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For the most complete Barry Bonds smackdown read Right Wing Nuthouse’s Not about Barry Bonds.
I am not going to write about his tax problems, brought on by his unreported cash income from signing balls, bats, and anything that isn’t nailed down in a ballpark.
I am not going to write about his personal trainer Greg Anderson, languishing in jail on a contempt charge because he refuses to testify against Bonds and confirm that he and Victor Conte of BALCO helped Bonds bulk up.
I am not going to write about Barry Bonds because Barry Bonds is a cheat, a scoundrel, a woman abuser, and a tax dodge.
In the end though, he lets some ambivalence show through.
No, I won’t write about Barry Bonds. Tomorrow. Today, I, like anyone else who loves baseball, can’t think about anything else.
For a diametrically opposed view of Bonds read John Sickels.
I don’t understand why everyone picks on Bonds. Did he use stuff he should not have used? Probably. So did the pitchers he was hitting against. It probably made him stronger, yes, but it did not improve his strike zone judgment, or his hand-eye coordination, and those were the things that have made him such an exceptional hitter. And it helped the guys he was hitting against just as much as it helped him. And he was hitting in San Francisco…you think that the steroids helped him more than the park hurt him the last few years?
This is really ridiculous I think. If Bonds were more personable, this wouldn’t be a controversy. The press has hated Barry Bonds way before the steroid thing, just like they hated Ted Williams. Because he doesn’t put up with their crap.
This is important. Gaylord Perry was known for scuffing balls, something that had an immediate impact on the game, for it caused a pitched ball to move in unpredictable motions. No matter how long Barry Bonds took steroids he still had to work out to build up his muscles. And it likely had no impact on his coordination.
But even Sickels accepts the premise that Barry is a bad guy personally. Still it’s hard to get past some of the evidence otherwise. Consider for a moment what Bonds has done for some of pitchers he’s victimized. He’s given them autographed bats. And not just Hensley, he also did this for Kip Wells who gave up 600.
And then there’s Cal Ripken
It was a joint effort by Barry and me. I like Barry a lot. I think he’s got a heart the size of a lion, and a lot of people might not recognize that or might not see it. I just thought that commercial had some potential to go beyond what had been written into it. Not that we’re writers or anything. We actually didn’t write it. Someone else did. But we talked it through, and I guess I gave them my permission to make a fool out of myself.
(The context of Ripken’s remarks were about a commercial he and Barry Bonds had made for Franklin batting gloves. The two player were compared. Then finally the announcer says “Barry Bonds has an earring.” As I recall the final scene has Cal sporting an amazingly garish earring with Bonds observing with a bemused look. Cal asks – something like – “You think my Dad will like this?” It’s a classic.)
There’s no getting many of the negative things Right Wing Nut House wrote about Barry Bonds. However I think his biggest problem wasn’t his surliness, but rather that he was surly towards the press corps. Thus he’s never gotten the benefit of the doubt in the media, assuring that he’s never going to get the benefit of the doubt.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
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Baseball Crank disputes that with Glavine we’ve seen the last of the 300 game winner.
Plus he has related thoughts here and here. Still, Dayn Perry doesn’t think we’re seeing another 300 game winner any time soon.
In Drinking up the Dregs Baseball Musings seemingly asks the question if great sluggers beat up on the worst pitchers the most. He has more at The Story and Thank the Pirates. Hardball Times engages in some similar speculation in How to Fix the Pirates. Dayn Perry considers A-Rod’s chances of dethroning Barry Bonds as Home Run king. Deadspin doubts the claim that Barry Bonds’ arms haven’t grown since 1992 and presents photographic evidence.
JoshuaPundit thinks the ambivalence shown Bonds is a good thing. Don Surber’s thoughts are closer to my own.
Finally, Outside the Beltway has the ultimate Barry Bonds roundup.
Crossposted at Soccer Dad.
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…just in case you didn’t hear that a million times yet.
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| Sunday, August 5, 2007 |
Barry Bonds hit his 755th home run last night, tying the legendary Hank Aaron atop the Major League Baseball career home run standings.
AP’s Janie McCauley:
With a short swing, a half stare and an emphatic clap of his hands, Barry Bonds rounded the bases. After so many days and so many tries, he had finally caught Hammerin’ Hank. “The hard part is over right now,” Bonds said.
