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SAN DIEGO -- Why is Bud Selig here, anyway? I'm serious. He doesn't want to be here. Barry Bonds doesn't want him here. Fans don't care whether Selig is here, there or anywhere. And me personally, I'm starting to grow tired of Selig's attitude, which is a mixture of simpering and stupid.
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| Bud Selig doesn't want to follow Barry Bonds around, so why does he? (Getty Images) |
Later, cameras caught him speaking animatedly to San Francisco Giants president Larry Baer, probably ripping Bonds -- although Selig could have been going on and on about his model airplane collection or his favorite episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Late in the game, Selig issued to the media the least appropriate statement possible. Most of the time, when someone in Selig's shoes releases a statement, you assume an underling wrote it for him. But in this case, the statement was so poorly done that it had to have been composed by Selig himself.
Here it is:
"Congratulations to Barry Bonds as he ties Major League's Baseball's home run record. No matter what anyone thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable.
"As I said previously, out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty, either I or a representative of my office will attend the next few games and make every attempt to observe the breaking of the all-time home run record."
Wow.
Go back and look at that thing. First, the first paragraph. Selig goes from calling Bonds by his first name to calling him "Mr. Bonds," as if Bonds were sitting in a courtroom and not atop baseball's all-time home run list. It's hard to be sure considering Selig needed exactly 13 words and two sentences to remind everyone that Bonds is possibly guilty of something, though Selig never says what.
Now look at the second paragraph. Selig says Bonds is "innocent until proven guilty," which is true. It's also true that Bonds hasn't even been charged with a crime, at least not a crime involving steroids. Is there a mountain of proof that Bonds juiced? Apparently. Does much of America think Bonds juiced? Clearly. Do federal prosecutors have enough proof to indict Bonds for anything related to his alleged usage of steroids? Obviously not.
But there's Selig reminding everyone of that "controversy" while also reminding us that Bonds is, above all else, "innocent until proven guilty."
The same luxury cannot be afforded to Selig. He is guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, of being the most overmatched, incompetent commissioner in American sports history. Consider this to be my official statement on the matter.