Orioles: No Interest in Bonds

Aquiring aging sluggers has always worked so well for the O's (Hello Sammy Sossa and Raffy)

It's like I've been saying, Bonds has no place to go but SF and, frankly, he doesn't want to go anyplace else but SF, but has to do whatever he can (and whatever his agent can think of) to get the Giants to fork over the moolah, it's the American capitalist way.  

Unfortunately for him, he has no leverage this time, unlike last time.  His Balco/steroid connection is probably why he couldn't go to Boras again (like last time) to try to strongarm the Giants into giving him more dough, even Boras knows that aligning himself with Bonds would be a losing proposition this time.

I still think that he will get under $10M, but now might temper that with the Giants also throwing in a big donation to a Bonds approved charity (like his charity), that would bring the total figure over $10M, that could be one way of assuaging his ego without shelling out more cash, as charity donations is part of another part of their corporate budget.  Like pay Bonds $8M but agree to donate $1M each year for the next 5-10 years to his family's charity (which some of his relatives work for, so some of the money will end up in the Bonds family pockets somehow).  I recall the Cards doing something like that for McGwire's last contract, money went to an abused children charity that McGwire started up.

That way, it looks like Bonds's getting more money but having his charity get it instead, directly, the Giants don't have to actually pay more out, though that means another charity doesn't get that money, and Bonds end up back with the Giants with some shred of his ego and dignity intact, helping his inner id survive this possible affront to his respect.

Leave it to Tom Hicks.