The Yankees Baseball Whisperer

Well, it finally happened. Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron’s homerun record. His next homer would give him sole possession of the homerun title. OK, now that all the informational crap is out of the way lets get down to what you all want to hear…

Love Bonds or hate him you’ve got to admit that 755 homers is a great feat. Now, Bonds has admitting to using the clear and the cream, but stated that he did not know they were steroids. I’m not buying that. 1^st off, any normal person is going to question what they put in/on their bodies, you are a fool if you just take what some chemist at Balco hands you. 2^nd, how do you not notice the changes in your body chemistry? We all know Bonds did steroids, it’s just a question of if he wants to be a man and take responsibility for it or not; however, I really do not think major league baseball can do anything about it because there was not a drug policy in action at the time. So, before we all start pointing fingers at Balco and Barry Bonds for corrupting the beautiful game of baseball, I think we need to point a finger at Selig and pervious commissioners.

The majority of people I talk to about the “Bonds issue” are mad because they feel it is unfair and will diminish the hard work Aaron accomplished. Here is my stance on these two issues…

Is it unfair? I’m torn on this issue. I’ve written 2 term papers on steroids in baseball and I STILL can’t choose a side. Let me explain my rational… Steroids make you gain muscle mass quicker than the average person, therefore giving you more power behind your swing. BUT then again, you have to make contact with the ball before you can hit homers, if you start taking steroids you are not automatically a homerun hitter. Bonds was a great player and hitter before he took steroids, so with the aid of steroids he propelled his career and sent many balls into orbit. Then again, you could argue that every player in major league baseball is a good hitter, otherwise they would not play MLB. I’m truly torn on this issue. The 1 argument I hear is that Aaron hit 755 clean and Bonds used steroids to hit 755… Yes this is true. I feel that Bonds cheated Aaron by using steroids, but then again there wasn’t a drug policy in action during Bonds’ outburst of homers. It all boils down to MLB not stepping in sooner and admitting we had a problem.

Will this diminish the legend that is Hank Aaron?

In my opinion his will NOT diminish anything Hank Aaron did. Aaron is and will always be THE homerun king, even if Bonds breaks his record. If you watched Aaron play, you know he play with dignity and respect for the game. I think each era has their “golden boys” and I believe Aaron is one of these “golden boys.” My question is how many of you read all time stats daily? Monthly? Yearly? Not many people worry about all time records unless one is getting broken, if you grew up watching Aaron or you just like Aaron (or really hate Bonds) chances are in your mind Aaron is the Homerun leader. Players/legends are what YOU make them, by passing your knowledge of the legend to younger generations and keeping said player “alive” in your thoughts. Bonds will break the record, it’s just a matter of time, but Aaron will forever be regarded as The Homerun King. Bonds on the other hand is leaving behind a legacy of steroids, doubt, and hate. I do not think this will diminish Aaron’s legacy at all, if anything it will make it stronger. It’s all in the way you perceive things, players are what we make them.

In my opinion, if Barry was more receptive to the media he wouldn’t have so many haters. I know a lot of people hate him and accuse him of cheating because they do not like the way he is perceived by the media… this is truly a disgrace. If you are going to hate someone or call them a cheater at least know your facts and have something to back yourself up, rather than just saying he’s a dirty cheater or he’s a jerk. I am in NO way standing up for Barry Bonds (frankly, I think he should have an asterisk beside his name), I just want people to get their facts straight THEN pick a side.

My personal view on the asterisk:

I believe Barry Bonds SHOULD have an asterisk beside his name in the record books because he did play in the era of steroids and it is a known fact that he took steroids. Roger Maris has an asterisk beside his name in the record books because baseball did not think it was fair to the Babe that Maris got 2 additional games to try to break the record (when Ruth played 160 games was a season, in 1961 baseball’s season lasted 162 games). In other words, Maris had an edge over Ruth, just like Bonds has an edge over Aaron. Bud Selig needs to step up and be a man an place an asterisk beside Bonds’ record. Might I remind you that this is NOT a punishment, an asterisk is NOT a punishment, it’s just a side note that there was and unfair advantage over one player not because they cheated, it’s just the way it goes.

