Picking Sides Fills Bonds' Home Run Lull

July 27, 2007 — -- As Barry Bonds struggles to bat his way to home run glory, a lineup of detractors are taking a few swings at him.

Consider the still-flying media foodfight between the scrutinized slugger and high-profile HBO sports journalist Bob Costas, a feud that replaced Bonds' home run headlines this week.

Costas drew blood Tuesday night on his show "Costas Now." The hourlong program was devoted to the controversial 755 chase, a home run milestone Bonds remains two runs shy of. Bonds has been mired in a highly publicized home run dearth that now spans more than a week.

Costas interviewed Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, an outspoken opponent of both Bonds and Mark McGwire who has said the pair's failure to talk about steroids is nothing short of an admission of guilt. Costas also spoke with Patrick Arnold, the chemist who shot down Bonds' testimony to a grand jury that he didn't know he was using a synthetic steroid created by Arnold known as the "clear" in 2001 when he clobbered a record 73 home runs.

Costas wrapped the show -- which also featured an interview with waffling baseball commissioner Bud Selig -- with a commentary perhaps more eloquent but every bit as incendiary as a Jerry Springer kicker: Bonds' accomplishment, Costas surmised, is "clearly inauthentic."

Reporters eager for copy in between at-bats promptly ferried the news to Bonds, who in response described Costas as a "midget," a physical description the journalist met head on.

"As anyone can plainly see, I'm 5 foot 6 and a half inches and a strapping 150 pounds, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally," Costas said.

Bonds moved the squabble online Thursday, issuing a statement on his home run chase diary that recanted his short jab and blasted Costas for irresponsible journalism.

But Costas, Schilling and Arnold -- not to mention top federal investigators -- aren't the only potholes in Bonds' path to home run glory.

If there was ever a week for purists to question their faith in sports, this was it. Scandals dominated the headlines: Mike Vick's dogfighting charges, a gambling NBA ref and a Yellow Jersey perhaps permanently stained.

Then there was the ceremonious announcement from Bonds' former mistress, 37-year-old Kimberly Bell, that she would shed both her clothing and the dirt on her relationship with the San Francisco outfielder in the November issue of Playboy -- just in time for maximum thrust.

While some current and former players, including Schilling, have come out swinging, others are rallying behind Bonds.

New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez, for example -- a man who many predict will eclipse Bonds' new home run mark -- said this week that he's "cheering hard" for Bonds.

At times radioactive Detroit Tiger Gary Sheffield, who also has been accused of using Patrick's "clear" steroid, flatly said this week that Bonds is the "best that ever lived."

Others are far more politic, including Hank Aaron, the man whose home run record will inevitably be clouded in controversy. Aaron has said he will not attend games during the Bonds' stretch run. His friends, including Dusty Baker, have publicly said the decision has less to do with Bonds and more to do with not wanting to bat away at the predictably negative line of questioning.

Meanwhile, commissioner Selig, a man some consider complicit in baseball's steroid scandal and who defends himself by citing drug policies put in place under his tenure, has wavered on how he'll track the chase -- a pursuit that could last for days, weeks or months.

Selig was in San Francisco this week, along with a reported 300 credentialed journalists and kayakers crowding McCovey Cove growling for a baseball. He is also scheduled to attend the Giants' three-game set next week in Los Angeles.

Why won't he attend the Giants' weekend series against the Florida Marlins?

The commissioner will be busy in Cooperstown welcoming Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn as they're inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Which, of course, begs another Bonds debate.