Speak Softly, Carry a Big Stick

This is my fourth post of the day which is more than unusual, it's unprecedented for ol' S.O.L. but I couldn't let something I read tonight go by without a comment. Don't ya worry, I shall be brief.

I've already shared my feelings about Barry Bonds' chase of Hank Aaron's home run record in depth, but the long and short of it is that I'm not nearly convinced Bonds didn't have medicinal help on his road to Home Run King.

The current and authentic home run king is Hank Aaron, who has pretty consistently refused to get drawn into the debate about how much Bonds' alleged use of steroids contributed to his late-in-baseball-life homer barrage. Except for the fact that he has also steadfastly refused to be on hand when and if Bonds ties and then breaks his record of 755 home runs.

Unless you've been living on Mars, you're probably aware by now that Bonds currently stands at 754, so breaking the record looks like a fait accompli, short of him breaking a leg or something. Not that I'm wishing that on the guy, by the way.

Tonight, I found an Associated Press story about Aaron's trip to San Juan, PR, where he's attending the World Children's Baseball Fair, a charity event that he co-founded. Still refusing to elaborate on Bonds, Aaron didn't stay completely mum.

"I am making a comment by not making a comment," Aaron told The Associated Press on Monday.

Read into it what you want, but I'm just wondering if there's ever been a more classy guy in sports. And anyone who says Hammerin' Hank should be on hand for this farce, ought to be ashamed of calling out a real man like Aaron. Innocent until proven guilty is the motto of Bonds' supporters but when does the mounting evidence come into play? When does the fact that masking steroids is as easy as pissing into a cup?

Love ya, Hank. Keep the faith, man. You'll always be my home run king.