live or memorex?

A column I wrote Monday on Barry Bonds elicited an interesting email. I offered Bonds a backhanded compliment, suggesting that at least he was true to himself, by being a boor 24-7. The writer wondered who was worse, a guy like Bonds, or a jerk who comes off as nice when the cameras are rolling and the note pads are out. I've known a few of those: Tommy Lasorda and Jim Valvano come to mind. That's always one thing I liked about Bob Huggins. You knew where you stood w/him at any particular moment. There was no pretending.

That said, Bonds is in a category by himself. Lots of athletes dislike the media and make that plain. But Bonds seems to dislike everyone, except himself. Even Carl Pickens -- as close a local athlete to Bonds as I've dealt with -- could be engaging when he chose, even if it was rare.

On another subject: When I heard my peer and friend Richard Skinner on the radio Sunday, comparing Adam Dunn and Ichiro Suzuki, I damned near drove off the road. His point was that Dunn's OBP compared favorably w/the Seattle slap hitter's. So what? Ichiro is paid to get on base. Dunn is paid to drive in runs. The fact Dunn walks a lot when he should be hacking is nothing to praise him for. If he swung the bat instead of walking, he might have more than 203 RBI to go with his 86 HRs in the previous 2 seasons. Dunn's best spot in the Reds lineup is No. 2, after Felipe Lopez. He'll get lots of fastballs, Lopez will get lots of steal chances and close to 40 pct of the time each will be on base w/Junior or Kearns coming up.

That said, Skinner does a great job on the radio, day after day, than I could ever do. Live big.