bitter middle aged man complains about allegedly bitter old man

before i dive into this let me clarify something: i'm well aware that i am a bitter young man. i'm four steps ahead of you. i'm heading you off at the pass. i know i'm about to write a very bitter post in which i criticize a bitter middle aged guy for being bitter about a bitter old guy, thus furthering the cycle of bitterness. don't worry, the irony is not lost on me.

now that that's out of the way, how dumb is this article by cbssportsline's gregg doyel? basically he's saying that as one of the most hallowed records in sports is about to be broken by a player well known to be cheater, the non-cheater who currently holds the record should stop answering the countless questions the media has for him about the occasion. that's right, just clam up and don't make a peep. either that or lie to them. let's laugh along:

Yammerin' Hank's bitter old man routine wearing thin

i'm not going to lie, "yammerin' hank" is a sweet parodic nickname. unfortunately the column goes way downhill from here.

OK, Hank Aaron. We hear you. Over and over and over. And again and again.

i'll bring this up about five more times throughout the post, but you know why we keep hearing aaron's comments on this situation? because the media keeps asking him. i don't think he's tracking down media members and holding them against their will until they write down what he has to say and agree to publish it. the media WANTS to know his thoughts, because they know plenty of their readers want to know. it's pretty simple. they don't always get it right, but ideally, that's how the media is supposed to work. they get information from inside sources that people without access to those sources want to know.

Point taken. You won't be there when Barry Bonds breaks your home run record. You won't fly to San Francisco if the Giants start a home series with Bonds at 754 homers, one short of your career total. You won't fly to Milwaukee if it might happen there. Won't fly to Cincinnati or Chicago either. Tired of traveling, you say. Tired of flying.

Unless of course the 755 circus comes to Atlanta. If that should happen -- and it could, with the Giants visiting Aug. 14-16 -- Braves vice president Hank Aaron won't even take a car to his own ballpark. Won't ride a train. Won't hail a cab.

At that point, Aaron will drag his weary bones onto a plane and get the hell out of town. Where would he go? Anywhere. Anywhere but Atlanta. Barry Bonds is a circus, and Hank Aaron can smell the elephant dung from here.

That's fine. That's his record, and he can handle its passing any way he sees fit. He has no obligation, as I'm reading on other websites, to be there for No. 756. You want to watch, watch. Don't want to look? Don't look.

good. i'm glad we've established that, because it's more than true. and while some of aaron's comments (as doyel will include later in his piece) definitely have a tone of bitterness to them, aaron's sentiment in and of itself is certainly not bitter. there's no rule that says you have to accept everyone's accomplishments with a huge smile and genuine congratulations. if you have reason to dislike what someone has done you're more than welcome to voice your feelings on the issue. this doesn't make you bitter, as long as your reason for dislike is rational and legitimate. does aaron have a rational and legitimate reason to dislike what bonds has done? i think he does. (to understand my point, you really only have to read the first 10 or so paragraphs. you also have to possess a brain.)

Just shut up already, Yammerin' Hank.


One sound bite at a time, he has crossed over from sympathetic victim to bitter old man.

one paragraph at a time, doyel has crossed over from journalist trying to make a valid point to bitter idiot.

Aaron has always had a touch of the bitters, but with reason. When he was going about his own record chase, tracking down Babe Ruth in the 1970s, America showed its ugly side. Aaron, a black man pursuing a white icon, received hate mail and even death threats as he closed in on Ruth. America's ambivalence was embodied by commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who was on hand for Aaron's record-tying 714th home run but didn't care to see No. 715.

i didn't know that, but that's kind of sad. i wonder what the circumstances were.

That capped a career that had begun in the 1950s, when various baseball teams, and various cities, were still being integrated. Aaron must have seen and heard things, must have lived things, that were unspeakable then and are unfathomable now.

In April 1999 Aaron told The Sporting News, "If someone had asked me about this 25 years ago, or 20 years ago, you would have found a very bitter person. (But) I've taken my mother's advice. She said, 'Things you have no control over, don't worry about.' And so I'm just going about my business. I have other things to worry about. I'm enjoying my life, period."

this quote is used heinously out of context. i'm going to guess aaron's mother was talking about racism or some other such "big" issue, not the home run chase. as of april 1999 no one was even close to threatening the record. mcgwire and sosa had just gone for 70 and 66 home runs in a season, respectively, but no active player with any kind of shot at breaking hank's mark was within 300 of 755 for their career. bonds had 409. i couldn't find the quoted article anywhere in order to get the original context, but suffice it to say aaron was almost definitely NOT talking about anyone breaking his record. now watch how doyel tries to use it in that context anyways.