High above the field in a private box, baseball commissioner Bud Selig was a reluctant witness to history. Choosing to overlook the steroid allegations that have dogged the San Francisco slugger, Selig watched Bonds tie Hank Aaron’s home run record – his mouth agape, hands stuffed in pockets and nary a cheer on his lips.
No. 755 was a strong shot for all the doubters, an opposite-field drive of 382 feet to left-center, moving Bonds within one swing of having baseball’s pinnacle of power all to himself. It came on a 2-1, 91 mph fastball Saturday night.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my entire career,” he said. “I had rashes on my head, I felt like I was getting sick at times.”
And it was a long time coming. It had been eight days and 28 plate appearances since Bonds hit his 754th home run, and he came out for early batting practice Saturday, hoping to break his slump. He did it quickly, leading off the second inning.
“No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds’ achievement is noteworthy and remarkable,” Selig said in a statement.
Quite so. Of course, the idea that 28 plate appearances constitutes “a long time” between home runs, let alone for a man in his 40s, says something about Bonds’ career.
And how’s this for supreme irony?
Bonds hit the tying homer off a former Giants draft pick who was suspended in 2005 for violating baseball’s minor league steroids policy.
ESPN’s Eric Neel:
 At 7:29 p.m. local time Saturday, in the top of the second inning, Barry Bonds hit career home run No. 755 off Padres pitcher Clay Hensley. It was the first home run he had ever hit off Hensley, who became the 445th different major league pitcher to surrender a home run to Bonds.
It came on a 2-1 pitch, a 91-mph fastball. The swing was clean and true, hands back, head in, follow-through a study in grace and power. The crack of the bat was sharp, familiar, prodigious. The ball flew 382 feet on a low, sharp line to the opposite field, over the left-field fence and off the facing of the second deck of seats at San Diego’s Petco Park.
The sellout crowd came to its feet — some cheering, some booing. Bonds’ teammates burst from the dugout to await him at home plate, and he circled the bases quickly, clapping his hands on his way to first, and slapping a celebratory high-five with Giants coach Glenn Hoffman as he made his way around third base.
 His 16-year-old son Nikolai stood at home, holding his father’s bat in his right hand, shifting from foot to foot. As Bonds crossed the plate, father and son shared a hug, whispering something in tight, touching foreheads, squeezing each other as if the room were their own and not a stadium full of 42,000 onlookers.
The crowd stayed standing, at full throat, cheers and applause still crashing over a steady undercurrent of boos, a blend of appreciation and allegation. Cameras flashed from every corner and level of the park as Bonds’ teammates, in an impromptu receiving line, led by manager Bruce Bochy and second baseman Ray Durham, congratulated him one by one, each man with his own hug and handshake, bench coach Ron Wotus with a kiss.
Bonds’ family, wife Liz and 7-year-old daughter Aisha Lynn, came to the foul-ball netting in the first row of seats behind home plate. Bonds reached through to hold their hands and leaned in to kiss them before making his way to a seat in the dugout.
There was no chanting, no “Barry Sucks.” People didn’t turn their backs or throw things. Adam Hughes, the lucky fan who caught the home run ball, held onto it. The crowd stood again in tribute (again with a mix of cheers and jeers) when Bonds took the field in the bottom of the inning. Bonds took off his cap and made a small wave toward the stands down the third-base line.
And that’s as it should be. Barry Bonds certainly isn’t the only slugger to use performance enhancers.
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| Sunday, July 22, 2007 |
The AJC has a feature on Al Downing, the former big league pitcher and baseball announcer best known for giving up Hank Aaron‘s 715th home run.
[I]n an instant on April 8, 1974, Downing became forever linked with Hank Aaron. The Atlanta slugger hit his historic 715th home run off Downing, who was on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although 310 pitchers gave up home runs to Aaron, Downing is the Jeopardy question, the clue in the crossword puzzle, the answer in a Trivial Pursuit game.
