Barry Bonds is not a victim, and he’s not caught up in some expertly coordinated, widespread conspiracy to keep him out of baseball. That discussion needs to stop before it picks up any more steam now that the Diamondbacks, like the Mets and Tigers before them, have decided Bonds isn’t the answer to their problems, even if the all-time home run king is still sitting out there, unemployed, as the All-Star break approaches and the division races heat up.

When it comes to Bonds, some people also would have you believe that the lack of interest in him is a mystery. But it’s not. They ask how a guy with a career on-base percentage of .444 who’s coming off a season in which he had 28 homers and 66 RBI in only 340 at-bats could be unable to find work. But the answer is easy.

Bonds has a right to work. And that right should be defended to the last. But look: He’s facing perjury and obstruction-of-justice raps. He’s a guy with cranky knees who turns 44 in 13 days, is supposedly off the juice and hasn’t faced a live fastball since last fall – all facts that raise legitimate performance issues about what a team could expect from him, especially in the National League, where he’d have to play in the field.

It’s not even especially hypocritical that some teams (OK, a lot of teams) don’t want to sign Bonds simply because he’s an unlikable guy. That happens all the time to talented people in all sorts of professions. They can’t relate to co-workers. They torture management and bring down the workplace atmosphere. Maybe they do something that causes embarrassment and they’re not welcome anymore.

Bonds is guilty of all of the above. When you look at it like that, signing him is not a no-brainer.

Yet this idea that Bonds somehow has been unfairly ostracized gained a little momentum when the Arizona Republic reported Wednesday that Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes initially didn’t dismiss Bonds as a possible replacement for injured outfielder Eric Byrnes. But after speculation raged that Bonds could be coming to Arizona, Byrnes said Thursday that the club is more likely to pursue a trade than a free agent.

“He and maybe a couple of others are sort of sitting out there,” he had said of Bonds. “I think it’s a big if, assessing any player’s readiness, then knocking somebody out of the lineup, dollars, etc. I don’t want to talk about him specifically but, believe me, we’ve considered a lot of options.”

The Mets didn’t even go that far. Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, when reached by Newsday’s David Lennon, unequivocally said the Mets have no interest in his client. And that remains the right call for GM Omar Minaya to make no matter how tight the NL East race stays, or how long Ryan Church needs to heal. Bonds would create a circus.

Bonds also earns special scorn for this reason: What other user in baseball seemingly gained as much from cheating as he did?

So Bonds is no victim. Not even close. Baseball doesn’t miss him and it certainly doesn’t need him. And although it’s true that Bonds is not the only profiteer from baseball’s Steroid Era who deserves our enduring scorn, he’s as good as any place to start.