MLB Sports Talk: Where's Barry?

This past weekend a nationally syndicated radio program came on the airwaves talking about MLB. Instead of talking about the beauty of the season: the surprising Cardinals, Rays, the tanking Yankees, or an obese Andruw Jones just to name a few topics, the host decided to lead with: where is Barry Bonds?

Along with laying out Barry's statistics and the possibility of collusion among the owners for not wanting to sign the biggest clubhouse pariah, the host also mentioned the fact that Mike Piazza was looking for work.

Barry Bonds, noted in the Mitchell Report and the subject of the book "Game of Shadows" is facing a perjury trial in California pertaining to his use of PED's. By lumping Piazza with Bonds, the host, whether intentional or not, was subtly linking Piazza to PED's. Piazza was not in the Mitchell Report and has not been linked to PED's. However, Piazza held a press conference in NY to announce not that he is a juicer, but that he's heterosexual.

Piazza was pivotal to the extent sports can heal the pain inflicted in the NY region after September 11th. In the first Met home game after the attacks, Piazza hit a home run that was reminiscent of a time when a home run meant something in a game.

Instead of focusing on the product on the field, this radio host is focusing on an unemployed player who shot himself full of products. Let's stop painting everyone with a broad brush before Julio Franco's retirement starts to get questioned.