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Bonds likely won't play in '08; grievance unlikely too

by Ken Rosenthal

Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX.

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Updated: August 16, 2008, 4:58 PM EDT
Forget about Barry Bonds signing with the Tampa Bay Rays. And forget about the players' union filing a collusion grievance on Bonds' behalf anytime soon.

Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, said Friday that Rays general manager Andrew Friedman failed to respond to a text message he sent this week inquiring about the team's possible interest in Bonds.

"With (Carl) Crawford and (Evan) Longoria going down simultaneously, I thought I'd make one last vain attempt to reach out to Tampa Bay, and to no avail," Borris told FOXSports.com.

"That's because Major League Baseball has been successful in their pursuit in blackballing Barry out of the game."

The players' union is investigating possible collusion against Bonds, the game's all-time home run king. That investigation, however, has slowed down at the request of Bonds' criminal attorneys, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Bonds' attorneys, the source said, are reluctant to draw further attention to their client while he awaits trial for allegedly lying to a grand jury when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

A collusion charge would be difficult to prove, and the stakes are much higher in Bonds' criminal proceeding. Bonds, 44, has pleaded not guilty to 15 felony counts for perjury and obstruction of justice. His trial is scheduled for March 2, 2009.

"(Bonds') attorneys don't want to draw out a bunch of other negative things — rehash the old ones and raise the possibility of new ones — if the union brings a collusion charge," said a player agent who is familiar with Bonds' situation.

Michael Rains, one of Bonds' attorneys, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

Borris has said that Bonds would play for a pro-rated portion of the minimum salary, and he attempted to contact Friedman this week after Tampa Bay lost Crawford to a right hand injury and Longoria to a broken right wrist.

Crawford underwent surgery Thursday and could be lost for the rest of the regular season. Longoria is expected to be out about three weeks.

The Rays discussed Bonds internally during spring training, but have never showed serious interest in signing him.

"I'm not sure what Jeff Borris is trying to accomplish by saying he sent me a text message," Friedman said. "But our longstanding practice is not to comment on anything speculative."

The Rays lost another important contributor Friday, placing closer Troy Percival on the disabled list with a cartilage injury in his right knee. The team is more interested in adding a hitter than a reliever, but is unlikely to make a significant move during the August waiver period.

Hitters such as the Mariners' Raul Ibanez are getting blocked before they fall to the Rays, who own the second-best record in the American League. Players pass through waivers in the reverse order of the standings, starting with their current league.

Gary Sheffield has cleared waivers, but the Rays would only be interested in him if the Tigers picked up the vast majority of Sheffield's contract — the remaining portion of $14 million this season and $14 million next season.

Even then, Sheffield would be a difficult fit for Tampa Bay — he is serving almost exclusively as a designated hitter, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland said recently that it would be "suicidal" to play him in the outfield.

The Rays made free-agent outfielder Kenny Lofton an offer in spring training, but have not renewed their interest. They are also cool on infielder Jose Vidro, who has been designated for assignment by the Mariners and is on the verge of being released.

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wow, expletive deleted?<br />The adjective conjugation (fec@l) of fec@s is a "no go", but colostomy bag is good?

m.o.Tribem.o.Tribe
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Hey YuPxYuPxiTsxMe<br /> (report inappropriate content)<br />"Lighten up Francis" (aka psycho)<br />"yea, (sic) he should and could go to the yankees"<br />Indeed, a d@uche b@g, added to the payroll of "the boss" with the fecal bag.<br />A match made in h@ll.

m.o.Tribem.o.Tribe
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Hows Bonds going to explain why his hat size changed and feet grew 3 inches in his late 30s?People write books about his steroid use and are in the process of making a movie from the book GAME OF SHADOWS.Bonds sits back oblivious to everything and does nothing.Wait until the trial,there is a mountain of evidence against him.I have nothing against Bonds personally Im just telling it like it is.I read the GAME OF SHADOWS and there is no doubt.As far as Bonds breaking Hank Aarons record,it bogus to most people.I would like to hear Aarons true feelings about this someday.

comoneverybodycomoneverybody
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While Bonds and Clemens are personally responsible for the public's perception of them (based on their actions), the facts are that no concrete legal proof of guilt has been established;it's not what you "know", it's what you can legally "prove". <br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Humans are perceptive individuals who analyze situations and weight the risk of their actions. The facts are Barry Bonds carries a lot of baggae, and legal baggae at that. Teams have to quantify the risks associatyed with players, and as such the Rays, quite rightly, have not uttered one syllable aboutthis. If Bonds agent was really keen to find his player employment don't you think a phone call or even an in person visit to the Rays would have actually got a response rather than a tex message? The Rays are having the best season in franchise history, why would they risk that club house spirit and balance just o take Barry Bonds on baord.<br /><br />The fatcs are there is no smoke without fire, no matter how you spin it. We teahc our kids to recognise trouble and walk away from it, whethere real or percieved and it seems that all baseball clubs are finally realizing that sometimes its better towalk past something that could blow up in their faces.

