Balco Bonds hits 735 home run...A's blast Mariners
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by user Niteowl049
Baseball Notebook and Etcetera
Balco Bonds Hits 735th Home Run: Inevitable Now He Will Pass Aaron
After Barry "Balco" Bonds hit his 735th home run yesterday it is now inevitable that Bonds will pass Aaron sometime this summer probably well before the end of the season. It is sickening to know a cheater stands on the brink of breaking one of the most sacred records in sports.
Only a suspension or injury can keep him from creating an awkward moment for Bud Selig. As I have written before Selig should ignore the event all together like it never happened. I hope he hits the home run that passes Aaron in an unfriendly park that will have fans that will sit on their hands while he rounds the bases. Nothing could tell Bonds better what the fans think of his accomplishment better than complete silence with a few boos mixed in. He will have his precious record but to me he hasn't hit his 600th home run yet since he hit about 300 of them after steroids and bulking up. He continues to hit well because he still has the muscles he cheated to get and the overwhelming confidence knowing when he walks to the plate he knows he is capable of hitting a home run even if he is 42 years old when most players his age have been retired for 5 or 6 years. One more thing about his home run yesterday is that it was only another worthless home run that goes in the record books along with the loss by his team.
Baseball Daily Digest
Tigers almost blew a 9-0 lead before winning 10-9 over the Blue Jays. Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam and drove in 5 runs for the Tigers. Jason Grilli and Fernando Rodney combined to give up 7 runs and 8 hits in 2 1/3 innings to let the Blue Jays back in the game....It is only 2 games into the season but the White Sox pitching is in total disarray allowing 20 runs over the first 2 games and Jon Garland continues to struggle after a terrible spring but Indians starter Jake Westbrook pitched even worse but the Indians bullpen only allowed 1 hit over the last 4 innings which was the difference in the game....Josh Beckett and four relievers combined to limit the Royals to one run and three hits as the Red Sox even their record after an opening game loss. Both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are off to a slow start with both hitting .167.
A's combined the great pitching of Rich Harden with a 13 hit attack as they outscored the Mariners 9-0 as Harden only allowed 3 singles by the Mariners. Mark Ellis drove in 5 runs giving him a major league leading total of 7 for the season....Nationals overcame a 6-1 deficit to defeat the Marlins 7-6. Ryan Church hit a three run homer and Ronnie Belliard had 3 hits to lead the 16 hit attack while six Nationals relievers allowed only 2 hits in 4 scoreless innings....Braves came from behind to post a 3-2 lead over the Phillies. Tim Hudson pitched very well allowing only one run and two hits in 7 innings. Scott Thorman showed that he is going to be a force for Braves this season by hitting a game winning homer in the 11th inning.
Rockies pounded out 18 hits in their 11-4 win over the Diamondbacks as Matt Holliday was 4 for 5 and drove in 4 runs while Rodrigo Lopez who was 9-18 last season for the Orioles won his first start allowing 2 runs in 7 innings....Ted Lilly pitches the Cubs to a 4-1 win over the Reds while striking out 9 Reds....Pirates remain undefeated after three games edging the Astros 5-4. Craig Biggio had 3 hits in the contest including a home run and now needs 66 hits for his 3000th hit....Dodgers eked out a 5-4 win over the Brewers as Jason Schmidt posted his first win as a Dodger. Jeff Suppan took the loss despite only allowing 2 runs in 7 innings. Dodgers put the game away in the 8th when Carlos Villanueva walked the bases loaded then Elmer Dessens relieved and gave up a 2 run double to Olmedo Saenz a run scoring sacrifice fly to Matt Kemp.
John Maine pitched the Mets to a 10-0 win over the Cardinals who have to be deflated after losing their third straight game to the Mets. Albert Pujols is hitting .100 now and the team only had 2 hits in the game. Carlos Beltran was the hitting star for Mets hitting 2 homers and driving in 4 runs. Russ Springer had a bad eighth inning but not entirely his fault as he allowed 5 runs with 2 of them unearned. Cardinals scored two of their 8th inning runs on sacrifice fly and error by Preston Wilson on same play then Brad Thompson relieved Springer and threw a wild pitch that advanced Jose Reyes to third and he later scored on a ground out. Cardinals now head to Houston who also are 0-3 so maybe the Cardinals will hit better there. Mets outscored the Cardinals 20-2 in the 3 games.
Looking at Stats
Victor Martinez leads the majors in hitting with a .750 average with Miguel Cabrera nest with a .700 average....Mark Ellis leads in RBI's with 7....Travis Buck leads in strikeouts with 9 in only 13 at bats....Martinez also leads in on base percentage with .818....Salomon Torres of the Pirates leads the majors in saves with 3 having saved all three Pirates wins this season.
Braves who led majors in home runs last season are tied with Marlins for lead with 5....Rockies are averaging 13 runs per game with a total of 39 after 3 games....Yankees are leading with a .364 average....After 3 games Mets are leading majors in ERA with 0.87....Devil Rays have worst ERA with 10.13 with White Sox next highest with 9.50 ERA....White Sox have issued 15 walks in only 2 games....Diamondback pitchers are averaging 10 strikeouts a game after 3 games to lead majors with 30....Brewers have held opposing hitters to the lowest batting average with .143 while the Devil Rays have the highest batting average against a team with .364 average.
Looking at Standings
Twins, Angels, Mets and Pirates are only teams with 3-0 records with Cardinals, Orioles, Astros and Rangers are the worst with 0-3 records....Marlins lead teams that have played at least 3 games in runs with 24 while the worst is the Nationals allowing 24 runs to score against them.
Today's Matchups
Chuck James starts his first game today pitching against Phillies at 3:05 EDT on TBS. James won 11 games last season for Braves in just a part of the season....James Shields who led spring training with 30 strikeouts will battle Mike Mussina as Devil Rays play only their second game of season after rainout yesterday....Edgar Gonzalez who was 4-0 this spring will start for Diamondbacks against Nationals.
