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Monday, June 21, 2004
M. Scott Eiland on Tacitus posts about the fear of Barry Bonds:
51--The number of times that Barry Bonds has been intentionally walked in the 57 games he has played this season;
56--The number of times *combined* that Mike Piazza, Adam Dunn, Jim Thome, Todd Helton, Lance Berkman, and Albert Pujols--who have a combined 101 HR and 262 RBI this season--have been intentionally walked this season;
18-- The number of intentional walks that Barry Bonds has to receive to break the all-time record in the category, which he himself set in 2002, the year he won his first batting title and broke the single season record for on-base percentage.
21-- The number of games the Giants will be playing between now and the All-Star break--the traditional halfway point of the MLB season.
Fear has a name--and that name is Barry Bonds.
This has been particularly frustrating to me, since Bonds is my fantasy left fielder. Because of all the walks, he's doing well in runs scored, and batting average, but his run production is suffering (18 HR, 39 RBI through the weekend). It also takes away from the game in my opinion, much like the neutral-zone trap in hockey, or the four-corners stall in basketball. Furthermore, I'm not so sure Bonds is worthy of that much respect. Why? Just this past weekend, Bonds went 1-for-9 against the Red Sox, with no home runs. It's not so much pitching to Bonds, but HOW one pitches to Bonds that should be the concern. For example, fast balls and straight changes aren't going to do much against someone with the plate discipline of Bonds. He's a good player, probably the best of my time, but he's not worth 51 IBBs. No one is.
Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:51 AM
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