chuckd on 13 December 2007
| quigontcb said: That is true, but Clemens wasn't near as obvious as Bonds. Clemens, with maybe the exception of his last Cy Young year, hasn't exactly had extraordinay seasons later in his career compared to his "prime" years. Bonds had some of the most dominating years in baseball history during what is supposed to be the downside of a person's career. Bonds was already one of the best players in history years ago, but his seasons only got better, to mythical proportions, just as he should have been leveling out. Some, including Bonds, want to equate the scrutiny surrounding him to racism of some form. I've no doubt there are plenty of racists out there that hate to see him succeed because of his color, but crying racism just because you refuse to play along with his game is ridiculous. Bonds has got far more attention than any other player because he has been the most dominating player in recent years, and because of his enormous physical growth as he got older. He has received more scrutiny because he has challenged and shattered the two most reverred records in baseball(HR in a season and career), and acted like a prick while doing it. McGwire and Sosa may be guilty of roiding like Bonds, but they did it with smiles on their faces. They both had their moments where they acted like jerks, but who doesn't? You might say that doesn't matter, and from a certain point of view. it doesn't. Still, if I go into a room, look people in the eye, treat them decently, and so on, I will receive much better treatment than I would if I acted aloof, cocky, pissy, etc. Giambi got put through the ringer, and he wasn't nearly the star that Bonds is. He didn't truly challenge Aaron, Ruth, etc. He came clean relatively quickly(when he felt the heat anyways), and, I believe, even apologized. Still, he got a lot of crap for it, but he knew it was something he brought on himself. That's a far cry from Bonds, who dominated the game like noone before, snapped at people left and right, and so on. So I don't find it strange that Bonds has gotten more crap than anyone else. He did everything on his own terms, yet expects the world of baseball to sit back and say nothing the whole time. I never cared for him as a person, but always respected the hell out of his abilities. Of course, as years went by, I lost respect for him as an athlete too. Still, I can't help but feel somewhat sorry for the guy, as he obviously isn't, nor has he ever really seemed to be, a happy man. It's about time for the rest of the fireworks, so I'm off to see the who else will be named. |
I dislike Bonds and I dislike Clemens, alike. However, Clemens has never been put through the ringer like Bonds has been and I find it disgusting and yes, borderline racist. I'm not going to bother to defend Bonds, because he isn't worth it. It's Clemens that warrants an inspection. To take a closer look at his record, here's some numbers. 1991, Age 28 18-10 record 2.62 ERA Cy Young Award 1992, 29 18-11 1993, 30 11-14 1994, 31 9-7 1995, 32 10-5 1996, 33 10-13 1997, 34 21-7 Cy Young Award 1998, 35 20-6 Cy Young Award 1999, 36 14-10 2000, 37 13-8 2001, 38 20-3 Cy Young Award 2002, 39 13-6 2003, 40 17-9 2004, 41 18-4 Cy Young Award 2005, 42 13-8 1.87 ERA 2006, 43 7-6 2.38 ERA 2007, 44 6-6 1996 was his last season in Boston, he leaves and suddenly he's pitching like he's 25 again. A 1.87 ERA from a 42 year old pitcher who misses training camp and only plays 2/3rd's of a season is just ridiculous. Most aging pitchers have to reinvent themselves to sustain their careers (i.e. depend on guile and breaking balls), not Clemens, he still throws 96mph. In 05 and 06, he had horrendous run support, or his w/l ratio would have been much better. What really has bothered me about Clemens is that he has disrespected the game by not traveling with his team, not showing up when he doesn't pitch and not playing full seasons. Just a quick steroid boost and POW, he's ready for the 2nd half of the season.
