I Don't See Barry Bonds Playing This Year...or Ever.

Remember all that talk during spring training and April that some contender would pickup Barry Bonds because said contender would be desperate for a bat come mid-season? Well, it doesn't look like that's coming true anytime soon. We're heading into mid-July and nobody is talking about Bonds. I read an article about three weeks ago that said "Barry has no desire to play in the minor leagues or independent ball," and that his cell phone was not ringing. Yawn. Maybe that's because nobody has the desire to take a chance on Bonds for a ridiculous price.

And can you blame them? Despite what you think about the steroids issue hovering over his records and legacy, Bonds is...or was one of the best hitters in the game. He's the Home Run King. But we're talking about a guy who would be limited to play only DH thanks to his knee and someone who has not taken a competitive baseball swing in almost a year. What kind of hitter would they be getting and how far away would the next DL stint be?

Not too mention that he's asking for an absurd amount of money to play a half season of baseball. I don't even think the Yankees are that dumb to go out and spend the money on him. Teams would not only get Bonds at a high price, but they would be getting the media/steroids circus too. It would be the biggest story in baseball and the media hounds would be out every single day to try to entice Bonds into talking about his indictment and steroids. I don't see many teams that would want to deal with all that. And if he sits out the entire season because of all this, you can forget about a comeback in 2009. Bonds will turn 44 later this month and already played the last couple seasons on a hurt knee. That's too much to play through 162-game season.

The only way I see Bonds playing baseball in the Majors ever again would be at the trading deadline and only if his asking price comes down drastically for the half season. And at this point, with no teams talking about him, I don't see it happening. I think we'll be seeing Brett Favre throwing touchdowns at Lambeau Field before we ever seen Bonds swing his maple bat in the Majors again.