Baseball Musings: Bonds In Camp

February 23, 2004

Bonds In Camp

I've seen a couple of stories about Bonds reporting to camp, but none tell me what I want to know; does he look thinner?

Update: Once again, I've written something that has been misconstrued. I meant this as a smart-alec comment. All winter long I've been reading and hearing about how these ballplayers are going to come back thinner, and we finally see one of the big suspects and the writers don't even put in a line about how he looks! If you read my previous posts on the subject, you'll see I don't really think you can tell the difference between steriods and physical therapy. I agree with John's comment:

Does anybody here know for sure that a steroid user who stops juicing will lose muscle mass? Are the steroids necessary to *maintain* said mass? I find it hard to believe that it's even possible to lose 25 pounds of muscle in 4 months even if you tried HARD, let alone just by laying off of very specific mass-enhancing substances. Ask Roy Jones Jr. about how easy it is to lose muscle and you may have second thoughts about the idea of muscle just evaporating - or being pooped out or whatever.

If you keep up your weight training, you should retain your muscle mass. You don't blow up overnight; you have to exercise with the steroids. And you don't deflate overnight either, especially if you keep up the work. The description of Giambi is just what I'd expect if you had gone through intense physical therapy for the knee. Remember Nancy Kerrigan? She skated her best after going through knee rehabilitation. Don't be surprised to see Giambi have a great year. Sounds like he's lean and mean to me.

Posted by David Pinto at 06:07 PM | Players | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Check the MLB.com news. It says he is at his normal playing weight or a little heavier. Article says Willie Mays is taking over for his dad as hitting coach.

Posted by: Dave at February 23, 2004 06:28 PM

Apparently one player is significantly smaller. That player is Jason Giambi - - myway.com has an article right here http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040223/D80T8PCG0.html

Posted by: Bill at February 23, 2004 07:41 PM

Other noticeably smaller players include Eric Hinske, Phil Nevin, Larry Walker, and Vernon Wells.

Posted by: Rowdy at February 23, 2004 08:08 PM

Tim Kurkjian was on ESPNews earlier talking about how Giambi was visably smaller. That's just one man's opinion, though.

Posted by: Ali Nagib at February 23, 2004 09:07 PM

Is this where I sign up for the witchhunt?

Is that how it's going to be all season, "who got thinner?"

You guys are worse than the...cough...mainstream media.

Posted by: John at February 23, 2004 09:15 PM

Bonds looks to be the same size as he was last year. Giambi looks considerably lighter...probably 20-25 lbs. lighter than when he was with the A's. It's quite conceivale that a fat athlete (Ted Washington or Warren Sapp) can drop that kind of weight easily. I'm quite skeptical about most steroid accusations, but lean, muscular athletes who lose 20 lbs. of MUSCLE were *probably* juicing.

And Bonds looks as big as ever. Meaning he's either incredibly dumb, or perhaps he's a guy who's never been guilty of anything but being not nice to baseball writers, who then misconstrue his combination of fanatical work and all-time great genetics.

Tim

Posted by: Tim at February 23, 2004 09:58 PM

Does anybody here know for sure that a steroid user who stops juicing will lose muscle mass? Are the steroids necessary to *maintain* said mass? I find it hard to believe that it's even possible to lose 25 pounds of muscle in 4 months even if you tried HARD, let alone just by laying off of very specific mass-enhancing substances. Ask Roy Jones Jr. about how easy it is to lose muscle and you may have second thoughts about the idea of muscle just evaporating - or being pooped out or whatever.

As far as I'm concerned, until I see even ONE scientifically backed statement about the unworldly muscle-dissolving powers of steroid withdrawal, I'll assume that the writer is speaking from ignorance.

Posted by: John Velousis at February 23, 2004 10:12 PM

I think this sort of speculation is awful. Giambi had knee surgery this offseason, and some people lose weight after surgery because of the intense rehab required. It's also a good idea for him, because it puts less weight on the knee. It seems like Larry Walker had the same idea.

Skip Bayless was on ESPN tonight, and he was engaging in this sort of speculative guilt by association. It's totally unfair.

