The Juiceman Falleth

First of all Shira (that of the adopted "sis" variety, not the biological sibling) the Mets are going to have a great, monumental season, just wait and see. But while we're talking about baseball, the worlds greatest sport, I think it's fitting to talk about Barry Bonds. Oh how I loath him.

Allow me to briefly summarize Bonds back story for those of you unfamiliar with the recently steroid-tarnished game of baseball: Once upon a time the Pittsburgh Pirates had a skinny leadoff hitter named Barry. Barry was very fast and was a good hitter. He hit some homeruns but never had mammoth numbers in the catergory. Then he became a slugger (i.e. homerun hitter), and he became a S.F. Giant. But then his numbers started to dwindle. One season Barry exploded, both in appearance and production. It appeared as if someone air-pumped his whole body up, and Barry hit lots and lots of homeruns. Balls that were once caught by the warning track were now soaring out of stadiums. In fact he hit more than anyone ever did in a single season. But it turns out- to no big surprise- that Barry was cheating, Barry was on steroids.
Let's fastforward a few years now. Congress has had enough of Major League Baseball's lenient drug policy, and it's about time. They are having a witch hunt similar to the one of 50 years ago with communists. Only difference here is that the warlocks involved are in fact guilty of sorcery. Some of them have been man enough to admit there Steroids use, like Jason Giambi, and thus it is easier to be forgiving of there misdeeds. Sometimes people can be surprisingly understanding when there's a sincere apology. Bonds however claimed ignorance, saying he didn't know the "clear" and "cream" substances he took were designer steroids ("I am not a crook", "I did not have sexual relations with that women", "There's no crying in baseball"- OK that last one doesn't belong...or does it?). But it was only a matter of time until Barry's lies caught up with him. To paraphrase Principal Strikland from Top Gun, "His ego was writing checks his body couldn't cash".
Now things are even worse for Barry "Juiceman" Bonds. His ex-mistress has come forth stating that Bonds knew full well he was taking steroids ("No way?!") and that he helped her learn tax evasion techniques. Oh, and the fact that he has a mistress also indicates he's guilty of adultery (and here I thought he was a classy guy?). To make things worse it seems that she has recorded proof to back up her allegations. So what does Bonds do? Does he take the high road and own up to all his wrong doings? Hell no. He blames the media. He feels he's a victim of their need to behead heroes. He blames Congresses witch hunt. He's a victim of their- what? Power? Search for a scapegoat? Desire to clean up baseball? He didn't do anything wrong. He doesn't need to apologize.

I love the game of baseball. Some of the greatest moments of my life have been at Shea. Last year I was at a Mets- Giants game with my nephew and brother-in-law. Mike Piazza hit a walk-off homerun in the 12th and my 7-year-old buddy jumped in my arms. It was a moment I'll never forget. And to make the moment even better, the ball went right over Barry Bonds' fat head- it was a catch the young, unadulterated (pun wholly intended) Barry could have made.
Now Bonds may be calling it quits from baseball, and perhaps the man is getting what he deserves. He cheated the game of baseball and its fans. He cheated on his wife. He cheated the U.S. government as well (but they couldn't be more tertiary here if they tried).

I think we can all learn a lot from Bonds. The first, and less obvious life lesson is that turning to drugs isn't the answer. They're just a short term solution to avoiding the truths of reality. Their consequences will catch up with you in the future if they don't hurt you in the present. Ask Ken Caminetti's family.
We've all made mistakes and done things we wish we hadn't. I know I have. But unlike Bonds I own up to my errors and take whatever consequences come from them. Sometimes they can be pretty harsh, and I've learned to deal with them, even if I'm reminded of them on a daily basis. Can we fix all our mistakes? Of course not. But if we're honest with ourselves and learn from the past, then we can make changes and we can grow. Sometimes we do things we truly don't know are wrong, and sometimes we do things that really aren't wrong, but can be interpreted as such by others (though Bonds doesn't qualify in these scenarios). In these cases it's best to talk things over with the one you wronged, or if you wronged no one but yourself, talk with someone unbiased to see if your actions were wrong. But again, this isn't the case with Bonds. What he did was wrong. No ifs, ands, or overly-developed muscular butts. He has yet to assume responsibility for his actions. Its time to let the swelling of his bloated head reduce (in both ways) and accept the reality of all he's done. He wanted to become a giant, but he ended up a pirate.