It's not the crime, it's the coverup.
Power cannot hide you from federal prosecutors, no matter if you're Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Scooter Libby, or Barry Bonds. If you get caught lying to the feds; you're going to jail.
[Private to MacDara: Is my usage above correct?]
And Barry. Barry, Barry, Barry. I always feel so conflicted about Barry. On the one hand, the Braves fan in me will never forget him as the arrogant jerk outfielder for the Pirates. Yet the San Franciscan I've become took a more live and let live viewpoint on Bonds. Sure, he's a jackanapes. But have you seen the guy play? He's the greatest ballplayer of his generation, certainly. His record speaks for itself.
But can you trust that record? I think so. Even if Barry cheated--and let's be realistic, he did--so, too, did hundreds of other current major league players (at least that's apparently going to be the conclusion of the forthcoming Mitchell report). Hundreds. And Barry loomed large above them all. What's more, he had built many of his records, enough to earn him entry in the hall and make him arguably, if not undoubtedly, the best of his generation before he ever juiced. Or apparently so. But who knows? Who knows what to believe? Everyone is a liar. Am I that cynical? I think I am. I think I've become so. And that's terrible.
The thing is, I don't really care terribly much about performance enhancers. Legalize all of them, I say. If you want to make yourself into a mutant and sacrifice your health in the process for a multi-million dollar payday, well, go right ahead. It beats smoking.
But the field should be level. If it's banned then it's banned and you shouldn't use it. That's the only problem I have with what Barry, Floyd, and Marion have done.
No, wait, it's not.
The problem I have is with the lying. You've been caught. Confess. Fess up. I actually respect Giambi now (sort of) because at least he told the truth. But Bonds is just a moron. Okay, if you're going to lie to the media, and your friends, and your family, that's one thing. But if you lie to the feds.... Barry, that was stupid. You're going to jail. And you know what? You deserve it.
