Well, isn't it obvious? I mean, do we really need to offer a qualifier?

In all fairness to the new home run king of Major League Baseball, there have only ever been allegations, insinuations and innuendos about Barry Bonds' supposed use of "performance-enhancing drugs."

That being said, I believe that something was obviously happening behind the scenes ... something that took a player who wasn't really living up to his supposed talents made him what he is now. Something happened to turn that perennially scrawny kid into a cartoon-like monster.

If you look at his stats, he was just a good player (and a far cry from great) season after season with the Pirates. He only had two seasons in Pittsburgh where he hit nearly as many home runs as he has consistently out west, and now he's hitting an average of nearly 40 per season — including the gonzo year of 73 in 2001.

So where does this all leave us? Did he come to San Fran as a burgeoning superstar only to bulk up like nuts, hit homer after homer and have his fielding and running abilities suffer? Well, that just what happened.

Throw in a damning book, a former mistress, a friend in jail, tales of tax evasion and grand jury hearings, and you've got a soap opera-esque way of playing the game.

For my money, here is how it all goes down:

Baseball attendance and revenues were stumbling prior to a certain players' strike. Then these guys go away for a while, and the fans do, too.

And even now things are still not as great as they could or should be as a whole. Television ratings are in the tank, and people are just unwilling to take out a second mortgage to get season tickets for a second-rate teams.

Then there was a home run race between two fellow cartoonish characters, blasting their way to see who could hit more in a single season. Supposedly, this challenge and the media attention that followed every crack of the bat drove Bonds to decide that he should have that attention.

The stage is set: owners and the big wigs are then more than happy to sort of look the other way as Bonds does whatever to make this thing a reality. Why? Butts in seats and media attention and everything else that goes along with it. A total ends-justifies-the-means scenario.

And here's the kicker — everybody bothering to pay attention already knows it! It's kinda common knowledge that Bonds is really just a product of the system.

Curt Shilling said it best: "I mean, there's no gray area. He admitted to cheating on his wife, cheating on his taxes, and cheating on the game, so I think the reaction around the league, the game, being what it is, in the case of what people think."

I believe MLB is hoping that the legal system will take care of the whole Bonds mess. Just the same way that the NFL bars Mike Vick from training camp without suspending him, so baseball is gambling that off-field problems will finally catch up to the guy. If the offenses are seen or trumped up enough to be truly terrible, then Hall of Fame contention also goes away.

I enjoy going to baseball games; so far, we've been to 20 major-league parks, and I have tickets for one more out-of-market game coming up in a few weeks. And I believe that most of the guys out there are truly honored to be able to play the game and make the money they do — they don't want to attract all the attention to themselves, they just want to win as a team. But the few really self-centered, glory-hogging "superstars" who parade themselves around like they are the greatest thing to ever happen are a big turn off to most marginal fans.

Just remember that when Hank Aaron broke the Babe's record, he finished the game to help the Braves win .... Bonds had one more go and then took himself out to watch the Giants lose.

And now, I leave you with this video of not-so-great quality to show you my all-time favorite Bonds moment (it comes at about 50 seconds into the segment):