Calls for civility between sports fans of this rivalry when a Giant fan was attacked and left in critical condition at Dodger Stadium last week. It is a good reminder to draw attention to this just being a game, and the speech Giant pitcher Jeremy Affeldt delivered yesterday before the first pitch was heartfelt and honest. Some people have put forth the thought that in the spirit of unity, when we see a Dodger fan in full blue, we should walk over and hug them. Let's not get carried away.
Don't kill 'em. Don't hurt 'em. Don't hug 'em. Glad baseball is back. It is such a long season, so full of ups and downs and although I am sure that I'll get greedy, the carry over from last year is so large that I'm going to relax and enjoy this year. One World Series championship is good for me.
Nice win for the Giants tonight; Dodgers up 3-0 on Lincecum (our fielding is scary bad) and the Giants come back to tie, take the lead, lose the lead but win with Brian Wilson getting his first save with three strikeouts to end the game. Especially nice effort by Posey, Romo, Rowand, Panda, Mota (name dropping years from now for the kids). Fear the Beard indeed.
Years from now when the Bonds trial is old news- what will you guys think of that big man? The jury really is still out deciding if Bonds lied under oath, which is what his trial is about. Did he? Probably. Was Bonds an egomaniac jerk? Probably. Did he expect and enjoy special treatment? Probably. Was he one of the most hated athletes of his time, by fans anywhere outside of San Francisco and by sports writers anywhere? Probably. Was he the best hitter I ever saw? Most definitely. Maybe Mays, Clemente, Aaron . Sportswriters don't like Bonds because he never liked them, having no need for their profession and was rude to a group of people he viewed as parasitic. We don't like Bonds because of how he treated umpires- arguing, yelling, complaining while continually stepping out of the batter box when a pitcher was set to pitch. Oh wait, Bonds didn't argue with umpires and never stepped out of the batter's box; he stepped in and waited, not unlike a bear waiting for its prey to attempt to run by. He rarely questioned any umpires strike calls.
He was Hemingway. He was Picasso. He was Christian Bale yelling at at a cameraman but then delivering the goods. The art. Show biz. Blame him. Blame the commissioner Bud Selig; he knew what players were doing but baseball, the product- was making the big bucks. Look the other way. Every decade has its unspoken enhancers; cocaine in the 80's, uppers in the 70's. Cortisone shots that football players take enabling them to play through pain, and whatever else they use to enlarge their body mass.
I have no problem with an asterisk or arguing that Bonds would have less home runs. They are spot on. However, for his career- he pretty much averaged 35 home runs yearly for 20 years with a noticeable spike later in his career. Most importantly is the discipline Bonds showed at the plate; not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, which is a big deal. That's called learning and improving. If pitchers can't get you to chase pitches that you can't hit, they are left with two unappealing choices; walk the batter or take your chances. This skill is completely irrelevant of steroids use. Additionally with more major league teams, there are more players and more pitchers that would not have been on the big club years ago (30 teams create more jobs than 20 and room for some awful pitchers). One better swing a week over a baseball season could mean 25 more home runs. Just one better swing. So could some medicine. Relevant possibility.
As for the government, there seems to be a effort to shame these rich players; get them to admit, cry at a hearing or a Bob Costas softball interview, repent, and then we can forgive. Only after some tears! Bonds refuses to do this. The ultimate asshole. The ultimate uppity black man who needs to be broken. No one is larger than the law, and no one should be. So I have some mixed feelings here. I hate that kids have to try to sort through this and that Bonds is certainly a contributor to the mess, ego run amok.
Finally I suggest separate the human from the athlete. Stories about the human are cringe inducing. But the athlete, who Bobby Cox the great manager for the Atlanta Braves referred to as the greatest hitter he ever managed against. I know that when Bonds went up to bat, the patrons would immediately quiet, everyone's attention focused on home plate. That was excitement.
The only type of personal interaction I had with him was when nephew Jeremiah scored us some behind the on-deck circle seats. These were courtesy of the owners group who would sometimes share their seats with Jeremiah working at the Giants Dugout in Palo Alto. Dexter was four or five, in complete hero worship- yelling out, "Barry!Barry!" as the mighty Casey stood in, gently swinging his bat observing the pitcher but also glancing back into the seats around him. Bonds made smiley faces with babies and hearing Dexter, a wink, a point, a wave.
Last year was a great year for baseball in San Francisco because it didn't have the baggage. Maybe people admired the efforts of the Giants/ RBI! / or maybe they thought the team was just extraordinarily lucky but no baggage; just the glory. And a whole lot of crazy nicknames.
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