[RedBean]

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I read the SI excerpts, and it's pretty damning circumstantial evidence. It seems pretty detailed from the excerpts with multiple sources filling in details who were around the situation. It's not like the authors asked the batboy, "Whadya think son?" Batboy replies, "Barry likes juice." Authors rejoice, "We got him!"


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I agree it is damning circumstantial evidence, but it is circumstantial nonetheless. And of course it reads as very detailed and convincing....if you were writing a book and hoping to make millions, you would make it as convincing as possible.

This isn't the smoking gun that everyone was hopping it to be. It doesn't make it fact. Agreed, it could be 99.9% likely, but it just isn't a confirmed fact.

They are capitalizing on public sentiment to make millions, at the expense of one man's reputation.

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Also, if Shaq started getting 40ppg/20rpg in only 25mpg, that would be a more fitting comparison.

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There is no correlation to juicing and huge performance increases in baseball, other than anecdotal. It does nothing to improve hand-eye coordination, and while additional upper body mass improves bat force, it actually reduces bat speed. Not that it proves or disproves anything, but I most can probably agree that no amount of steriods is going to make someone more selective at the plate or improve their ability to properly time their swings on the variety of junk the pitcher is throwing.

For reference, see Alex Sanchez's stats.

The thing that distinguishes Bonds from his peers in terms of performance over the years, at least to ME, was his innate ability to be selective at the plate, rarely swing at bad pitches, patience to wait on his pitch.... hence the high number of walks and extremely low strikeout totals for a hitter with pop.

I don't have an opinion either way on what he did or didn't put in his body, I just enjoy the game of baseball and it is always a pleasure to see him practice his craft, because all prejuidices aside, the man is an artisan in the batter's box.

It's no different to me than Maddux getting Lasik to improve his vision, or the long list of pitchers who were able to prolong their careers through Tommy John surgery, or the assertions that Hank, Mick, Duke, Willie, and about 97% of MLBers since the 50's popped greenies to keep them going.

I'm old enough to remember when baseball purists thought it was "unnatural" and "borderline shady" for power hitters to lift weights and workout year round. Other players didn't like it at first because it then forced them to do the same conditioning to keep up and stay competitive.

Granted, juicers are not just getting a free ride to fame and fortune, they are going to pay for their choices with a shortened life span (Alzado, Caminiti, etc). It's their life, it's their choice. I only watch baseball for entertainment purposes, and if a guy is willing to risk death to entertain me, that shows dedication.