QUOTE(Soxbadger @ May 18, 2006 -> 12:37 PM)
What message was Springer sending?
1) Your last at bat I pegged you, so therefore Ill peg you again.
2) 2 ab's ago you hit a HR, so therefore Ill peg you again.
3) Barry Bonds said something demeaning about Springer ala Vizquel and Mesa.
4) Barry Bonds is a cheater, therefore Ill peg him.
5) Barry Bonds is closing in on a record, I have given up a HR in the past, I dont want to be the name people remember.
The reason this is indefendable is because unlike the majority of arguments in this thread, Springer hit Bonds for reason 5.
Not any of the other reasons, because if this was true the Astros would peg every caught cheater. And they just do not do it. Also if it was true, the Astros would not have waited to peg Bonds once the game got out of hand, they pegged him then because they knew he was going to be looking for a pitch to drive.
Its fine not to want to be a guy that gives up the record, but it is not fine that he tried to intentionally hurt some one to prevent it.
No morality here, just Springer knowing that Bonds is the better player.
You have just as much proof of that as anyone has proof that Bonds did steroids. For all we know, Springer just had a really bad sequence of pitches.