Bonds

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Say what you will... wether you believe the accusations or not... but even if those accusations are true...

660 is one damn impressive number.

 

[Elvis Presley]

Yeah, it is impressive. Good to see more than the batboy greeting him at home on this one too. #500 didnt go that way.

 

[Chizip]

i have to agree with rob neyer on this one, since when is becoming #3 on a list such a big deal? nobody ever goes, yaaaaay, we're number 3!

there has been way too much attention over this home run.

 

[Elvis Presley]

Yeah, my favorite comment was by Kruk when they showed the highlight of his 100th homer. He said, "he looks like Kenny Lofton".....


BONDS ON THE JUICE, HEAD BIG AS A MOOSE!

 

[gherman]

i have to agree with rob neyer on this one, since when is becoming #3 on a list such a big deal? nobody ever goes, yaaaaay, we're number 3!

there has been way too much attention over this home run.

Its gotten just as much press as it should

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

when has passing willie friggin mays for third on the all time list become just another accomplishment? the all-time homerun record is one of the, if not THE most storied recrods in all of sport. this is a huge deal, a great accomplishment... should it be front page news for days? no... and it hasn't been. it got the appropriate coverage on the sports pages, and now that's about it. now we wait for him to pass Ruth... either late this season or early next.

 

[Mr. BAW]

The news reports that the same kayak guy got balls # 660 and 661...

.... do you think it's only Jeff Kent who wants to kick his ass???

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

a man gets accused of rape and he's sitll a media darling... a man gets accused of sticking a needle in his arm and being "surly" towards the press, and he's the anti-christ... go figure.


and yes... the same guy caught both homerun balls... he gave 660 back to bonds, kept 661 for himself.

 

[Elvis Presley]

There is a reason why most of Barrys teammates dislike him.

 

[Chizip]

i dont know, i still have to agree with this

Great feat, but not historic

By Rob Neyer
ESPN.com

As I'm sure I've mentioned two or a hundred times, I do a lot of radio spots (or "hits," as we seasoned professionals call them). And one of the questions I've been asked a few times in recent days is, "Where's the hype over Barry Bonds catching Willie Mays on the home-run list?"


Two things. One, I've seen plenty of hype. And two, one might reasonably argue that there's too much hype. Let's think about this for a moment ... Barry Bonds did not just break the major-league record for home runs. That's 755 (Hank Aaron). He did not break the National League record for home runs. That's 733 (also Aaron). He did not even break the Giants' franchise record for home runs. That's 644 (fellow named Willie Mays).


I mean, I'm sorry, but I just can't get that excited about somebody moving into a tie for the No. 3 spot on any list. Was it a big story on Aug. 9, 1960, when Ted Williams hit his 511th home run, tying Mel Ott for third on the all-time list? Was it a big story on June 23, 1966, when Mays hit his 521st home run, tying Williams for third on the all-time list? Was it a big story in 1972 when Aaron tied Mays for second on the all-time list?


Without checking, I would strongly suspect that those were not big national stories. Stories, yes. But not big stories, because the prize has always been first place, either in the majors or (when the leagues were actually separate entities) in the league.


I don't mean to belittle Bonds' accomplishment, and I've been following his every swing on TV, too. It's a big story, and all the more so because of whom he has tied. But this quest for third place certainly does not suffer from a lack of attention, and I'll be glad when Bonds has No. 3 all to himself, and we can simmer until next spring, when Bonds gets the Babe in his sights.


By the way, did you know that Bonds already passed Ruth in one important statistic? It happened last September. On the 14th, Bonds pinch-hit for Jeffrey Hammonds in the eighth inning and, facing Milwaukee's Mike Crudale, Bonds drew the 2,062nd walk of his career, tying him with Babe Ruth for No. 2 on the all-time list. On the 15th, Bonds passed Ruth with a sixth-inning intentional walk, issued by San Diego's Brandon Villafuerte.


Bonds finished 2003 with 2,070 walks, and has added seven this season, leaving him 113 short of Rickey Henderson, who finished his 2003 season -- and presumably his career -- with 2,190 walks. Considering that Bonds has averaged 173 walks per season over the last three seasons, absent injury he's almost certainly going to break the record in 2004.


