[Cerek]

Bonds used a substance for a number of years provided by his trainer that was classified as a steroid. Bonds claims he had no idea the substance was a steroid and he would have stopped using it had he known (yeah, right). The trainer he was using was well-known for providing steroids to a number of athletes and all you have to do is look at how much Barry has "bulked up" in the last 6-8 years. MOST athletes - no matter HOW good - LOSE muscle as they get older instead of gaining it, especially in such dramatic proportions. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that Barry chose to use steroids to give his career a boost as he got older. The fact is that he didn't really become a "superstar" until the last 5 years or so as he started slamming more and more balls out of the park every year. Which is another interesting fact. Bonds' homerun production has increased dramatically in the last few years, just as his biceps have suddenly grown unbelievably huge. I don't deny that Bonds is a greath athlete in his own right, and I'm sure he trains and practices very hard to maintain the level of skill he has, but most men just do NOT gain the kind of physical increase he has without a little extra help.

As for him not playing much this year, I've watched the interviews and the reports on ESPN. Barry had operations on BOTH knees during the off-season. Then, for whatever reason, he had to have a second surgery on his right knee (IIRC). There was some speculation that he may have been trying to rush the rehab on his knees too much and that's why he ended up needing a second operation on one of them. So this time he will taking his rehab much more slowly.

The famous interview where Bonds brought his son and a crutch along as props was nothing more than another manipulation of the media - at least according to one ESPN analyst. That reporter had the same operation on his knee that Bonds' did, and said he was able to jog 3 miles within 4 weeks of the operation. Bonds is claiming he may be out for the entire season because of the operation. At the very least, he implied he would miss at least half the season. But the ESPN reporter insists that Bonds is exaggerating how much rehab is needed and is just trying to drum up sympathy as the "poor, victimized athlete being picked-on by the media". While the reporter may have had the same operation (and is also around the same age as Barry), he is NOT a professional athlete. I'm sure the demands placed on Barry's body by playing ball day in and day out puts a lot more strain on his knees than the reporter puts on his.

So I'm taking BOTH accounts with a grain of salt. Chances are, Bonds will only miss about 1\4 of the season, then he can make a "triumphant" return earlier than expected and use the occasion to show how dedicated he is to the game and how tough he is physically. At the very worst, I wouldn't expect him to miss more than half the season. He still has fairly long way to go before breaking Hank Aaron's homerun record. And homerun production DOES tend to drop dramatically when athletes hit their 40's. Bonds' only has a very few seasons left in him - with or without steroids. If he wants to hold the homerun record, he will need to play as much as possible during the time he has left.