Posted by John Brattain on Friday, October 17, 2008 at 11:28 am

It appears that a “smoking gun” has emerged in the Barry Bonds collusion saga.

Although I’ve written probably close to 20 pieces this year between The Hardball Times, MSN Canada and here about it, I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves just yet. Yes, there is “evidence” but evidence is not proof. Bonds’ agent Jeff Borris stated in the piece linked above “There were numerous things that occurred that made me believe that the clubs were acting in concert … When I testify as a witness in the case, I will delineate each and every one of them.”

Obviously, Borris will be cross-examined and the evidence proffered will undergo scrutiny and conclusions will be drawn from that.

As I’ve written ad infinitum ad nauseum regarding this, I do feel that whatever Borris and the union has, it’s probably fairly convincing since the MLBPA under Don Fehr rarely moves on something unless it’s very sure of its ground.

The fact that MLB seems more concerned about the timing of grievance rather than the grievance itself speaks volumes. If I had to hazard a guess, something was leaked and Selig and Co. realize that the jig is up and is more concerned with not having anything intrude on the playoffs. (Remember Scott Boras’s announcement regarding Alex Rodriguez opting out of the final three years of his contract?)

They likely realize that the bill has come due and they’ll happily pay it since between Bonds’ age, a year’s layoff and his legal entanglements of 2009 his career is probably over and the mission has been accomplished–Barry Lamar Bonds is out of major league baseball.

If collusion is established, it allows the MLBPA to re-open the collective bargaining agreement but I cannot see this being a major concern for Bud Selig, indeed with the Yankees new park set to debut in 2009 he may welcome a re-opening to try and get a salary cap in place before the Bronx Bombers set a new standard in free agent excess and bloated payroll. Never before has the union been so splintered and ownership been so united and if there was a better time to try for the cap–it may be right now.

After all, the Mets, Twins and Blue Jays all but kissed off a chance at the post season to participate in the alleged collusion and if willingly doing so isn’t a testament to the consensus Selig enjoys then what is?

To me, this is the most disgusting aspect in all this:

“They were found guilty … of colluding not to sign free agents … no matter how much those free agents would improve their team… It was, undeniably, an agreement not to field the best team possible–which is tantamount to fixing, not just games, but entire pennant races … The fact that not signing free agents meant not fielding the best teams was revealed graphically when the conspiracy ended … the Dodgers spent over $36 million on three other free agents prior to the 1991 season. Los Angeles general manager Fred Claire said, ‘The motivation for us is to improve our ball club. It’s not a reaction [to the Giants’ signing of free agents] but a dedication to try to be better.’”–Marvin Miller on the 1986-88 collusion against free agents in his autobiography “A Whole Different Ball Game.”

In short, the aforementioned Twins, Mets and Jays tanked the 2008 season choosing to forgo an improved chance at reaching the post season to go along with Selig’s agenda to blacklist Bonds.

I doubt it would happen, but it would be nice if part of the settlement/judgment were an apology to the fans of the affected teams on the part of Selig, MLB and team ownership for depriving them of their optimal chance to enjoy October baseball.

I know for myself that I will look back on 2008 as the year the Toronto Blue Jays’ front office chose to lose. They had the best pitching seen in 20 years but spent the year with a glaring need for power and a solid clutch bat at DH (and left field before Adam Lind was called up). General Manager J.P. Ricciardi was loath to part with any minor league talent to upgrade the struggling offense and signed the likes of Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench to “remedy” the situation and despite their season long offensive uselessness remained on the roster.

Bonds was offered for the pro-rated major league minimum and the Jays still opted for mediocrity as respects the hitting.

All Barry Bonds would’ve cost the Blue Jays was a little bit of money and the payoff both financially for the team and the fan base was potentially huge but they chose to short-change both the fans and the organization. I can’t speak for other fans of the team but I view this as a betrayal–a breach of trust that I, as a fan and consumer, can never again trust that the team will do everything in its power to win.

They participated in the collusion of 1986-88 as well and have demonstrated that they will indeed cheat us of the best possible team when they feel the situation warrants it.

Part of the problem many had in understanding the “why” of this particular (assumed) collusion is that it went against a number of teams’ financial best interests. The reason was personal for Selig. All you need to do is watch his reaction when Bonds tied Hank Aaron’s home run record to comprehend it. Bonds record was a visible reminder of Selig’s failure to address the steroid issue and instead focused on the profits the home run boom gave the sport.

I doubt he ever imagined it would cost him the cherished record of a dear friend.

However it did–and Bonds presence on a baseball field would not only be a painful reminder, it would also allow Bonds to put even more distance between him and Aaron but also make it more difficult for heir apparent (and presumably steroid-free) Alex Rodriguez to claim the home run crown. This would shorten the time that Selig’s failure would remain atop the all time home run leader board.

Sadly, in doing so, Selig is guilty of what he feels Bonds was guilty of doing–tainting the record.

If collusion is proven then when Rodriguez (or someone else) finally swats No. 763 the question will be asked forevermore “But what would the record have actually been had Bonds not been blacklisted from the sport?”

If we come away with anything in all this it should be the following: the steroid scandal and its fallout involved everyone in the sport–Bud Selig is every bit as guilty as Barry Bonds for any stains left behind by it.

Past musings on collusion and Barry Bonds…

• If you wish to bury Bonds… (February 27, 2008)
• Illusion, delusion or collusion… (March 25, 2008)
• More Barry point-counterpoint… (March 29, 2008)
• Those who do not learn from history… (April 2, 2008)
• See windmill … tilt at windmill … rinse, lather, repeat (April 9, 2008)
• The plop thickens… (April 20, 2008)
• Frank Thomas’ release could lay a “Big Hurt” on MLB… (April 23, 2008)
• JPs B.J. B.S… (May 1, 2008)
• Somedays I just want to scream (May 1, 2008)
• Discussing the other (phonetically) type of Pujols… (May 16, 2008)
• Maybe it should be called “mediacrity”… (May 21, 2008)
• The cost of Bonds issues (June 14, 2008)
• Is Barry Bonds being blacklisted? (June 20, 2008)
• Baseball’s greatest villain (July 16, 2008)
• What I don’t get… (July 16, 2008)
• Press-ure tactics… (August 16, 2008)
• Not pro-Bonds—just anti-collusion (September 20, 2008)

Best Regards

John