No HR record for Bonds on the road
Posted: Monday, July 30, 2007 4:46 PM
How badly did Barry Bonds want to hit milestone home runs No. 755 and No. 756 in San Francisco? The 43-year-old played six of seven games on the Giants’ homestand which concluded Sunday -- missing only a game following a 13-inning complete game.
Bonds, as suspected, wants desperately to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record before the adoring fans of San Francisco. Notice the lack of past tense in the previous sentence. That’s right -- this corner maintains that Bonds will not hit those homers on the road.
What does that mean with the Giants embarking on a six-game Southern California road swing with a pair of three-game series against the Dodgers and Padres? Bonds will play likely four of those six games. He will get some hits, but he won’t go deep. He is the greatest power hitter in this generation, thus he has the ability to control his home run capability. I am not saying he can hit home runs at will, just that he can control his swing to avoid the possibility of an embarrassing moment.
As uncomfortable as this may be for some to consider, it is not a new thought. The Giants knew well of this before retaining Bonds last winter. Best scenario: Bonds, who has always proclaimed indifference to the venom sent his way, defies this prediction and reaches the record in normal cadence, taking any accompanying heat.
In the NL West Arizona has made a late July surge (an eight-game Diamondbacks' win streak was snapped Sunday) that puts the team in the thick of contention. As a result watch the Diamondbacks in the next 48 hours. No sale here, and perhaps a buy at the trade deadline.
Milwaukee’s fade has become pronounced in the late July dog days. On Sunday the Cubs moved to within a half-game of the NL Central lead. Carlos Zambrano is driving the Cubs’ train and making himself a ton of free-agent money in the process. By the way, the floundering Cardinals are only six out in the NL Central race.
Philadelphia has overtaken Atlanta for second in the NL East so it's not surprising the Braves landed Mark Texiera in a trade with Texas. Yet a telling game for the Braves may have been last Tuesday in San Francisco. Tim Hudson took a shutout into the ninth, but he weakened and the bullpen couldn’t hold a 4-0 lead. Early this season it looked like Atlanta had fixed its bullpen, but that feeling is shaky as we approach August -- a reason why the Braves got the Rangers to also send them reliever Ron Mahay in the deal for Texiera.
The Angels lose Bartolo Colon to the DL and trade mainstay catcher Jose Molina yet they swept the Tigers over the weekend and have a four-game lead on Seattle in the AL West. The Mariners took three straight weekend games from Oakland, ending any dream of a run by the A’s and casting Billy Beane as a definite seller in the closing hours to deadline.
Despite the sweep in Anaheim, the Tigers are still favored in the AL Central. They have the best road record in baseball (34-23), and the most remaining home games (34 to Cleveland’s 25).
The Padres score 11 runs in the first inning on Sunday yet need six pitchers to close out the win over the Astros. The Padres were also involved in a pitching rarity last week when they were defeated by Colorado's Aaron Cook on a 74-pitch complete game. Astounding.
Houston's trade of Dan Wheeler for Ty Wigginton is perplexing. Wigginton is a terrific NL player for his versatility and clubhouse demeanor, but the numbers gang will look with disdain upon his failure to walk and his average defense. Wheeler’s average stuff doesn’t impress scouts, but his resiliency and attitude make him a valuable seventh and eighth-inning man in today’s game. Just as I think the Royals should keep Octavio Dotel, someone who can help them as their youth learns how to win, the Devil Rays should keep Wheeler to plug their atrocious bullpen.
After the White Sox broke the ice by moving Tad Iguchi to the Phillies, Jermaine Dye figures to be the White Sox's next play. Since the All-Star break, Dye has 13 extra base hits and 13 RBI. Minnesota's pair of wins over Cleveland keeps the Twins alive, and lessens the chance of a Torii Hunter trade.