Think anybody will notice? Probably not any more than anybody noticed on April 25, 2001, when Henderson broke Ruth's record. Or any more than anybody noticed on October 4, 2001, when Henderson homered to tie (or break, depending on which source you believe) Ty Cobb's all-time record for runs scored. Henderson broke his own record many times, the last time on Sept. 19, 2003. In the Dodgers' 6-4 loss to the Giants, Henderson pinch-hit for Guillermo Mota and was plunked by Jason Christiansen. He moved to second on Dave Roberts' bunt, held his base when Paul Lo Duca grounded out, and sprinted home when Shawn Green singled to center field. Henderson didn't play another game, and so he didn't score another run.


And Henderson's runs record, as opposed to Aaron's home-run record, looks fairly safe for now. Barry's still roughly 350 runs behind Rickey, and lately he has been averaging roughly 115 per season. Bonds turns 40 this summer, and I would rate his chance of catching Henderson at somewhere well south of 50/50.

 

[gherman]

Its not just the fact that he broke the record, or is at 3rd place, its that he has an exellent chance to pass Hank. He still has alot of swings left in him. Mays finished... finished with 660, meaning he didn't hit anymore, duh! Bonds still has a lot left in him.

 

[Elvis Presley]

Great article Chiz...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Ahhhh The Good Ole Days...
by Headache in a Suitcase
http://U2security.interference.com

ahhh how i yearn for the good ole days...

back when stadiums weren't named after corporations... well... um except for wrigley field...

and when players didn't use performance enahncers... well... except for many players from the 60s, including willie mays admitting to popping the occasional amphedamine to give him an energy boost...

when players didn't cheat to get ahead... well... except for gaylord perry and ty cobb and a few other hall of famers...

and when they cared about their bodies... well... except for mickey mantle obliterating his liver with alcohol...

when people didn't hit rediculous homerun numbers, breaking the record every year... well... except for when babe ruth would hit more homeruns than 10 entire teams combined

when it wasn't all about the money... well... except for those 1919 white sox, and of course that pete rose guy...

when the yankees didn't buy all their players... well... except for in the 1920s when harry frazee baisicly sold off the entire red sox team, not just babe ruth, to the yankees...

and when the yankees didn't win every year... well... except for 1923, 1927, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977 & 1981...


ahhhhhhhhhhhhh yes how i yearn for the good ole days.

 

[Elvis Presley]

your sarcasm is duly noted

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

thank you duly

 

[MrBrau1]

Bonds juiced. Him passing Say Hay is a joke.

 

[max d.]

I like Barry Bonds. I have seen him working out in the same gym I while visiting No. Calif.

 

[Hewson]

The thing people seem to be overlooking with the Barry Juicing theories is this:
With so much attention currently on the whole Balco/Steroids situation, he's sure to have stopped taking whatever he was taking if he was taking something. Yet he just homered in 7 straight games. Is it possible maybe he wasn't juiced all along? There now should be some doubt creeping in about that.
The ball...thats another story...juice city, and the pitching is brutally watered down, but still the man statistically will go down as the all time greatest if he plays 2 more seasons. So he doesn't like the press...that probably makes him smart.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

well said hewson

and even if he has juiced in the past, he would be an idiot if he were still doing so today... and son of a gun, he's still hitting the ball at will.

this was on ESPN.com

Bonds and .400? Splendid
by Eric Neel, ESPN.com Page 2

Forget Hank and the Babe. Never mind 714 and 755.

Think Teddy Ballgame and .406.

We're all in a lather about the home runs but you watch, Barry's going to backdoor us with a .400 season.

Through 15 games, he's got a line straight out of Little League. He's hitting .500, nine homers, 20 walks, 19 RBI, a .672 on-base percentage, and a 1.342 slugging average.

We shouldn't be asking him about steroids, we should be asking him what life is like on his home planet.

The safe bet says he'll cool off some between now and October. The pragmatist will tell you it's only 15 games, and great as Bonds is, he'll eventually dip below the Splinter-line and stay there.

But my momma didn't raise no pragmatist.

I say he's gonna do it, and here's why:

One, he walks about as often as a hummingbird flaps its wings, strikes out about as often as Dick Cheney makes a public appearance, and never, ever misses a mistake pitch.
Like Williams, his official AB numbers stay in the 400s, and like Williams, he don't waste 'em.

Two, with the possible exception of the equally freakish Jore-El Clemens down in Houston, every pitcher in the league bugs out a bit when Bonds digs in.

Some guys are afraid and miss their spots, and other guys feel bold and challenge him. Either way, like Costanza's girlfriend, Barry's got "hand" every night, and like Costanza, the pitchers facing him are just hoping to avoid humiliation.