Now? Not so much. Aaron isn't enjoying Bonds' pursuit.

nor does he have to.

In fact, he's clearly miserable that his record is being broken, which is understandable. It's a long drop from No. 1 to No. 2, and it could be as simple as that, although I doubt it. It's probably more accurate to say Aaron is bitter not just that his record will be broken, but that it will be broken by a player widely believed -- though not proven conclusively -- to have cheated with steroids.

as if this is not a fair or logical stance for aaron to take.

Aaron hit 755 home runs as a 6-foot, 180-pound marvel, notable physically only for the strength in his wrists. It was natural, that strength. Bonds' strength? Could be natural, but again, I doubt it. Bonds is a 6-1, 230-pound tank who has gotten noticeably bigger and more powerful in his late 30s, a feat heretofore thought impossible.

Bonds is going to get the record, but America will not rise as one and cheer. Aaron himself won't even be there, an unbelievable but understandable snub. Again, if Hank doesn't want to watch Bonds and his enormous chest and shoulders and skull step on home plate with No. 756, I understand.

But shut up already.

oh oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhh. i see. i've been wasting my time arguing that it's well within aaron's rights to be bitter about bonds. you're instead implying that he should just stop giving interviews about the subject. but what kind of message would that send? my guess is, it would make him sound exactly as bitter as he does now! everyone knows that a "no comment" from a guy like aaron in a situation like this is exactly equivalent to any bitter, negative quip.

furthermore i have a hard time believing a majority of americans interested in the home run chase would, like doyel, prefer silence on aaron's part. aaron's position on bonds is a moderately interesting story if you ask me. certainly worth being written about as bonds closes the gap between the two and ultimately breaks the record. and i think doyel's view is the exception while mine is the rule on that subject. my advice to him and anyone out there with a similar view is that if you see an article whose title indicates it contains quotes from aaron about bonds, maybe you should just not read it. shouldn't be too hard to do.

Since April, Aaron has carved out his bitter position on Bonds, sounding angrier and sillier to the point he reached Thursday, when he was asked about Bonds and responded curtly: "I don't have any thoughts about Barry. I don't even know how to spell his name."

since the beginning of this column, doyel has carved out his bitter position on aaron... you get the idea.

In April, Aaron had told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had no interest in speaking with Bonds as this season unfolds. He had no wisdom to share, no advice to give. Nothing for the baseball player to whom he forever will be linked.

as if aaron somehow owed this to bonds.

"I have no intention of trying to get in contact with him or doing anything with him in regard to his (pursuit)," Aaron said. "Nothing. Why should I? It's really not a big concern of mine. I don't know why I should have to do anything. I might send him a telegram."

In May, Aaron told the Associated Press he wouldn't be there for No. 756.

"I traveled for 23 years, and I just get tired of traveling," he said. "I'm not going to fly to go see somebody hit a home run, no matter whether it is Barry or Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig or whoever it may be. I'm not going any place."

Unless Bonds comes to Atlanta in August within range of the record. If that happens, Aaron said, "I'd probably fly to West Palm Beach to play golf."

yup, that all sounds pretty bitter. but perfectly permissible as a news story. and also kind of funny; i don't know if aaron was being serious or joking about sending bonds a telegram (can you even do that anymore?) but i like that quote either way.

Then on Thursday, Aaron acted as if he had barely heard of Barry Barnes or Bones or Bonds or whatever his name is. Great line, Hank. Make it your last on the subject.

just as this better be the last column i read on this particular subject.

Because America wants to hear one thing, and one thing only, from a bitter old man:

Silence.

i strongly disagree. i don't think america at all minds hearing the thoughts of baseball's current home run record holder on the cheater that's about to break said record, even if those thoughts are negative. and maybe it's because i'm a bitter young man who wants to learn as much as he can about being bitter from someone who does it well, but i personally want to hear three things and three things only from a bitter old man: (1) his thoughts on rap/heavy metal music, (2) his thoughts on whether youngsters these days have respect for their elders, and (3) whether or not this whole damn country is going to hell in a handbasket. oh, and if he's hank aaron, he can comment on barry bonds as well.