"This is old stuff," said Bonds, who needs a dozen home runs to pass Babe Ruth and 53 to break Hank Aaron's all-time record but will be dogged by his direct link to the steroid controversy. According to grand jury testimony in connection with the indictment of his personal trainer and others that was leaked last year, Bonds said that he had used a clear substance and a cream but did not know they were steroids.
Yesterday, he said with disdain, "It's like watching `Sanford and Son.' It's almost comical, basically."
Yeah, this cloud of suspicion hanging over the entire industry is just one big hoot, isn't it?
"When your closet is clean, come clean somebody else's," he said. "Clean yours first."
Orthopedic surgeon Bill Morgan was part of the Red Sox medical staff for the last 18 years; he was team doctor since 1998 and medical director for the last three seasons until the club opted for a new medical team this spring. Morgan knows what cheating is. He made it a priority to be informed about steroids because, as he said by phone last night, "Anybody taking care of professional teams today had better become an expert on steroids."
There's only one reason, he said, why a baseball player would use steroids.
"Of course they're performance-enhancing drugs," he said. "Why do you think people use them?"
Because he is no longer employed by the Sox, Morgan has fewer constraints about speaking out on the subject. How prevalent does he believe the use of steroids is in the game?
"I would hazard a guess -- and maybe I am naive and don't see it -- but I think it's less than some estimates you've heard or read," he said. "I would say less than 15 percent."
Call him naive, but Morgan added, "I would go on record as saying there was no steroid use, to my knowledge, by the Red Sox in my years with the team."
