Roast

Damn, why are we being so snotty to E.J. It was very much turning into a chit-chat thread before he moved/split and deleted some of the stuff in here.

Around the time for his supposed steroid use beginning. Sure teams have gotten along with players not liking each other but do you take the risk when you know it will happen ahead of time? Also Ruth and Gehrig were both huge fan favorites Bonds is the exact opposite. There are those out there, those on this board, that like Bonds. Also, I agree steroids helped him hit those walks...i mean...what? But in all reality, Bonds HR numbers didn't really explode until about 2000, before that they were pretty steady. So, I don't know where your steroid comment is coming from, really.

Also, looking at his numbers, HOLY CRAP The last time Bonds had a sub-.400 OBP was in 1999 when it was .389, and before that th last time was 1989. Wow.

The reason why the wouldn't far out weighed why they would. He's a malcontent and a PR nightmare. Whoever signs him would immediately have team chemistry issues because i think you would be hard pressed to find one clubhouse where no one hated him. Also every fan would immediately by on the war path and anything else bad happening and you could lose a lot of the fan base. Yet T.O. keeps finding a job in a sport that is arguably much more "Chemistry"-oriented. What I'm saying is this - everything you said above isn't necessarily a huge deal to many team owners. The last time Bonds played he still had a solid slugging percentage and a monstrous .480 OBP (OPS+ of 170), plus teams could spin some positive media attention out of him with his pursuit of 800 HR if they wanted to turn it that way. Teams have had players not get along befor eand still win. I've mentioned it before but as many people know Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig didn't even speak for a couple years while they played together - their team seemed to come out okay. I can understand every team in baseball passing on a mediocre player with some baggage, but not one who was still producing the way Bonds was. At least, not without some kind of agreement around the league to move on. I just feel like someone would have taken a shot with him.

QFT Whatever you guys want to believe, no team is gonna sign Bonds. I'm still a little surprised an AL team hasn't put their conscience on the back burner to sign him as a DH. I agree that no NL team would seriously consider him, though. I'm still not entirely convinced that it isn't a conspiracy. Wouldn't shock me in the least if it was. Or, it could just be a bunch of conservative owners not wanting to piss off their fan base (which the fans mostly would be until Bonds started producing like crazy). If he didn't produce immediately, the owner could risk taking a massive hit. This has always been my opinion. I really think there is some gentleman's agreement around the league not to sign him - I think MLB just wants to move on and forget he ever existed for now. I don't think they set out and said no one sign Bonds. I think they all talked about if they would ever pursue him and they all brought up the reason why they wouldn't. The reason why you would is because he can hit but at the same time he's very old so he might fall off. I think they pretty much came to the same conclusion but not because they some set out to have it happen. But no one knows nor will ever know. But that still doesnt explain why some AL team wouldn't throw him a small contract to see if he could continue to produce in a DH role.

QFT Whatever you guys want to believe, no team is gonna sign Bonds. I'm still a little surprised an AL team hasn't put their conscience on the back burner to sign him as a DH. I agree that no NL team would seriously consider him, though. I'm still not entirely convinced that it isn't a conspiracy. Wouldn't shock me in the least if it was. Or, it could just be a bunch of conservative owners not wanting to piss off their fan base (which the fans mostly would be until Bonds started producing like crazy). If he didn't produce immediately, the owner could risk taking a massive hit. This has always been my opinion. I really think there is some gentleman's agreement around the league not to sign him - I think MLB just wants to move on and forget he ever existed for now.

Well, didn't trade Maddux, we let him walk. Plus I suppose he had already won a Cy Young so I guess he wasn't just a "prospect" anymore. So really what I'm saying is he's not a good example.

I updated the main post with ZR and UZR. I'll wait on BP to update their models for WARP and VORP before I go posting them.

Greeaaat. here we go again. I chose to believe the deal is off, however. makes it easier to stomach.

Plus, when Kerry Wood was throwing his simulated innings last year they were the ones batting against him. I wouldnt want to step into the box against him, no way. Your telling me you would not take a couple swings against Kerry Wood if you had a chance? I don't know if i could stand that close to the plate while he threw a 97 mph fast ball at me. I'd probably dive out of the way. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod oh?

Plus, when Kerry Wood was throwing his simulated innings last year they were the ones batting against him. I wouldnt want to step into the box against him, no way. Your telling me you would not take a couple swings against Kerry Wood if you had a chance? I don't know if i could stand that close to the plate while he threw a 97 mph fast ball at me. I'd probably dive out of the way.

Corey Miller, not kelly. And yes, Miller was a pitcher in the a's system.

Are you honestly surprised? No, but at the same time I was hopeful that something would work out.

Woah, wait. I jsut got back from my girlfriends place and now the deal is dead? What a veterans committee day.

This is nothing new. You have a bunch of people who would like nothing more than to be here and share in the excitement of an announcement at the moment it happens. The longer it takes, the longer people are here killing time waiting for something to happen and the more frustrating it gets. Stop being logical. OFF WITH HENDRY'S HEAD!

Plus, when Kerry Wood was throwing his simulated innings last year they were the ones batting against him. I wouldnt want to step into the box against him, no way.

Most likely, he's played there before.

Yeah, WTF? It's like they're actively trying to be bad. It stared last year by actually paying Gange money and now this. yeah they were actively trying to be bad by acquiring a top 3 starter in the majors and improving from 07 -> 08. this is a weird trade though. Well there was that, but they gave up good talent to get him for what ended up being about 2-3 months and they pretty much knew that going into it. For the record though, I was joking. Clearly they tried to improve their team - this trade is just odd.

Puerto Rico is part of america, technically. I want Soto back.

So....This needs to be done. I have nothing to do today so, I actually probably can sit around and watch this unfold but it will likely drive me insane.

Yeah, WTF? It's like they're actively trying to be bad. It stared last year by actually paying Gange money and now this.

lol brewers. I hope they get terrible again.

I miss when Farnsworth was awesome.

Oh sweet mother of christ, make it stop.

Yeah, it seems the slugging won't ever be where you would like it but if he's batting leadoff, it kind of slightly lessens the importance of that assuming he can still get on at a .350+ish rate. Exactly. My only concern is the drop in his stolen base totals, the last four years he has had: 62, 52, 41, and 34 stolen bases respectively. His caught stealing hasn't gone up, so that just mean's he's not running as much. I just worry that he may lose his speed which, to him, is a big asset. But, if we get him for cheap enough, why not.