Tainted numbers

OK, OK. So Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth and he will likely top Hamerin' Hank Aaron, too. But before you go jotting down the numbers in the record book, there ought to be an asterisk next to his name. Why? We all read the news and we're not dumb. You just don't go from being a 30 to 40 home-run-per-season man then all of sudden wake up and start smacking 73 of those babies in your later years in life. Bonds is a good ballplayer, perhaps a great ballplayer. But if we are going to keep Pete Rose out of the Hall for gambling - even though it was never established he bet on his own team - then we ought to keep an asterisk next to Bonds' name. In fact, we should have asterisks by all those guys who topped Roger Maris since they had more games in the season to do it, and better equipment and conditioning, too. The story on all this mess is going to come out one way or the other and when it does, we have a hunch it's not going to be kind to Barry Bonds. So let him think he has the record right now for being the No. 2 all-time home run hitter. We all know why that is so, and we don't even have to hint, hint, wink, wink or nudge, nudge to figure it out.