwise clandestine Cuban players. In the event of defection, they now had tape instead of depending on a hastily called workout on some remote island.
What they saw impressed them. The Cubans are more about talent than mystique. There aren’t many teams that wouldn’t want infielder Yulieski Gourriel.
Speculation swirled last Monday that some players would attempt to remain in the States, so much so that there was an immigration official stationed near the Cubans’ bus outside of Petco Park.
Footnotes
One of baseball’s all-time good guys, Jeff Bagwell, is on the verge of retirement. He will have bone spurs removed from his troublesome right shoulder as a last resort to continue his career. … The Atlanta Braves are looking to move one of two pitchers, John Thomson or Jorge Sosa, whom the Rockies attempted to acquire before last season, in order to fortify their injury-mangled bullpen. … Los Angeles Angels catcher Jeff Mathis has shown more in spring training than he did last year in the minors. Jose Molina, a great catch-and-throw guy, must hit better to avoid losing the majority of starts to the rookie. … A.J. Burnett sent a chill through Toronto Blue Jays camp, halting a throwing session with elbow pain. Burnett had Tommy John surgery a few years ago. … Strange fact: Nobody hits more homers than the Texas Rangers, yet their cleanup hitter is, um, Phil Nevin?
