Tim McG

An injection schedule is not proof of steroid use. It is, however, proof of using an injectable substance heretofore yet to proved Bonds knew it was steriods or not. Good luck with that. A waste of taxpayer money. Still in denial? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6266163 No, no. This is a lost leader. You see, first it's "he didn't take roids/hgh," followed by "even if someone did slip him something while he wasn't looking, they don't do anything anyways," followed eventually by "the witnesses aren't credible" and then, finally, culminating in "the entire justice system is a joke. I'm moving to France." Bonds took roids/hgh. That's pretty obvious. He admits it, doesn't he? Only question is, did he knowingly take them. We'll find out what the judgment of a jury is on that. But I doubt the outcome, should it go against him, will convince his defender(s). All I have ever said on this topic is there is no proof he knowingly took steroids. The rest makes for a nice fiction piece, that is, if you are into that sort of thing. Film at Eleven.

Photoshop is not proof, Dave. Don't waste my time. Again, I patiently await proof that Bond knowingly took steroids. That is the charge against him.

Geez. We've been through all this, Dave. Hat sizes, shoe sizes, weight gain all change with age. Unless you're 20-something, it has happened any human being past the age of 30. No need to re-hash the re-hash. I patiently await any real proof that Bonds knowingly took steroids. That is the charge.

Concerned, not worried. I still think they are a lock for the playoffs w/out him, barring any further injuries. As long as the starting 4 stays intact they really don't need to worry about their offensive as last year's Giants proved. I think it's between the Braves, Phils, and Giants in the NL this season. Right now I'm picking the Braves. What about Cincy?

Happiest of happys, Jon!

I'd have to agree with you on that one. Always fun to watch on the highlight reels.

Same goes for us. We in the San Joaquin Valley don't get the snow like many folks here do, but the winters can get pretty cold at night. It's the AC bills that kill us with the legendary summer heat we get around these parts. So, our gas and electricity are both on a level paying plan.

Um. Huh?

I really is. I was in charge of a K-8 school, and it was an amazing experience, the legalities involved were something else. Just sending a kid home, you had to physically see a kid be with the parent / assigned person, and if it was someone different, you had to call the parent to confirm that, yes, this person had permission to pick the child up. Kid wants to walk home? sign a release, or he can't. Want to hang around school afterward? Pay for aftercare or get off the property. It was a whole different ballgame from when I was a kid. For me as well, Matthew. I also remember the door to our house was never locked, too. I tell that to my students and they look at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. The biggest worry we kids had was to never take candy from strangers, but nobody thought twice about a truck parked in the school lot with a rifle in the gun rack. WAY different world now. Exactly, Noj. Making fun of the teacher is one thing, saying "teacher must die" is a whole different deal.

Last October, he drew stick figures of himself with a gun, pointed at four other stick figures with the words “teacher must die.” And if this kid came to school the next day and blew his teacher's brains out you all would be saying, "Why in the hell didn't somebody do something before it happened?" With all due respect, you can't have it both ways, guys. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Nobody is saying schools [or anyone else for that matter] deserve a free pass. But the law/school board policy is what we must follow. Period. There is no wiggle room here. I will suggest to you that there are doctors, lawyers, businessmen, military personnel and [pick a career] who engage in the same shoddy practices and/or are incompetent, too. But, on the whole, do what's right. What I don’t get is why teachers [and police in this case] are supposed to be perfect when we are just as human and just as fallible as anybody else. Or why the blame game fires up anytime something like this no-win situation comes to light. Schools are only doing what the law and the taxpayers demand in cases like this.

What do you mean, "Where were the parents in all this?" They've been helping the kid with therapy and his therapist tells him to draw rather than lash out physically, so that's what he does. It sounds like the parents are doing the best they can. I would say even the educators did the right thing, except calling the police but maybe they are mandated to do that. The police, on the other hand, acted completely out of line. I'd be suing the police department right now for wrongful imprisonment among other things. OK, but when a kid does something contrary to school policy and the school deals with it the only way it is allowed to, by law, why is the school the bad guy? What I was saying is parents all too often take the path of least resistance and foist blame on the schools. In this case, the parents are doing what they can but let's be honest here: The suggestion to draw does not include being vulgar, am I right? I have kids with multiple medical issues for which they must take medication. Even kids like this know right from wrong. That is where the parents come in, yes?