Three, I saw him pull a 99-mph Eric Gagne fastball 500 feet foul at SBC Park last Friday night. Then I saw him hit the next pitch, which was traveling just a little it faster, deep into the center-field seats.

And those two pitches marked my official and permanent retirement from the business of underestimating Barry Bonds.

Four, he hit .404 after the All-Star break in 2002 and .388 last year.

Five, he knows a whole lot of people would hate to see him do it. And motivation matters.

Six, he knows a .400 season, and a blow-by of Hank in 2006, would pretty much put the greatest-player-of-all-time debate to bed. And like I said, motivation matters.

Seven, every spray single, inside-out double against the shift, and ball to the gap works like a BALCO-rumor smackdown.

Eight, after his birthday in July, he'll like the sound of ".400 at 40 in '04," and he'll picture logo T-shirts and hats, and that'll be all she wrote.

Nine, the home runs are so yesterday.

A run at .400 is a fresh challenge, and the perfect distraction from the pressures of chasing down the Babe and the Hammer.

Ten, that cushy chair in the clubhouse is the X-factor.

And finally, .400 is just a number, just like 70 and 660 and 755 are just numbers, and nobody knows that better than Barry. He won't tighten up in the home stretch, and he won't be afraid to tramp on sacred ground.

It all adds up -- .400 is going down. I'm sure of it.

In fact, I'm so sure, that even as a lifelong Dodger fan, I'll make this promise:

If it doesn't happen, I'll attend the last series of the season, three games between the Dodgers and Giants in L.A., wearing black and orange face paint, a San Francisco cap, and a Barry Bonds jersey.

You have my word. And if you happen to be in L.A. that weekend, you can come have your picture taken with me.

 

[max d.]

I like barry

 

[Chizip]

im sure baseball's 18 strikes and you're out stance has scared a lot off people of the juice

 

[gherman]

Bonds juiced. Him passing Say Hay is a joke.

Whatever Bonds even if he isn't juiced would kick Hanks ass

 

[pub crawler]

Put it this way: if roids enhance your performance THAT much, why is that no one else in baseball is performing as well as Bonds has for years? What about all the other roiders? He's f'in amazing.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Put it this way: if roids enhance your performance THAT much, why is that no one else in baseball is performing as well as Bonds has for years? What about all the other roiders? He's f'in amazing.

 

[Chizip]

im surprised that no one has mentioned that the owner of BALCO has admittied to giving steroids to Bonds and others...

and look, i dont think anybody is saying Bonds isnt a good player, I think everyone can admit he is a great player, but, the roids can turn him into a freakishly good player. like say, going from hitting 49 home runs in a year, to saaaay, 73 (in his late 30's mind you, usually when ones skills are declining).

 

[MrBrau1]

Hey, if you don't mind that some of the most cherished records in baseball history will be held by a cheater, then life is great. It doesn't matter if he cheated a little, or alot, it's still cheating.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

The thing people seem to be overlooking with the Barry Juicing theories is this:
With so much attention currently on the whole Balco/Steroids situation, he's sure to have stopped taking whatever he was taking if he was taking something. Yet he just homered in 7 straight games. Is it possible maybe he wasn't juiced all along? There now should be some doubt creeping in about that.

well said hewson

and even if he has juiced in the past, he would be an idiot if he were still doing so today... and son of a gun, he's still hitting the ball at will.

Wait a minute here, folks!!!

Steroids are MUSCLE BUILDERS not short term performance enhancers. Even if he quit using in light of the BALCO scandle, he is still benefitting from the muscle tissue generated in the past. Whether or not he used them is another matter entirely, but look at pictures of Barry in his Pirate uniform. Very different body type.
Mark McGwire and Brady Anderson are other examples of massive muscle build up in a short period of time.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Put it this way: if roids enhance your performance THAT much, why is that no one else in baseball is performing as well as Bonds has for years? What about all the other roiders? He's f'in amazing.

Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Yeah, it is impressive. Good to see more than the batboy greeting him at home on this one too. #500 didnt go that way.

Hilarious. You could hear the crickets chirping in the dugout. Who, by the way, also didn't stop to congratulate Bonds.

Would have loved to hear the sniping on the bench as Barry rounded the bases...

Barry reaped what he sowed on that one. I don't mind him not being good w/ the media, because they are a bunch of self serving @$$holes anyway. Not respecting your teammates is a sin, and he paid for it in front of all who either watched the game or saw the highlights on ESPN.