** Umpires:Home Plate: Tom Hallion

1B: James Hoye2B: Mike Winters

Fields — 3B

Thome — DH

Konerko — 1B

Pierzynski — C

Dye — RF

Podsednik — LF

Uribe — SS

Gonzalez — 2B

New York Yankees:Cabrera — CF

Jeter — SS

Abreu — RF

Rodriguez — 3B

Matsui — LF

Posada — C

Cano — 2B

Phillips — 1B

Duncan — DH

Top 1:Owens - Ground out (G3)

Fields - Strike out (K)

Thome - Strike out (K)

Bottom 1:Cabrera - fly out (F9)

Jeter - ground out (5-3)

Abreu - walk (BB)

Rodriguez - fly out (F7)

Score: 0-0Top 2:

Pierzynski - single

Dye - fielder’s choice (6-4, lead runner out at 2B)

Podsednik - Triple (RBI, Score Pierzynski)

Uribe - strike out (K)

Bottom 2:Matsui - single

Posada - 2 run homer (HR)

Cano- double

Phillips - sacrifice bunt (SAC, moves runner to 3B)

Duncan - walk (BB)

Cabrera - Single (RBI, score Cano)

Jeter - Strike out (K)

Abreu - ground out (6-3)

Score: 3-1 NYYTop 3:

Owens - single

Fields - ground out (5-3)

Thome - ground out (4-3)

Bottom 3:Rodriguez - fly out (F7)

Matsui - line out (F3)

Posada - strike out (K)

Score: 3-1 NYYTop 4:

Pierzynski - double

Dye - fly out (F3)

Podsednik - walk (BB)

Uribe - fly out (F9)

Bottom 4:Cano - Solo homer(HR)

Phillips - reached on error (E5)

Duncan - Solo homer (HR)

Cabrera - ground out (6-3)

Jeter - fly out (F

Abreu - ground out (1-3)

Score: 6-1 NYYTop 5:

Owens - single

Fields - pop up (F1)

Thome - ground out (G3)

Konerko - walk (BB)

Pierzynski - fly out (F7)

Bottom 5:**Logan comes in to pitch for the White Sox**

Rodriguez - ground out (6-3)

Matsui - fly out (F9)

Posada - fly out (F

Score: 6-1 NYYTop 6:

Podsednik - strike out (K)

Uribe - fly out (F6)

Bottom 6:Cano - fly out (F

**Wassermann comes in to pitch for the White Sox**

Phillips - strike out (K)

Duncan - fly out (F7)

Score: 6-1 NYYTop 7:

Owens - Fly out (F

Fields - strike out (K)

Bottom 7:**Bukvich comes in to pitch for the White Sox**

Cabrera - line out (F4)

Jeter - Solo Homer (HR)

Abreu - walk (BB)

Rodriguez - ground out (5-3)

**Thornton comes in to pitch for the White Sox**

Matsui - fly out (F

Score: 7-1 NYYTop 8:

Thome - double

Konerko - ground out (6-3)

Pierzynski - fly out (F4)

Dye - strike out (K)

Bottom 8:**Haeger comes in to pitch for the White Sox**

Posada - Solo Homer (HR)

Cano - HBP

**Haeger is ejected from game after hitting Cano**

**Jenks comes in to pitch for the White Sox**

Phillips - fly out (F7)

Duncan - fly out (F7)

Cabrera - fly out (F9)

Score: 8-1 NYYTop 9:

**Cairo takes over @ SS; Betemit takes over @ 3B**

Podsednik - fly out (F7)

Uribe - strike out (K)

Gonzalez - fly out (F9)

Final score: 8-1 NYYLine Score:

Chi: 1 7 1NYY: 8 8 0

Game Facts:1. The Yankees hit a total of 5 homeruns today.

2. Alex Rodriguez went 0-4 tonight.

3. Duncan kissed Cano on the forehead in the dugout during the 4^th inning. (I thought it was funny)

4. The Yankees are starting to look like they are having a lot of fun out there, which is always a good thing.

5. Andy Pettitte did very well tonight. Pettitte threw 117 pitches and went 7 innings.

6. Shelly Duncan has hit 5 homeruns in 22 AB since joining the Yankees.

FINAL WHISPER: Welcome Betemit!! Alex didn’t hit career homerun 500 tonight, but I think tomorrow is his day! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Shelly Duncan and the fire he brings to the Yankees! He’s always pumped up and excited, which in turn, gets the older guys pumped. I can’t wait for tomorrows game! Roger Clemens will be on the mound for the Yankees trying to go for the 3 game sweep. Jon Garland will be pitching for the White Sox–TYBW