Second chances to make a First impression

Well, I saw an interview of Barry Bonds by the all-time dickhead of sports reporters, Jim Gray. And I have a conflict of thoughts about Barry Bonds:

Either he is the worlds greatest sports actor or he's finally "gotten it"...

He was humble, friendly, human, he accepted responsibility for his bad image (or at least acknowledged his role), and gracious. He expressed uncertainty as to whether he'd break Hank Aaron's record - but "given good health I'd like to try." He was smiling, engaging, and thoughtful. Quite surprising, actually.

So, is he acting to gain faction with the fans? It's possible. Or does he finally get the fact that you need to embrace the fans and even the reporters to regain a tarnished image? Has he gotten over his "me against the world" attitude, maybe now that he's off the sauce he isn't raging anymore? Either way, the result might be the same: people might grow to actually like him again. I know that I am beginning to like him again...

And let's talk about that. One of the big issues here is the growth of the athelete, albeit Mac vs Bonds. The big difference between those two guys is that Mark McGwire was already a big guy when he went on Andro, he just got bigger. Barry Bonds wasn't a 98 pound weakling, but he wasn't a Mac either; he went from an average (maybe slightly larger) person to a mass of muscle - so the change was MUCH bigger with Bonds and more noticeable. That is something the general public is clinging to in this.

But they seem to forget one thing, I think...while getting bigger and stronger has helped his warning track shots go over the wall, the guy still is a phenomenal hitter, and has eyesight that would make an eagle jealous. He can see the ball, identify the pitch, and make his decision more quickly than the average hitter, and can take advantage of that fact. Steroids (or whatever it was LOL) don't make him a better hitter, they make him a more powerful hitter. You still have to put a bat on the ball.

One question that no one has asked is this: "now that we know that Ken Caminiti's MVP was won during a season where we was on steroids, will they take it away from him"? Good for the goose, good for the gander people...