Bonds hammered the shot in the 2nd inning off the Padres hurler Clay Hensley. The count was 3-1 and the shot tallied Bond’s 21 dinger of the year. He now has 755 career home runs.

There has been much talk about this milestone and strong feelings that Barry Bonds is a cheater and drug user and thus shouldn’t receive accolades for meeting and ultimately breaking Hank Aaron’s record. Well, I say “shah, right, like none of the pitchers he was trying to hit were on the juice.” The reality is, like every other professional athelete, Bonds tried to get an edge. It was illegal and he got caught (sort of) – but it’s not like he was alone. Does anyone really believe in their heart of hearts the pitchers weren’t doing the same thing?

Bonds suffers from being an asshole. He’s not a likable character, he’s a high strung competitor, he’s childish, he cheated, and he got caught. But, he has tied the record and unless he does something like retire tomorrow, he will break the record. So purists, get over it. It’s done. Give Barry his due. You don’t have to like him, you don’t have to respect him, but you do have to recognize the achievement.

Oh, and by the way, there’s still rampant cheating going on (perhaps not Bonds now) but you can rest assured the rest of the major leaguers are looking for any edge, legal or not, to keep them in the league and enhance their performance. It’s wrong, but it’s what the major sporting leagues are all about. And don’t think for a moment that MLB doesn’t know – they simply don’t care because it puts a stronger, more exciting product on the market.