as i went for my run this morning, i listened to KNBR sports radio as murph and mac talked with mark fainaru-wada, co-author of the book about barry bonds' descent into the steroid scandal. and fainaru-wada explained how they got all this information and how it all came about and made a very clear and precise case - one that just cemented what we already suspected.
and then the callers came.
they'd been calling all morning, and brian murphy noted that about 98% of them were in defense of bonds.
i'll repeat that: 98% of the calls were in defense of bonds.
here were their arguments:
- where is the proof? well, when you take a steroid which is undetectable, there won't be any proof. mlb wasn't testing for the things he was taking. he did mention that in 2004, bonds did have an extremely high count of testosterone. but san franciscans need the actual physical urine when they should be asking for blood samples.
- why wasn't he picking on mcgwire and sosa? well, they wound up investigating bonds when the balco story was unearthed because there was so much more about bonds' use than anyone else's. whereas mcgwire took a steroid (andro), bonds took a ton of them. that's where the intrigue was. san franciscans didn't buy that one either. they think it's a vendetta.
- how can you rely on his ex-girlfriend for information? well, they didn't use her as the only informant, but she wound up corroborating everything they found out independently. she's one of countless others that they talked to and quadruple checked with. you guessed it, san franciscans didn't buy that one either. after all, she's just a dirty bitch looking to get some money and revenge.
- how can you say bonds was jealous of mcgwire when bonds beat mcgwire in a home run derby the year before? yep, that was an argument.
i'll let that one just linger by itself.
it really struck me how, for the most liberal-thinking city in the world, when it comes to a supernaturally swollen man in a giants uniform who launches home runs into a bay, everyone quickly becomes closeminded.
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