Needling Barry, Day Two

Sorry, we can't show you any fresh anti-Bonds signs today. The Giants' game with the Padres at Petco Park was postponed; the first Padres rainout since 1998, and only the 16th in their 38-year history. Just as well, because the ESPN reality series Bonds on Bonds debuted that evening, and who wants to be distracted with an actual game during that? It was pretty much what one might expect from a series in which the star has final say over the content; a commercial for Barry Bonds, basically. He laughed. He worked out. He cried. He cried some more. It's kind of the opposite of "Playmakers;" we still can't believe ESPN is showing it, not for moral reasons, but for entertainment ones.

Elsewhere, the Rev. Jesse Jackson has finally showed up, decrying the way Padres' fans treated Bonds on opening night; especially citing the fan who threw a toy syringe into left field. Among other things, Jackson compared what Bonds is going through to Hank Aaron receiving death threats when he approached Ruth's record in 1974. (It was Bonds, however, who joked about "killing somebody" during his reality show.) Also, the mystery of the San Francisco "Trade Barry" billboard has been solved, the scoop coming from Barry's own web site, of all places. There's a graphic of the sign on the site, and if you click on it, it takes you to an ad for Topps' . Whew! The A's Barry Zito must be totally relieved to know the truth.

By the way, credit due to Rob Neyer, who had an excellent line in his chat yesterday:

Dave (Enid, OK): Someone's gotta ask this: What do you think of the whole Barry Bonds/syringe thing last night?

Neyer: I think it's like throwing cookies at the Cookie Monster.

'Bonds On Bonds' — You'll Love Him, Or Hate Him [SF Gate] Needling Barry, Day One [Deadspin] Jackson: Baseball And Police Failed To Protect Bonds [SF Gate] Barry Bonds Official Web Site Barry Bonds Ready For His Closeup [Deadspin] Adventures In Advertising [Deadspin]