If we let them, anyway. "Zero tolerance" is stupid. Does using intelligent judgment cause a risk? Yes. But exercising horrifically bad judgment to protect against a hypothetical risk leads, in this case, to actual (not risked) mistreatment of a young child. Teacher, school administrators, police... all adults. All acting irresponsibly, and the vulnerable party, the child, is the one who gets traumatized. (They might say they are acting in accordance with their legal responsibilities, but they are ignoring their responsibility, as members of human society, not to frighten, intimidate and shame little children for no good reason.) Schools have no other choice, Tom. This "no tolerance" policy is mandated by the state and feds AND expected by the taxpayers...especially after the Columbine shootings. We could lose funding or worse, get sued up the ass by angry parents hell bent for monetary gain if schools don't follow through. Nothing we can do about it. I think what we're missing here is where were the parents in all this? They bring the kids up, not us. We are merely reacting to a situation, any situation, which we have been backed into. Don't blame schools, blame the parents.

Unfortunately, the school district is afraid of lawsuits. If the kid does something violent in the future (and I not talking about killing people either) they would be held liable if it was discovered that something like the drawing took place, the school knew about, and did nothing. Same with the police, they can't win on this case no matter how they handled it. Lawyers drive everything now... That's a fact, too. Schools who might ignore this do so at their own risk. Parents are sue happy these days. Conservatives would blow a self-righteous fuse over this....then whine about the taxes, collective bargaining, unions, accountability, tailor made education in an off-the-rack world, bitch about pretend teacher incompetence and the like....but I digress. That wouldn't happen in my school district. I caution not to throw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.

He played for 8 teams and wore out his welcome with each one. If there's a malcontent Hall of Fame he's a first ballot guy. Sheff is part of my all-time malcontent outfield: Sheff, Milton Bradley, and Carl Everett. I'm sure if I though hard enough, I could top this one though. Let the record show that two of those guys were Dodgers at one time.

So the Mariners get him, try to make him a starter and he blows his arm out. Rather than being the fit & elegant man he is instead he's a fat bitter alcoholic in Panama for the past 12 some odd years. Glad the Yankees kept him. Back to reality (sort of) I'm foolishly hoping that Bedard (remember him?) might be healthy enough to make a difference this year. I know, I know, nothing like the optimism of spring, misplaced as it may be. And speaking of O's, even though the staff looks shaky I do wonder if Baltimore will be competitive this year. It'll require Adam Jones and some others to finally play to up to their potential, but every year has a surprise team, and Baltimore being good would indeed be a surprise. OH MY GOSH! Bedard? Well it is spring training, and it would be great in he come around and pitched something this year. I read where the Mariner's are bringing Griffey back, as an adviser. A guy walks out on the team, with no thanks, no advance warning, no nothing, and he's brought back? For what, to show the younger guys how to work a fax machine? Sometime I don't understand baseball management at all... People do change, Matthew. I agree with that Goody, but "The Kid" has a very long history of treating the Mariner's like crap. Plus, Griffey won't have Dave Niehaus (RIP ) running interference for him any more either. True dat. But I seriously doubt the Mariners would bring him back if they didn't think he could contribute in some way. Ya know?