Posted by: Daniel at February 23, 2004 10:16 PM

Who said anything about steroids? John accused us of a witchhunt before any mentioned the pills.

Seeking out players who have beefed up is an annual thing in all my roto leagues. Who bulked up? We all want to know.

This year we have a lot of bulking down stories. Again we all want to know, so we can be warned. I don't want to draft Larry Walker where I would have taken him a year ago, now that I know that he's shed a lot of muscle.

Get your mind out of the gutters, steroids people.

And, FWIW, I think steroids should be legal, and I think there should be no shame in using them. Coffee is just as vile a substance, and so is alcohol.

Posted by: Rowdy at February 23, 2004 10:28 PM

Given the sweet, sweet nectar of public recognition of my righteous fury, I gladly softpedal my angry last paragraph above, although I still feel disdain for those that really mean it.

Posted by: John Velousis at February 23, 2004 10:34 PM

Hey, as far as I'm concerned, any individual player is innocent of steroid use until proven guilty. And I have no detailed knowledge of the physiological effects either.

What I do know, however, is that at least 5% of the MLB players tested positive in random testing last year, and as a fan, I have a problem with that. I don't want to see players juicing up, because the cycle never stops, and the side effects get worse and worse. If athletes HAVE to juice to make it, then kids are going to be juicing, and that's not something I want to see.

I don't know whether it should be illegal or not, but it should certainly be against the rules of the sport. Any sport that explicitly or implicitly endorses that sort of chemical enhancement (see: international cycling a few years ago) is not something I want to be watching.

Posted by: Ali Nagib at February 23, 2004 10:59 PM

For what its worth (not much), I knew a couple of guys in college who were on 'roids and they regularly gained/lost noticeable (had to be 15 to 20 lbs) weight when they went on and off their cycles. Not indicting anybody - and personally as an ex HS player I dont see how steroids help you make the bat meet the ball squarely therefore I don't care that much - just saying. I don't think the speculation is very fair either, but neither is normal media coverage or the economic system surrounding the game, so don't look for me to cry on your shoulder for these guys. When the games start only the idiots will be talking about this garbage. (please lord let them come soon.)

Posted by: Matt Davis at February 24, 2004 02:36 AM

It's interesting to read so many people stating what they "know" about steroids, when in fact, virtually everything you read or hear about it is anecdotal, along the lines of Matt or Ali's comments. This is even true at the NIDA site, the gov't's own website devoted to drug info. It's also important to remember that these guys are world-class athletes. What we think we know about physical ability, based on what we see or do; simply cannot be used to correlate.

Posted by: John at February 24, 2004 08:50 AM

Right on, David, I think you strike just the right note there in your update. Let's make it clear to the mainstream media that we don't consider this a major issue. While I agree that the players shouldn't use any kind of supplements that do more harm than good to their bodies, and while I worry that their unusual success with weight-training might inspire our teenagers to try drugs as a short-cut to similar results, I don't think steroid use constitutes "cheating" that is one-tenth the magnitude of corking bats, putting foreign substances on the ball, stealing signs, or having the groundskeepers do funny things with the mound or the infield dirt.

Posted by: rowdy at February 24, 2004 10:15 AM

Thanks, David for such a reasoned argument. Jason Giambi might struggle to hit 25 home runs this year, but at least he'll be a better figure skater than ever.

Posted by: CSTB at February 24, 2004 10:20 AM

Blah blah blah.

Nobody uses steroids. It's just a hysterical dream by skinny people.

Sammy did not use steroids. He just lifted weights. And Barry too. And Giambi.

Funny how they all ended up looking similar, with their enlarged heads and all..

Sure.

Posted by: Eddie at February 24, 2004 12:55 PM

I stopped watching base ball for quite some time. When the Mark Mcguire and Sosa roid race started i was curious again. I hadent seen what kind of phyiscal shape Barry Bonds was in for about three years, and the first thing i could rember is how massive he had goten. He looked like a circus freak. It just makes me sick that players can juice and break long standing records. I hope he dosent get cancer like Lyle Alzado and blame it on his cell phone.

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