that you’re a jackass and they want nothing to do with you, is that collusion? Or just 30 intelligent businesses reaching the same logical conclusion?

Fans see collusion because they presume baseball skill should be the only factor in determining whether to hire someone. It’s not.

I’d also like to know what Bonds’ price is. One thing you hear a lot is that no one is willing to sign Bonds even at major-league minimum salary. Do we actually know that? Has Bonds (or his agent) ever stated openly how much salary he’s willing to play for? And if not, how do we know some teams haven’t made inquiries and found out that their offer isn’t high enough?

(For what it’s worth, I do think Bonds is worth a flyer at minimal salary, for a team that has room for him and is in a media climate that can tolerate the circus. The A’s have three DH’s already, so he’s a bad fit for us.)

Filing papers with the union indicates that he is activley looking for work. It also suggests that he has asked for a price and no one is biting.

There was talk this winter that the A’s were taling to him. in fact, I believe roto world reported talks reached the vaunted “verge” stage. This shows that there was interest.

I have read that its a down year offensively. I don’t know that but if its true that shows a need. If its not a down year, there are always teams that need more offense.

Other steroids tainted players are working.

Why is the best offensive player available not playing? All signs point to collusion.

A bunch of teams individually deciding (for whatever reason – many of them bad, I’m sure) to not sign Bonds is not the 30 owners meeting in some secret cave and shaking hands on the deal. Collusion is an organized effort. There’s not one shred of evidence that has gone on.

There are a number of arguments to be made for why Bonds hasn’t been given an offer (that he likes, anyway). Again, they’re not all sound baseball arguments. And in the end some of them might even prove to be false (would his demeanor really cause poor chemistry/losses? doubtful). But that doesn’t mean they’re not honest reasons for avoiding the guy.

At what point will be too late to sign him and still realize the gain his offense expects to provide?

You have to figure he can’t just go a full year without seeing live pitching and come out dominant when he finally suits up. There’s gonna be rust if he gets back in the game.

It isn’t quite the same as adding a “fresh” pitcher in July or August, IMO. Hitting is a reactive skill, making it harder to take a year-long layoff from, I’d imagine.

For example, if Bonds were to finally sign with a team in August, he might need need a month to get his swing back. By the time he’s successful, he wouldn’t have presented an upgrade to his team over the six weeks he was there. (This is all hypothetical, but my point is that he probably would need to sign sometime soon for the team to realize a gain from signing him).

So when do you guys think he’ll need to sign by, in order to make an impact in ‘08? Isn’t there probably some date this season where it’s too late to expect him to contribute, considering the inevitable rust?

I believe Bonds withdrew from the MLBPA because he wanted to market himself on his own. Now he wants their help for a collusion suit???

I think part of the reason he hasn’t even received an offer is that every MLB team knows that the offer would eventually get out to the public.

What’s worse than getting the negative publicity and media questions surrounding Bonds while he’s in your lineup?

Dealing with the same questions while he’s not in your lineup. If a team made an offer and didn’t sign him, they’d have the media distraction and (allegedly) bad P.R. for considering getting involved with him…and they wouldn’t get to enjoy the fruits of his labor (great hitting). That’s perhaps the worse case scenario.

Unlike the typical free agent player/agent, where it’s harmless to kick the tires and see if the player will sign for a favorable figure, there is a huge disincentive to enter casual negotiations with Bonds. Teams believe it will hurt their image to even converse with his agent.

I don’t think he’s unsigned because people are splitting hairs over 400K vs. $3-5 mil. If a team was willing to make the leap, that wouldn’t get in the way.

Although if his agent is smart, he’s already sent a letter to every team offering that Bonds will play for the minimum, so that teams don’t have to approach him to find out if that’s the case. One quick way to improve your P.R. at least a little bit is to play for the league minimum.

if they had agreed that a 44 year old egotist who probably had chemical help in all his achievements was no longer a viable MLB player, good on them.

There is definitely collusion, otherwise all the organizations in Baseball are flat out stupid, and that’s just not the case. Unfortunately, or fortunately if you’re a hater, it would be very hard for Bonds to prove this. Go Bonds!

I might sign on to a team in one of the independent leagues (if that is an option for him) and just MASH the $&^% out of the ball, put up some insane On-Base % and set the stage (via my play) to have a MLB team look at me. Imagine all of the media attention this would create. If through all of that display of talent nobody comes a knockin’, his collution agrument (at least in the public eye) gets stronger. The 2008 Power #’s are way down. According to Steve Phillips (take that with a grain of salt) MLB HR #’s are on pace to be 1000 less than in 2003. That’s a lot of balls falling into the field of play that used to be souveniers. If Bonds starts crushing in some indie league and the power #’s for this season are still low, you’ve got to raise an eyebrow at why Bonds would still be sitting in a dugout in Norfolk, VA or someplace.