It's no longer WHEN, but IF Bonds breaks HR mark this season
Posted: Monday, July 16, 2007 7:26 PM
Tension swirls around Barry Bonds a week after the All-Star Game. And it’s most unusual to have the man who is headed towards becoming the all-time home run king immersed in it as well. Usually Bonds creates the tension, but is not touched or affected by it himself. Not this time.
Let's look at all those involved in this increasingly drawn-out saga, which now appears could be adding the twist of a conspiracy theory to boot.
BONDS: An uncharacteristic emotional snap after last Sunday’s loss to the Dodgers highlighted his state of mind. Nothing comes as easily at 43 (Bonds turns 44 next week), and no matter how much better Bonds’ knees feel this year, the toll of playing every day must be felt.
Then, there is a touch of suspicion. Here are the events of the last week in chronological order:
The Giants shamelessly promote their fans into “ballot stuffing” to jam Bonds into the starting lineup for the All- Star Game. (Aside: he should have been there as the Giants’ rep, just not as a starter).
Bonds angers ownership by declining to participate in the Home Run Derby.
Bonds informs the national press what he privately told the Giants last winter -- that he intends to play in 2008.
The Giants extend the contract of general manager Brian Sabean for two years and announce a change in philosophy that includes more youth, and -- without directly saying so -- less Bonds.
Bonds is smart. He knows there is no place he can hit home runs No. 755 and No. 756 other than San Francisco. He knows there are still some factions of Giants' ownership that want him to finish his career wearing the Orange and Black. And now word is beginning to “leak” that Bonds is having trouble with his legs.
Those five homers he needs to pass Henry Aaron seem further away than ever. With the Giants heading on the road, and no chance that Bonds hits the record homers away from San Francisco, the chase now extends into August.
Suppose by Aug.1, he needs a break to rest his legs. Suddenly the chase extends into September, and with the Giants’ hopes for this year dashed, Bonds decides to “wait until next year” with the counter stuck a few homers short of Aaron.
The Giants thought about that scenario over the winter when they decided to re-sign Bonds to a one-year deal, and in the deep recesses of their minds, this unpleasant possibility must be there again.
MLB: How agonizing must this be? There is unanimity in the view long held here that Bonds must hit the record homers in San Francisco. Talk of such is now hitting the open airwaves. But in the same week that the Mitchell investigation into steroid use in baseball finally talked with an active player (Giambi), Bonds -- at the center of this storm -- takes the national spotlight.
With the game continuing to flourish in virtually every measurable means, Bonds has become the story that just won’t die. Imagine the thrills in baseball’s hallways when Bonds publicly declared his desire to play in 2008.
GIANTS: They deserve no sympathy for they willingly chose this path, but their season has been destroyed and instead of having any ability to look ahead, they are stuck in their pairing with Bonds. There can be no integrity in their games. Bonds will manipulate his approach to home run No. 755. The most wasted breath in America is the flow coming from the “talking heads” wondering if the Giants will sit Bonds on the road? Repeat: EVERYONE wants Bonds to hit home runs No. 755 and No. 756 in San Francisco. And more importantly, BONDS will only hit them at the one place he is guaranteed to be cheered. End of story.
Earlier in the year, I was sure that it was simply a question of WHEN Bonds reached the record. But the conspiracy theorist inside me is murmuring, trying to be heard, hoping to get me to see the real question may be not when, but IF Bonds gets to 755 this year.
