Say it ain't so Barry

San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds reportedly told a grand jury that he unknowingly used steroids provided to him by his trainer Greg Anderson. The two steroids Bonds admitted to using were "the cream" and "the clear." Bonds said he trusted Anderson and therefore didn't question him when he provided the substances to him. Last night's revelation came not so much as a shock but more of a disappointment. It was easy to believe Bonds had used steroids...look at a picture of him from his early days on the Pittsburgh Pirates and look at him now. But despite these tell-tale signs, I had Barry's back. Why? Because he had never been injured. Look at the guys who have admitted to taking steroids or human growth hormones. Mark McGwire - chronic back problems, Ken Caminiti - injury plagued seasons following his MVP campaign in 1996, Jose Canseco- like anyone didn't know this guy was juiced...but again an injury plagued career. Bonds has remained healthy the last few years, fooling everyone. Now that its clear that he took steroids, its hard to validate anything he has accomplished. Do steroids enhance the extreme coordination that is necessary to be a good hitter? Absolutely not. But as far as home runs are concerned...the validity of his 73 season and his ongoing chase of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron have to be brought into question. Steroids DO enhance strength and so while there is no doubt that over the years Bonds has developed into one of the best pure hitters of all time ( in terms of average etc...it is almost impossible to get this guy out and steroids don't help you to become the disciplined hitter that Bonds is) his home runs ARE aided by his steroid use. And it is fully Bonds' fault for not questioning the substances Anderson was providing to him. The way he has described the relationship appears to be a pretty shady don't ask, don't tell. As for comparing Bonds' tainting of the game to others such as Pete Rose they are not even in the same category, but for different reasons than ESPN's Tim Kurkijan will tell you. Kurkijan says Bonds' use of steroids doesn't even come close to the tainting of baseball as Rose's betting on baseball does. I fully disagree. Rose bet on baseball but he never bet against his own team. Dispicable yes...enough to keep possibly the greatest hitter of all time out of the Hall of fame...no way. If Rose is out, and Shoeless Joe Jackson is out, Bonds has no place in the Hall. Jackson took money from bookies during the 1919 "Black Sox" World Series but posted the best average in the series. Jackson's transgression, while not condoning it, did not affect his play in the series. Bonds' actions directly affected his production as far as home runs are concerned. If Rose and Jackson are out Bonds is out.