A Day of Further Infamy
Sadly, August 7th will no longer be remembered as the day of my birth, and I will forever be linked to a record no one east of Sacramento wanted to see broken. I hate Barry Bonds, but not because of his alleged cheating, because of this. For those too lazy to click through, I’ll sum up the only relevant point in my own words:
- Barry signs $43MM deal
- Barry divorces his wife and is and ordered to pay child support
- MLBPA strikes in 1994
- Barry’s support payments are slashed due to his lack of income
- During hearing, Judge asks Barry to sign a baseball, Barry complies
Pure class, all around.
This also calls the curious case of Alex Rodriguez to the forefront. While it’s early to crown him, he needs about 29 home runs per year until he’s 40 to get to 756. With every bomb Barry hits A-Rod’s chances decline, but I think 800 is only achievable by our friend from Da Bronx. He’s slightly less hate-able, and anything that ends Barry’s tenure is favorable. I guess that means I’m rooting for A-Rod? Quite the moral quandary.
Oh, there were actual games yesterday as well.
There was a time when I would have preferred the late start. That time ended with a kegger, some cardboard hats and silly polyester gowns. This old man can’t waste his precious sleep on regular season losses.
A few egregious errors in judgment cost the Red Sox this game. Dustin Pedroia should have gone to first on a groundball in the bottom of the fifth instead of attempting to get the runner at home. This is a play you only attempt if you’ve got the runner without a doubt. If its a close play, even if you get him, its smarter to take the sure thing.
With no outs in the top of the sixth, Joe Saunders on the ropes and no one ready in Angels’ pen, you can’t make an out at home. And if you’re going to push the envelope, you’d better slide. Lowell is safe on that play if he goes hard with an early slide instead of his half-assed attempt at knocking the ball loose. Game over.
Late tonight, Jon Lester takes on Dustin Moseley. No one on the Sox has faced Moseley more than once. I’ll be watching Yovani Gallardo take on Jeff Francis in Colorado at much more reasonable 3:05 EDT.
You’re being too much of a Monday morning quarterback about last night: Mike Lowell wasn’t going to be safe, regardless of what he did, and Dustin Pedroia made an aggressive play that would be lauded with WOW! had he succeeded. In the context of that game, which appeared to be on the verge of slipping away, he took a calculated risk and it backfired. It happens. Turn the page. Tomorrow is another day.
indeed, today is a new game and a new chance to move ahead of the yankees. good points about bonds.
Patrick, I don’t understand your rationale about Pedroia; if he makes a play that has a 5% chance of occurring (throwing the guy at out home) that’s ok instead of taking the 99% chance play of getting one out, just because it had the chance of making you say “WoW!”
Stick to figure skating, kid. There’s no style points in baseball.
Let’s get something straight here, Bonds DID CHEAT, he just hasn’t admitted it, and Bud is too much of a pussy to do anything about it. Proof? Well there is the “arm pad”, the book “Game of Shadows”, and the FACT that your skull is a bone that fuses (stops growing) in your early twenties. This means that without a diagnosed growth hormone defect, it is absolutely impossible to have your skull expand in size (just like Bonds’ head increased documented by his equipment manager). What could make your bones grow? HGH.
Curt said it best: Bonds cheated on his taxes (fact), his wife (fact), and his job (fact).