 “I think people have a tendency to look at me as if that moment defines my career,” said Downing, 66, who retired in 1977 after winning 123 games in 17 years in the major leagues. “I always tell them, ‘That moment was Henry’s moment. It wasn’t my moment. It could have been anybody on that mound giving up that home run. Henry was the common denominator.’ ”
Now the numbers are adding up for Barry Bonds. Very soon an unwitting pitcher — who will it be? — will serve up No. 756 and find his name inextricably tied to Bonds. Downing will empathize with the man on the mound, but he won’t feel sorry for him. “Why should you feel sorry for a guy who’s doing what he loves?” he said. “He’s playing baseball. Very few people get an opportunity to pitch in the major leagues.”
[...]
After Tom Glavine gave up Bonds’ 11th homer of the season on May 8, the former Braves pitcher said that if the Mets had to face Bonds again before he got the record, “I can assure you I wouldn’t want to be the guy who gave up the home run.” Downing didn’t have that attitude when he was playing. “You can say, ‘I hope it’s not me,’ but that’s like saying, ‘I hope I don’t have to pitch in a big game,’ ” said Downing, who pitched in three World Series, was the first black starting pitcher in Yankees history and once was compared favorably with Sandy Koufax. “You live for a big game; you live for moments like that.”
[...]
Dodgers manager Walter Alston chose Downing to pitch after Aaron had hit No. 714 two games earlier. “He didn’t know I’d give up a home run,” Downing said. “But he said, ‘You’ve pitched in World Series, All-Star Games. … You’re a veteran.’ I was almost 33. He said, ‘I know that you can handle the pressure of that moment.’ ”
[...]
Downing is offended by people who say, “You must have grooved the pitch.”
“They’re the people who don’t know much about the sport,” he said. “I say that’s an insult to Hank Aaron. … It’s like saying somebody let Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points on him. He did it because he could; they didn’t let him.”
[...]
Downing, who lives in Valencia, Calif., and has retired as a broadcaster, said Aaron has always been gracious about their shared history. When they saw each other at the 25th anniversary celebration in 1999, Aaron asked, “How many home runs did I hit off of you?” Downing answered, “Three,” which, by the way, was 14 fewer than Aaron hit off Don Drysdale. “He [Aaron] said, ‘I wasn’t sure if it was two or three.’ People always act as if I hit 30 home runs off you. I say, ‘No, Al Downing was a good pitcher.’ “
And seemingly a decent, well-adjusted man. He’s absolutely right about one thing: Whoever gives up Bonds’ 756th home run will be some guy doing what he loves. It could be a kid up for his one cup of coffee in the Bigs or a future Hall of Famer. Bonds is a superstar; he can hit number 756 off of anyone. And, certainly, it’s no disgrace to be the victim of one of the best to ever play the game.
PITCHES OF INFAMY
Selected list of pitchers surrendering momentous hits or home runs:
1927: Tom Zachary, Washington Senators — Babe Ruth’s 60th homer of the season
1951: Ralph Branca, Brooklyn Dodgers — Bobby Thomson’s pennant-winning homer
1961: Tracy Stallard, Boston Red Sox — Roger Maris’ 61st homer of the season
1974: Al Downing, L.A. Dodgers — Hank Aaron’s 715th homer of his career
1985: Eric Show, San Diego Padres — Pete Rose’s 4,192nd hit of his career
1998: Steve Trachsel, Chicago Cubs — Mark McGwire’s 62nd homer of the season
2001: Chan Ho Park, L.A. Dodgers — Barry Bonds’ 71st homer of the season
No Hall of Famers in that bunch but several very good pitchers, certainly including Al Downing.
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| Thursday, July 12, 2007 |
Barry Bonds is within five of being the new all-time home run king. AP’s Janie McCauley looks at the pressure issue.
Barry Bonds knows he’s going to enjoy his home run chase much more if the San Francisco Giants start winning regularly. For now, the slugger refuses to think about how he’ll feel as he closes in on Hank Aaron’s mark of 755. He’s four away from tying Aaron heading into a three-game home series against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night.
Bonds acknowledges it still could take several weeks, or even more than a month. That means it might take until after his 43rd birthday on July 24.
“I’m really not there yet. I think when you get to 54, I’ll really feel it,” Bonds said during the All-Star festivities. “Then it just depends how many games are left. But I’m not quitting, so I might make you wait ’til next year. You know I’m drama, so why not make it more drama?”
[...]
Most of Bonds’ recent milestone home runs have come in the warm confines of San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark, where fans cheered him at every chance during Tuesday’s All-Star game. He is beloved in the Bay Area despite the steroid suspicions.
