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Bonds already making an impact

By Kent Summer, Section MLB
Posted on Sun Sep 18 2005 at 10:05 PM EST
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For more stories by Kent Summer, check out 3rdand10.com

The steroid king is back and already making his bat heard throughout baseball. When he strode to the plate Monday night for his first at bat since September 30th, 2004, he tipped his helmet to the crowd. Amidst the one minute ovation the crowd at SBC gave their slugger a warm San Francisco "welcome back."

Whether the crowd was cheering because they like Bonds or because they are under the impression that the Giants now have a chance to overpower the first place Padres (and the latter would seem to be more likely), their good faith was rewarded quickly.

Bonds hit what looked to be a homer out deep in SBC's centerfield and on first look it appeared to have cleared the wall. However, on second examination it was found that a fan had reached over the wall and grabbed the ball which would have hit about 2 ½ feet below the top of the padding. Consequently the fan was ejected but was he simply trying to help Barry Bonds get to 704?

As it turns out Bonds needs no help in his quest to beak Hank Aaron's all-time homerun record of 755.

Friday night on a 1-0 count from Brad Penny, Bonds took the Dodger pitcher deep to center about 10 feet to the left of the 421 sign. As this most historic man rounded the bases the crowd roared its approval seemingly able to forgive the BALCO controversy if he was able to hit like this.

Going 3-13 in his five games with San Francisco a .231 batting average might not be considered successful to most people. The .538 slugging percentage might just help their perception of his stats, and sure getting walked three times is the norm for Bonds.

But he is going to be valuable to this Giants team even though their chances of advancing in the playoffs are zero to none.

The only two things that San Francisco should be concerned about now are Jason Schmidt's health and Bonds's knee because without those two next year the Giants will have a very hard time getting above .500.

It has been obvious that Bonds has been having trouble with his knee. He did not play today due to immense swelling with fluid in his knee and the whining has now started about his condition. Whining not from fans or teammates but from Bonds himself.

At this point it's not up to him to put San Francisco over the top. The Padres are a phenomenon, they lose everyday and yet they still remain perched atop the National League West.

There's nothing Bonds can do about that.

For the Giants' next 14 games he shouldn't stress his knee any more than he has to. If it means only playing five or six innings a game please Felipe, allow him a break.

This is a time for the man to regroup and get his knee back into shape. With the regular season winding down (and the rest of the season which is insignificant to the Giants) all efforts should be spent looking ahead to next year.

Nothing else but their player's health matters for the remainder of this season. Don't overwork them. Give some minor leaguers a chance. And stay the hell away from BALCO.

BALCO count: 2 in this article, more to come

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Bonds already making an impact | 3 comments (3 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

comment (#1)
by JDWC on Sun Sep 18 2005 at 3:11 PM EST

I voted for this because it is well-written, even if i disagree with you. I don't think Bonds will make a huge impact since there are only 13 or 14 games left. He will improve the team, but not enough to get them anywhere. I feel bad for whoever wins the N.L. West, because all that happens is that they earn the right to be absolutely destroyed by either the Cardinals or the Braves (depending on how the wild card pans out). Next year, Bonds needs to either retire or get traded (or even better, get busted for steroids...). This is a hard thing to say, considering I am a Dodger fan, but: The Giants have a good ball club for next year and I wouldn't be surprised it they win the division next year even without Bonds. Even if Schmidt isn't healthy. They need to trade Schmidt and/or Brett Tomko for another pitcher, and they will be rollin'.
J.D.

JDWC: (#2)
by Kent Summer on Sun Sep 18 2005 at 4:32 PM EST

I never said that Bonds would help the Giants make the playoffs.

"But he is going to be valuable to this Giants team even though their chances of advancing in the playoffs are zero to none."

"At this point it's not up to him to put San Francisco over the top. The Padres are a phenomenon, they lose everyday and yet they still remain perched atop the National League West."

Bonds is too little too late. Excuse the cliché.

And I agree with your views on Schmidt and Tomko. They need to trade those two soon and try and get what they can for them. Schmidt always seems to start out a season well but runs into trouble around the All-Star break. If they could drop those two contracts then it would be in their best interests to throw up big money for A.J. Burnett.

comment (#3)
by JDWC on Sun Sep 18 2005 at 9:13 PM EST

yeah sorry bout that i misread it...but yeah Burnett would be a good pick up for them
J.D.

Bonds already making an impact | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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