He wasn't kicked off the team, nor has he been sidelined after his stupid interview.
the analogy doesn't hold saz, steinbrenner bought giambi before the chemical abuse issues arose, steinbrenner knows the drug abuse issues associated with bonds way ahead of time
once steinbrenner found out about giambi's issues they couldn't "kick giambi off the team", there is a contract which they could have challenged but that would have been worse pr then acknowledging the issues which is what he did
in addition, there is already an investment and there was positive return over trading or canning him
bonds is a differant situation, his drug abuse issues are known before the deal is made, in addition, bonds is hated among baseball fans, among parents who tell their kids "there is a cheater", hated among players and hated among the press.
saz said:
Plus, his production plummetted. Bonds STILL produces.
bonds produces squat
the yankees need him to produce post season, they already get to the playoffs without him and everyone knows in post season he is a NEGATIVE factor
let's forget about post season for a while though becasue there are other things to consider besides post season, even if the yankees did need him to get to the playoffs (which they clearly don't)
his talent value is undermined by his marketing value and there will probably be negative return on investment even IF he helps the team...he is booed everywhere he plays but home
I sincerely mean "if" he helped the yankees...they get into the post season without bonds, have done it for thirteen seasons straight
the issues concerning bonds might create an unplayable working condition for the other players and his pesence might prevent the yankees from doing what they do every year without him, which is get to post season
now, if we knew or expected bonds to help once they git post season then it might be worth the risk but that is not the case, we know from his past performance that when crunch time comes in the playoffs bonds tightens up...he hits under 200, his on base % is anemic, he has no run production, and to call his presence a non factor would be kind...another "a rod" the yankees cannot afford taking a playoff spot on the team ..at least "a rod" gets on base enogh to make up for non hitting... bonds?...not so much
so back to the negative marketing investment, even if that weren't the case he is a negative performance investment for the only thing the yankees need from him
let's even get past his anemic playoff stats...we have no idea how he affects the team if he's on it pre playoffs;
if he pulls his "I play for bonds" crap he's famous for, is own "private space" and gives the press the hard time he's famous for then they yankees won't get post season because of him.
bonds could possilbe help the mets or the cubs who have trouble gettng to the playoffs but he doesn't help the yankees
bonds is an entirely differant situation then giambi so you really can't bring up giambi when wondering if steinbrenner sighs him
I don't know what will or won't happen, though bonds will help any team who are close to getting into the playoffs contend if all you consider are performance numbers but he will hurt a team if his performance stats are at the expense of other team members numbers and if you consider the impact it has on the fans
that is a very important factor as well, the yankees draw at home for themselves and they draw away for other teams, they get part of that revenue...they have fans in all stadiums, they have fans around the entire planet
that fan base will shrink if they sign bonds, yes it will gain some fans but the fans they loose will far outweight the fans they gain
to me it's a no brainer, it hurts the yankees to sign bonds, it hurts so much, bonds could offer his contract for free to the yankees and it would be a negative investment
but I am not steinbrenner and he might have a differant opinion on the affect of bonds
in any event, winning the series is not the real consideration, it's the marketing of the team that is primary consideration, marketing goes up when you win the series so it USUALLY goes hand in hand, but marketing goes down even IF you win the series and the fans think you cheated
whether or not you cheated is not as important as if the fans think you cheated, once the fans think you cheated you loose base
and as you say saz, all their base are belong to profit