MashieNiblickMashieNiblick
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DONT SIGN HiM HES A CHEATER AND LOSER BIGTIME!!! STERIODS!!! I HATE BARRY THE CHEATING RE TARD BONDS

unc_tar_heels_fanunc_tar_heels_fan
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yea, he should and could go to the yankees, they need all the help they can get right now.....<br />and || m.o.Tribe || heres one for you <br />F U C C Y O U

YuPxYuPxiTsxMeYuPxYuPxiTsxMe
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Bonds and Clemens have not been legally proven to have broken any U.S. laws. All American citizens are presumed (under) the law to be "...innocent until proven guilty." When the government's case falls apart (yet again) I issue this challenge to all the Bonds/Clemens haters: man up/cowboy up & post on all websites available how wrong you were;I dare you!

whisoxmanwhisoxman
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Clearly, Bonds has (or had) @ least 2 good years of playing baseball, which has been cut short by the MLB powers that be. I thought that as American citizens, we are considered "... innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." This whole sad, hypocritical scene is what is passing as justice in this country today. And why? because media members don't "like" Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens (they very well might be jerks;I don't know them personally, so I couldn't tell you). While Bonds and Clemens are personally responsible for the public's perception of them (based on their actions), the facts are that no concrete legal proof of guilt has been established;it's not what you "know", it's what you can legally "prove". To all of the Barry & Roger haters I send this challenge: when the U.S. government's criminal case against them falls apart (again), man up/cowboy up and post the fact that all of you were wrong (again)with the same frequency with which you endless declare how "guilty" they allegedly are supposed to be;I dare you!

whisoxmanwhisoxman
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Why are we talking about a guy who doesn't play when we could be talking about the players that are doing well.... Carlos Quentin anyone?

thebigPerkythebigPerky
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Hey Boo, George was always the traitor who broke ranks with the other owners & burdened baseball with its insane pay scale.<br /><br />While he was throwing millions at his PED cheaters, he was simultaneously scr@wing his lifelong 'friend" (& original investor) who desperately needed funds to battle the cancer that killed him.<br />You guessed it Boo, George bought the minority stake from my cousin's widow for a fraction of its value.<br />Maybe your idea has merit.<br />George has a colostomy bag, so Barry is a logical match.<br />Seriously, doesn't ANYBODY want to see what Barry can do at the plate?<br />Maybe it's just too disturbing to contemplate the possibility of Barry parking the last shot to the short porch at<br />THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT.

m.o.Tribem.o.Tribe
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they can't get worse.... it can only help...lol

boo10boo10
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the yankees should get him..... for real....

boo10boo10
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Hey SanDiegoLove,<br />"I thought Bonds was in Jail already?"<br />He is.<br />He is a prisoner of his greed, arrogance, narccism, and an unjustified sense of entitlement.<br />The address:<br />Probably not Cooperstown, and<br />without a defection from the owner's collusion,<br />not MLB.<br />p.s. where were YOU every time I visited lovely S.D?

m.o.Tribem.o.Tribe
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At the age 45,unless hes tested for HGH no team will touch him.People have got to understand theres no test yet for HGH.Remember your prime years are 27 to 32,no exceptions.

comoneverybodycomoneverybody
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I thought Bonds was in Jail already?

SanDiegoLoveSanDiegoLove
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Come on, comoneverybody, he hasn't faced MLB pitching for nearly a year.<br />He hasn't used PED's since ... ?<br />Hasn't demonstrated 1 iota of humility or remorse since ... ??<br />Aren't you a little curious to see whether he has any "juice" left at the plate?

m.o.Tribem.o.Tribe
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Lets please turn the page on Bonds,hes retired.Please no more Bonds until his purgury trial starts in March.

comoneverybodycomoneverybody
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observation 102,<br />good post. Nice to read ENGLISH!<br />Nevertheless, some of the scribblers had a few interesting BASEBALL observations.<br />Greatest PLAYER; Mays (5 tools) or Ruth.<br />Greatest HITTER?<br />With (or without) P.E.D.'s?<br />Ted Williams? * for VOLUNTEERING for COMBAT aviation in 2 WARS.<br />Can you imagine the total stats for Bob Feller & Ted Williams if they didn't sacrifice their peak years?<br />Shoeless Joe (also 5 tools) * for early exit.<br />Ty Cobb * for padding his AVG. at the expense of winning (run production).<br />Barry? maybe, but ***************<br />Conclusion: Jackson, The ONLY power hitter in his era, or<br />Ruth, the ONLY power hitter for apx. 5 years after Jackson was banned.<br />W is the only important stat.<br />The hitting of Jackson & Ruth (& maybe Barry) contributed to W's more than any others.

m.o.Tribem.o.Tribe
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