Bob Costas was in the booth with Brian and Bill during the 5th inning today and had a lot of interesting things to say. I thought it was well worth rewinding the DVR to get the actual quotes.
First, Costas brought up Bud Selig and had many complimentary things to say. I'll quote those a little further down. Speaking of Bud's tenure brought them back around to discussing steroids and Costas informed Bill and Brian that things he said to them prior to the game were actually the things that set off the bad blood between him and Bonds.
"I'm pretty sure that my friend Bud Selig is watching the game back in Milwaukee as he kind of makes his trip around the satellite dish and watches all the games but maybe with a special bit of attention toward the Brewers. Baseball does not need a new commissioner. There were times in the past when I was critical of Bud - although I always valued his friendship. But I think on balance, while there will be questions about certain things and legitimate criticisms, on balance if you look at his tenure, his tenure has been a successful one and in many ways a revolutionary one. Because there have been changes, not all of which I've agreed with, but changes under his leadership that he has spearheaded and he deserves credit for a lot of that. ... And if in fact, he was slow on the steroid issue and if the game was slow, he certainly is trying to make up for it now. He's certainly trying to be as proactive as he can be now."
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Brian tells an anecdote about Costas being in Milwaukee when Bonds was there and asks Bob where he stands on where things are in baseball right now.
"Well, the economics of the game, while imperfect and I don't know if you can ever fully perfect them, are certainly better than theywere six or seven years ago. Revenue sharing has made matters better. The luxury tax is perhaps not as effective as a salary cap but helps a little bit. And I think a lot of teams have gone to school on the Bill Beanes and the Terry Ryans and the others and they've learned how to make better use of limited resources so you have competitive imbalance, yes, but a less acute problem than it once was. And while they were late and they have to pay the price both in terms of public perception and history and what happens in the record books I think that now they're doing just about everything they possibly can to reduce the use of performance enhancing drugs. You're never going to completely eliminate it from any sports but I think that they've gone a long way to significantly reducing it."
"You know the last time I was with you guys in Milwaukee, that series in July, against the Giants, you asked me about Bonds and it was then that I said 'Look. Looks like a lot of people just are afraid to say it bluntly. I live on this planet. It's clear that the man used performance enhancing drugs. He was a great player but he used steroids to go from an all-time great player to a super-human player.' As it happened, Barry was in the visitors' clubhouse and heard that. And THAT'S what set him off. People thought it was the report, the larger report that I was there to do a portion of, the larger report that aired the next week on HBO. But it was the telecast with you guys that he heard in the Giant clubhouse that set him off."
