All Star review, more reasons I hate Bonds
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by Silencer76
So the All Star Game came to an end Tuesday night with a familiar result: the American League winning. This time, unlike some games recently, it was not an anticlimactic finish. The game's outcome was not sealed until Aaron Rowand of the Philadelphia Phillies flew out to right with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to secure the AL's 10th straight win in the Midsummer Classic by a score of 5-4.
The Cubs' representatives fared well, as Derrek Lee was 1 for 2 with a stolen base and a walk in the ninth that kept the inning alive, while Alfonso Soriano was 1 for 3, with his hit a 2 run opposite field home run off Seattle closer J.J. Putz in the ninth to make it a one run game.
All we heard about during this however, was the plight of Barry Bonds...will he break the record, will Bud Selig be there, will he be back to play another year...so much of the coverage was Bonds centric that you would think it was merely another boring Giants game instead of a showcase for the greatest players MLB had to offer.
It boils down to this: no one outside of San Francisco really cares about Bonds and his pursuit. Odds are, no National League team will want him next year. He has as much range and mobility as a semi trying to do a U turn on a two lane road. Speed has escaped him many years (and cycles) ago, to the point where he is a liability defensively. At best, he is a classic DH, a lumbering power hitter who has lost most of his defensive skills to the point where he is merely a professional hitter. The sad part is, that he will command probably an eight figure salary, to be a part time player. Who cares if his OBP is .500...if the guys behind you can't hit, you could be on base 100 percent of the time.
To me, no matter where Bonds goes, it will merely be to serve his own purposes of racking up career statistics. He is less than 100 hits shy of 3000, less than 100 runs shy of the all time mark held by Rickey Henderson, 52 extra base hits shy of breaking that record held by Hank Aaron, and 136 RBI shy of moving into 2nd all time for RBIs. Bonds will be a distraction no matter where he plays, and will become a cancer to any clubhouse chemistry. Teams fail to thrive with him in the organization...the Pirates had two years where they were derailed in the NLCS, the Giants lost in the WS in 03...and that has been it for his postseason "accomplishments."
So put it in the books for another year, and worry about Bonds coming to YOUR team in 2008 if you play in the American League.
