Author: Peter Portero
Date: 2/21/06
Articles Category: Baseball News
Barry Bonds first said that he would retire after the 2006 season because baseball was no longer fun. He also made statements saying that he did not care if he broke the record HR record. Bonds had a successful end to the 2005 season, hitting 8 HRs in 42 at-bats. The San Francisco Giants made a late playoff push in his return. Things looked promising for him, so why does he throw out the retirement buzz?
Much like Polamalu stating injury before the Superbowl, Bonds throws out the "not having fun" angle so that there exists a built-in excuse if failure were to happen. If the Steelers lost the Superbowl, they could say Polamalu's injury was a contributing reason. If Bonds dissapoints this season, he has a built-in excuse unrelated to steroids.
Bonds only needs to hit 48 homeruns to break Hank Aaron's record. Based on Bonds' past, he should undoubtedly be able to do this in two years. Only 24 HRs per season should be no problem for Bonds, right? Well, Bonds must know something that we don't. Throwing out the idea of retirement after this season is set up to allow him to fail in hitting 24 HRs per season.
We all knew he was blatantly lying about not caring about the record so he flip-flopped on his story to save face. He says he will not retire if he is healthy. Because of all the steroids allegations, Bonds needs to divert the attention to his knee.
If Bonds does not think he can hit 24 HRs per season over the next two seasons, that alone should be evidence enough of him using steroids. I have two words of advice for those of you investing on his baseball cards, "Buyer Beware".
Most sportsbooks have very interesting props on the number of homeruns Bonds will hit in the 2006 season. His success in the 2005 season and novice gambler's propensity to bet overs should inflate this line. We advise you to bet the Under on Bonds HRs in 2006 at one of our recommended sportsbooks.
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