Everybody expects he’ll break Aaron’s record at pitcher friendly AT&T Park, too.
“You think I have that kind of time to do that?” Bonds said. “This ballpark isn’t that easy. They ain’t going to throw the ball back.”
[...]
Bonds has repeatedly said he will play beyond 2007, whether or not he catches Hammerin’ Hank this year. “If I come up short, I come up short, and if I get past it, I get past it,” Bonds said. “But I’m going to give my honest effort to my ability that God’s given me.”
He also has 3,000 career hits on his mind, too. And when Bonds puts his mind to something, he usually does it. “If you cut your sights short, you might as well quit, because now that desire in you is gone,” Bonds said. “I’m not chasing Hank. My sight’s past that.
“I’ve got some time, brother. My skills ain’t that bad. I’m going to play. You know what, if I walk away from the game knowing I can still play the game, I wouldn’t have a happy ending. I have to walk away when I know I can’t do it anymore, so I can be free with it.”
Aaron blew past Ruth’s 714, quietly finishing with 754. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Bonds became the first to break the 800 barrier.
Last week Aubrey Huff hit for the cycle in a losing cause for he Orioles. He became the third player this year, after Mark Ellis of the Athletics and Fred Lewis of the Giants to hit for the cycle.
The Giants have had players hit for the cycle 24 times. (Lewis’s cycle put them ahead of the Pirates.) Luke Scott of the Astros became the first rookie to hit for the cycle, when he accomplished the feat last year. Gary Matthews Jr. was the most recent player to hit for the cycle in order when he was with the Rangers last year.
The Twins had eight players hit for the cycle between 1970 and 1986 but none since.
Does the name Tyrone Horne mean anything to you? Well he’s the only professional baseball player ever to hit for the home run cycle. Baseball Guru adds
Horne’s four homers and 10 RBI helped the Travelers rout the Missions, 13-4. Horne went on to win the Texas League home run crown with 37 that year, also driving in 139.
But get this: Horne never made it to the majors in the U.S. (He did play in the Korean Major Leagues, though.) I’d add that this isn’t necessarily surprising. For someone to lead a minor league level in HR (or any counting stat) for a season, he’d have to play nearly a whole season, at least, in that league. That would mean that his team never saw that he had progressed enough to go to the next level.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
He died this morning in Arizona.
Rod Beck, a relief pitcher who wore a bushy mustache while earning 286 career saves, was found dead Saturday. He was 38. Beck was found by police officers responding to a call to his home in suburban Phoenix, according to police department spokesman Andy Hill. Foul play is not suspected, though the cause of death might not be known for several days.
With long hair framing a menacing stare and an aggressive arm swing before delivering a pitch, the outgoing right-hander was a memorable baseball personality and a three-time All-Star who twice led the NL in saves. He spent the first seven of his 13 major league season with the San Francisco Giants.
Beck was popular with his teammates, reporters and fans, but battled personal demons late in his life. He abruptly left the San Diego Padres for a two-month stint in drug rehabilitation during his final season in 2004.
“He was having some problems, and I just knew he went into rehab and joined us later that year,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, the Padres’ manager at the time. “It’s so sad when you see healthy players go at such a young age. This is a bad day in baseball to lose a guy who did so much for the game.”
Nicknamed “Shooter,” Beck played for the Giants (1991-97), the Chicago Cubs (1998-99) and the Boston Red Sox (1999-2001) before finishing his career with the Padres (2003-04). Beck reportedly was living in a camper behind the Iowa Cubs’ center-field fence when San Diego called.
Beck led the majors in saves in 1993, when he set the Giants’ single-season record with 48. He was San Francisco’s career saves leader with 199 until Robb Nen passed him in 2002.
Beck led the majors again in 1998 with 51 saves for Chicago, helping the Cubs win the NL wild card. He had a career record of 38-45 in 704 games, with a 3.30 ERA.
Beck was a solid relief pitcher. RIP.
According to Abbie VanSickle of the Tampa Bay Times a teen who lived in the foster care of a relative of Rays OF Elijah Dukes has told police the Rays outfielder got her pregnant.
Detectives believe the sex was consensual and no crime was committed, but the incident has prompted a state review of the foster home. The girl was 17 when she became pregnant, but has since turned 18 and left the foster home.
