A few years ago we had something they called the “juiced ball” season in the MLB. Everyone was hitting HRs, and every stadium was suddenly Coors Field. Barry Bonds went .328/73/137, and you could actually make game-to-game bets on whether Barry would hit a HR. Turns out he was on steroids. My reaction: so what?

The media, yes, the “media” (I know that’s a buzzword; it’s kind of like saying “they” when talking about the government) is all over Barry for whatever anabolic cocktail he was using circa-2001. The problem is that somewhere during the past 50 years the press decided they would stop telling us the news; they kind of made a conscious decision to to give us the news. There’s a difference. When you report a story you give the facts, you refrain from adding your bias; when you give the news, you’re offering your interpretation.

The popular television/print interpretation of the Bonds story is that he’s a cheater. We should keep him out of the Hall of Fame, and there should be asterisks next to his records. That’s a moral argument, folks. You can’t do that. “He’s wrong because he didn’t play fair.” First of all, don’t blame Bonds, blame baseball. There was no drug policy in place when all the sluggers were using, and, consequently, there’s no reason to pillory him now.

Before 2002, MLB had no official policy on steroid use among players. Barry was using steroids. We know that. But what ought to have stopped him? Baseball didn’t say he couldn’t subject his body to that kind of abuse, so who was he hurting? The reality is that Bonds sacrificed his health for his ego. It’s not like he was winding down his career when he started using. In ‘99 he was .262/34/83. The year before he was .303/37/122. Did he see the end coming? His SLG% was higher in ‘99 than it was in ‘98. His OPS was still over 1.0. It’s not like he was on the way out of baseball.

But the thing that really stings me, and no one will address this, is that steroids are not a Bonds-specific problem. We know guys like Jeremy Giambi used, and we know guys like Juan Rincon used. So you’ve got superstars like Bonds, Sosa, and Palmeiro at one end of the spectrum, and you’ve got guys like Jeremy Giambi at the other. How many names do you think were in-between?

Barry Bonds is on-trial because he’s the best. The media swarm that follows his every move is attached to him because he’s the best. Two books were just released that delve into Bonds’s steroid use. He’s got investigators, congressman, journalists etc… digging into his life. Why? Because he used steroids and played baseball? Gimme a break.

The reality is that post-steroid Barry Bonds may have been the best hitter in baseball’s history. He was the league’s best masher for 4 seasons, and you know what we do to our heroes? Destroy ‘em. Do you really need analogies? Well, I’ll give ‘em to you anyway. And these are just some 2005 examples! Lindsay Lohan (her weight is our business). Tom Cruise (his religion is our business). Kate Moss (her drug use is OUR business). Brad Pitt (his wedding is our business).

Barry Bonds didn’t cheat you by using steroids; if you think this affects you in any way then you need to take a step-back and evaluate your relationship with the game. Yes, baseball is a game, and games are there for entertainment. Admit it: you were entertained. And now the man who did the entertaining has to deal with his own dedicated press-syndicate because he did what a lot of other people were doing…but he did it better. You’re going to say “well, he lied about it.” And I assume none of this would be the problem if he’d have told the truth. As if the anecdotal evidence wasn’t enough.

Just leave the man alone. Access Hollywood, ET, Hard Copy, Inside Edition…it’s come to this? I don’t care what Elliotte Friedman, or Peter Gammons have to say about Barry Bonds. I don’t need anyone’s opinion. Because that’s what you’re getting, people! You’re getting fed opinions. Since he’s off steroids now, what the hell is the story here? Explain that. He’s not even the best player in the game anymore. Where’s Albert Pujols’s crew? Where’s Johan Santana’s 24-hour coverage? I guess they don’t give good enough sound bites. Well get right in his face for the next 3 weeks and I’m sure there’ll be at least one explosion. At least you’re still being entertained.

Find another scapegoat, please. The steroid-craze is over. We know what happened, we know the extent of the problem. Someone’s gotta want to sort through Big Mac’s garbage.