"It's an embarrassment for me to be wearing this (f'ing)uniform 'cause of the way I'm playing," Bonds exclaimed. "There, that's it. Now go away."

From now on when Barry is being talked about, Bud shouldn't be to too far behind. They are in this together, forever. Bud looked away at what players in his league were taking and Barry unknowingly took. Bud and Barry. Barry and Bud. Bad altogether baseball.

Bud could've nipped all this bairoid talk in the bud before it started. When his people came to him and said, "Bud, we have a problem here..." -- the used car dealer looked at baseball's balance sheet. Times were good. Fans flooded the gates. No need to look at 10 years down the road .... until it is 10 years down the road as it is now.

Barry is a whole different story. We will never really know if he knowingly took steroids unless he tells us. He was a Hall Of Famer already, so that part of his legacy is intact. Best thing he can do is hit 800 dingers and say f'you to everybody as he has for the last 20 years.

I put most of this on Allan Selig. And when the day comes as Barry is rounding the bases after he hit his 756th, Bud better be at home plate extending his hand and looking Barry in the eye and offering his congratulations. Anything less would be cowardly intentions. Bud better not let Barry stand alone. They are in this together and should stand together and face up.

The Battle of Lake Erie

Detroit and Cleveland are separated by 170 miles, a large body of water, and 2 World Series Championships. The Tigers have won 4, last being in 1984. The Indians have won 2, last being in 1948. This summer is the first in a long, long time these two teams have been good at the same time. Both are relatively young, have powerful lineups, and are making a mockery of the rest of the division.

I am very interested to see how the second half turns out. The Tigers look as good as they have all year, and that's with a shaky at best bullpen. Right now I am not as convinced about the Indians. They do rank in the bottom half in the AL in pitching, but I think their record away from the bandbox they play in is even more telling.

Regardless of what the current trend looks like, if either team goes on a skid, the Mariners will be there. The Tigers go to Seattle for four right after the break. Lose that series, and not only does the race for the AL Central tighten, but playoff aspirations do as well.

This Is My Niece

Her name is Maggie and I am very proud.

Now on to the season. We're at the half way point and we still have a few weeks before the real season starts (August 1). And of course this is the critical time when teams decide if they are playoff contenders or not by July 31. My travels navigate me through the Chicago market and I get to tune in to the creative exploits of Chicagoland sports radio. The city is fortunate enough to have 2 big league teams and unfortunately my attention is drawn to the White Sox because they are two spots behind the Tigers in the AL Central. Much yak over the last week has been what to do with Mark Buehrle. The left -hander wants a no-trade clause added to a possible 4 year 56M contract. The Sox refuse to grant the clause because the GM believes he wouldn't be able to build a contending team to fill other areas. I disagree because Buehrle is a coveted asset in that he is a left handed starting pitcher who pitches 200 innings, wins 14 games, doesn't go on the DL, and is in his prime at 28. This is what you build around. Not settling a deal and trading him would start a fire sale and send the Sox back at least 5 years. As a Tiger fan, I would say to Buehrle don't let the door hit you on the way out of Chicago. As a fan of the game, I would say letting this pitcher go would be a drastically huge mistake. Give the guy the clause.