It’s only a matter of time before Barry Bonds hits home run number 714*. At least, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Barry catches the Sultan of Swat on the all-time home run list.

Right now the Bay Area slugger is sitting on five home runs for the season and just 713* for his career. He’s been there forever and it isn’t because he’s drawing his typical amount of intentional walks either. Bonds has been watching called third strikes, swinging and missing and looking flat-out washed-up at the plate. When he does show signs of his former self he has to watch Juan Pierre rob him of history. He looks less like his former invincible self and more like Bernie Mac going for his 3,000th hit. I tell you it’s a shame.

The faithful in San Francisco refer to their gentle Giant as “God.” Baseball experts refer to him as the best hitter in baseball, perhaps in the history of baseball. Lofty titles for a man who currently has five homeruns on the season – an amount that puts him on the same level as Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent, and just three more than Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo.

If Bronson can jack one two of the park then I’m sure Bonds will eventually get to six on the season and 714* in his career, but honestly what’s the big deal? Barry Bonds will go down as the Karl Malone of baseball; the second all-time greatest scorer, who never won a championship.

I say, give the hit the credit it’s due when he hits it, until then, stop interrupting “SportsCenter” every time Bonds steps to the plate. If they want to see home runs maybe they should start switching to Albert Pujols at-bats. The kid is phenomenal and hasn’t had the advantage of beef-roids to bulk him up the way Bonds did. Which brings me to the asterisk.

*Barry Bonds used steroids to prolong his career and increase his power in the time of his life where most men begin to steadily decline in size and strength. This enabled him to hit farther and, contrary to public belief, increase his average. The worst part about this is that Bonds did nothing to break the rules of baseball. Major League Baseball was fine with players on steroids breaking records (see: Mark McGwire) as long as it increased ratings. Steroids truly weren’t a problem until a black man with a bad attitude started breaking the records broken by former steroid users – then it became a congressional investigation.

I’m not saying that Major League Baseball is racist, I’m saying this country is, but that’s not even the point I’m trying to make. Barry Bonds is not the must-see-TV that he has been cracked up to be. He’s old and starting to play like it. I’ll tip my Dodger-blue hat to him when he finally retires. I’ll be impressed when he ties the Babe and maybe even surpasses him, but until he does those things can we all please get on with our lives and remember that Hank Aaron still has 755.

Daily Nexus staff writer Sean Lewis also thinks that random IQ testing should be mandatory for all MLB executive staff, with severe consequences for failed exams.

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