King Kaufman says of Barry Bonds' reality TV show, "It's impressive in a way that Bonds would approve of a show that leaves him, in the end, looking like a giant prick ... It would be more impressive if I could believe that Bonds realizes the show makes him look like a giant prick. I'm not sure he does." New York Times reviewer Charles McGrath similarly exposes himself as a giant prick. Although he acknowledges that one of Bonds' legitimate woes is "his daily barrage of ugly, racist hate mail," he still ends his review of Barry's show with, "... you realize that Bonds's greatest tragedy is that he was born too late. He would have been a hero back in the day when all players had to do was play, not give interviews."

Um. I guess McGrath forgot that black players weren't allowed in Major League baseball "back in the day."

I saw Barry last night here in San Diego. Hit by pitch, reached on an error, and walked. He also turned a single into a double, but it was a single by Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres, which Barry's steady jog was unable to cut off before it rolled to the wall. Bonds was pulled after the sixth for defensive replacement Steve Finley. (At 41, Finley is almost a year younger than Bonds, but has two healthy knees.) Personally, I'm cheering for Barry. He very probably used, but so have a lot of people; if Babe Ruth and his contemporaries wasn't taking steroids, it was only because they weren't available yet. Meanwhile they found plenty of other ways to cheat; Kevin Gross didn't invent sandpaper and Pete Rose didn't invent gambling. Until and unless Barry Bonds' records are proven to violate the rules in effect when he played, they shoud stand.

I also got to see my favorite player, Mike Piazza, in person for the first time in many years. He grounded out twice, lined out to center, and flied out. He's looking good, though, aside from the new goatee.