Hardball Heaven

Barry Bonds makes his much-awaited Fenway Park debut tonight and our fair town is abuzz over the potential "treatment" he'll get. In fact, the happiest people in the park tonight will probably be Julio Lugo, J.D. Drew, and Coco Crisp because for at least a few minutes, the fans' wrath will be directed elsewhere.

What will Barry's reception be? It's going to be ugly, there's no question about that. Will someone throw a syringe on the field? A few D batteries? Hopefully, there won't be any projectiles. I've heard that some clever soul came up with a Styrofoam thing shaped like an asterisk. That's pretty cool. What would I like to see? I would absolutely love my fellow fandom if every time Barry Big Noggin came to bat, everyone simply turned their backs on him. That would be a powerful statement. We know he's not going to play left field in this series - that would be suicide. Count on him DH'ing throughout the weekend.

Barry's a proven double loser. He's not only a cheater, but he's also a Class A asshole. I read a story today from a Pirates employee who is still incensed that Barry refused to sign a couple of auction items for a benefit to help two children of a fellow Pirates employee who died in a car crash. Shameful. He basically treats everyone around him like cow dung.

But here's a thought on how Barry can do a little bit of image buffing. Would it not be the greatest thing ever if after he hits #754 - one homer shy of tying the mark - he announces his retirement from the game? He'd win a few people back, but I know, I know. In the immortal words of Steven Tyler, dream on.