The inquiry took place in late May, days before a judge barred Dukes from contacting his estranged wife.
The girl, who expects to give birth in November, told investigators she and Dukes had sonsentual sex but Dukes got angry when she confronted him about the pregnancy.
Chris Costello, spokesman for the Rays, said the team would have no official comment, and niether would Dukes. – TBT
This just disgusts me. I’m tired of hearing about Dukes, and I’m even more tired of seeing him play in the Rays outfield. The Washington Nationals have expressed a lot of interest in Dukes and I think the Rays should pull the trigger on a trade even if it’s for a bucket of batting practice baseballs.
Dukes has been out of the lineup for two days and has been dealing with “personal issues”. Delmon Young has stared both games in CF but has expressed he would rather be in RF.
*******
- Rays placed 2B/CF B.J. Upton on the 15-day DL. “It’s been getting better every day,” Upton said after the Devil Rays lost 9-0 to the San Diego Padres. “Take a week or so off and see how it feels.” “The MRI revealed that he needed a little bit of rest,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “We’re just concerned about the long haul, pushing him right now. It just wasn’t necessary. We thought it was better to shut him down for right now.” The Rays called up OF Jonny Gomes to take his place on the roster.
- Finally, what all Brewer fans were waiting for: Yovanni Gallardo got the call up to the Majors. Gallardo, 21, is 8-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 13 starts for Triple-A Nashville, and he leads all of Minor League Baseball with 110 strikeouts. According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, if the Brewers can avoid using him out of the bullpen this weekend in Minnesota, Gallardo would make his Major League debut Monday against the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park.
- On the downside for Brewers fans though Chris Capuano got hurt warming up in the bullpen before Wednesday’s game.
- Philles closer Tom Gordon could be back by the end of the month.
- Rays CF/DH Rocco Baldelli is currently in extended spring training and could be back by the end of next week.
- Orioles starting pitcher Adam Lowen is out for the year.
- Bud Selig may be giving Yankees DH Jason Giambi a bit of a suspension.
- Marlins reliever Henry Owens is going back on the DL.
-Dodgers fired hitting coach Eddie Murray and named Bill Mueller interim hitting coach. I love the idea of Mueller being a hitting coach. If he doesn’t take over full-time look for him to get a gig as a hitting coach with someone is the next few years.
- The Royals purchased the contract of INF Fernando Cortez and optioned OF Shane Costa to Omaha (AAA). Cotrez is the forgotten man in the Joey Gathright for J.P. Howell deal.
- Good to see Braves 3B Chipper Jones back yesterday.
- The Rays signed veteran reliever Jay Witasick to a one year deal. This is a great move. He is just two years removed from posting a 2.84 ERA in 63.1 innings with 73 SO, 17 holds, and only 53 hits allowed. He had a 3.60 ERA with Oakland this year before they let him go.
via BallBug
Forbes has an article about the Business of Baseball. Given that Forbes is a business magazine not a sports magazine its list of baseball 10 best general managers will be the subject of some debate.
Being an Orioles’ fan, I hardly think that Mike Flanagan (#10 according to Forbes) deserves to be anywhere near the top of this list (yet.) He works for a difficult owner and as a fan I haven’t seen a good product for an entire year during his tenure. If this year turns out well, as it appears it might right now, there’s still little hope for long term success here. The Orioles have one of the weaker farm systems in MLB and the team isn’t especially young. (Overall that is. There’s Markakis, Cabrera, Loewen and Ray, but most everyone else of significance is 28 and up.) Success this year isn’t likely to extend more than two years unless the team’s scouting improves drastically.
I realize that this ranking is primarily from a business not a baseball standpoint, that’s why stathead favorite GM’s without much success (so far) like Mark Shapiro and Doug Melvin don’t rank. (Forbes does have metrics for evaluating them, but success on the field isn’t necessarily one of them.) Still how can Mike Flanagan make the list but not the likes of Kenny Williams, Brian Cashman, Bill Stoneman or even Tim Purpura whose teams have been in the World Series in recent years. Or Kevin Towers and Terry Ryan whose teams have made the playoffs?
And how does John Schuerholz rank below Brian Sabean or Pat Gillick?
Shouldn’t baseball have something to do with it?
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
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