So the Mariners get him, try to make him a starter and he blows his arm out. Rather than being the fit & elegant man he is instead he's a fat bitter alcoholic in Panama for the past 12 some odd years. Glad the Yankees kept him. Back to reality (sort of) I'm foolishly hoping that Bedard (remember him?) might be healthy enough to make a difference this year. I know, I know, nothing like the optimism of spring, misplaced as it may be. And speaking of O's, even though the staff looks shaky I do wonder if Baltimore will be competitive this year. It'll require Adam Jones and some others to finally play to up to their potential, but every year has a surprise team, and Baltimore being good would indeed be a surprise. OH MY GOSH! Bedard? Well it is spring training, and it would be great in he come around and pitched something this year. I read where the Mariner's are bringing Griffey back, as an adviser. A guy walks out on the team, with no thanks, no advance warning, no nothing, and he's brought back? For what, to show the younger guys how to work a fax machine? Sometime I don't understand baseball management at all... People do change, Matthew.

I think Pujols would look great in Giants uniform.

Isn't that four words? Only two words that count are "Play Ball!" Hear, hear!

True dat. But I would argue a repeat by any team is a tall order. The Pads and Giants will both be tough again this season to be sure. Dodgers need a divorce settlement before they go anywhere. The Rocks and D'Backs may surprise some folks, too. The NL West is and has been a very competitive division these past ten years or so. Padres without Gonzalez are even more punchless than the Giants. The Dodgers still have an impressive group of young stars but seem to underachieve, and with the divorce still being litigated seem frozen as far as making any positive changes (as opposed to shedding payroll). So I do think the Giants should have the pitching and enough offense to make it back to the playoffs but my impression of the NL West for the past few years is that its competitive due to having a bunch of good but flawed teams fight it out. Has an NL West team won 95 games recently? Well, there was the 2002 D'Backs [98], 2002 Giants [95], the 2003 Giants [100] and the 2009 Dodgers [95]....I would say that is fairly recent. The WS Champ Giants won 92 games. But the the NL west teams have to play each other, too. The records simply do not reflect the quality ballclubs they really are. Like I said, this is a very competitive division; not a slouch among them. But let's take a look at the number of times the NL West has either been in or won the WS, been the Wild Card and/or made the playoffs: Since 1995, a NL West team has: Been in the NLDS- 21 times Been in the NLCS- 8 times Been in the WS- 5 times [sD in 1999; AZ in 2001; SF in 2002; COL in 2007; SF in 2010] Won the WS- 2 times [AZ in 2001 and SF in 2010] Been the WC [which would place TWO NL West teams in the playoffs]- 6 times [COL in 1995; LA in 1996; SF in 2002; LA in 2006; COL in 2007; COL in 2009] From where I stand, that is a pretty impressive record for a division people love to call weak for some strange reason.

True dat. But I would argue a repeat by any team is a tall order. The Pads and Giants will both be tough again this season to be sure. Dodgers need a divorce settlement before they go anywhere. The Rocks and D'Backs may surprise some folks, too. The NL West is and has been a very competitive division these past ten years or so.

You're kidding, right? The Giants are the team to beat. They have the best pitching staff in baseball. Their much maligned offense plays in one the toughest hitter's parks in MLB. Additionally they will have a full season of Buster Posey at the plate not a 1/2. It's just that all the stars seemed to align right for the Giants last year, plus, I'm always leery of the year after for a team with "great chemistry," and don't forget the only reason they got in the playoffs in the first place was the collapse of the Padres. They really don't have a great batter that they can count on to carry a team through dry spells. Also, the players seem to be in party-mode right now, and I wonder how they will handle success. I know I'm in the minority, but I see a lot of question marks for the upcoming season. Now hold on there a minute, Matthew. The Padres took the Giants down to the wire last season and got beat. That is long on talent, short on collapse. Both teams were a tough out. And don't forget, the Padres just owned the Giants all season so the "collapse" hardly makes this the only reason the Giants made the playoffs. That Giants team had the heart of a lion...and proved it, on the road, three times en route to the WS Championship, my friend.

A dubious choice of trainers to be sure, but if it helps the Panda get his groove on in the batter's box I'm OK with it. Pitching and defense will be the key again this season. But you never know, the Gigantes bats are long over due for some pop.

Mannywood is just going to destroy that team.

Cody Ross just inked a 1-year deal with the Giants for $6 million.