For all the jokes and allegations surrounding Barry Bonds, it is time to stop and acknowledge his achievements this week. The San Francisco Giants slugger broke his own single season walks total, became the first player with 200 or more free passes in a season, and was also on a quest to be just the third player ever to hit 700 homeruns -- a feat he sits on the brink of reaching.
Bonds is the most feared hitter in baseball, like it or not. Just look at his intentional walks this season - he has more than double the total of most other teams. But for Pete's sake (and for the Giants' sake too), can somebody please just pitch to him?
Sure his historical marches, both down to first and around the bases, are sensational. But how many of those 200-plus walks, of which over 100 have been intentional, were really necessary? Undoubtedly many were also "intentional" unintentional walks too. It's not as if pitchers are that wild.
Does a rival have to put Barry Bonds on base so frequently, rather than pitch to him? He is batting nearly .400 in close, late inning contests and over .450 with men in scoring position and two outs. His slugging and on-base percentages are off the charts. You'd be hard-pressed to find a bad statistic for the guy in most situations. Walks or not, Bonds has been a vital contributor to the Giants' half-game wild card lead as of yesterday morning. But come on.
Barry's walks have the potential to hurt the Giants, because with the streaky lineup surrounding him, pitchers don't have to challenge him.
But they should. Clearly he's an offensive stud - naturally or artificially enhanced - but too many times opposing dugouts have elected to walk him just because it's the accepted thing to do.
Case in point: Before the Arizona Diamondbacks' series with San Francisco two weeks ago, D-Backs manager Al Pedrique instructed his pitchers not to pitch to Bonds, regardless of the score. Bonds was intentionally walked twice in San Francisco's 18-7 Arizona drubbing on September 3. Once was legitimate. The second was with the Giants up by six runs. Six. Please.
Regardless, San Fran is still battling the Nomar-less Chicago Cubs in what has now become a six-horse race.
Yes, say it ain't so, but yet again Inside the NL has the pleasure of calling itself on another stretch run reversal. The formerly abysmal Philadelphia Phillies have decided now is the opportune time to live up to many preseason playoff projections. They join the Giants, Cubs, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins and San Diego Padres in the wild card battle.
The Phils won six straight over the past week, moving to within five games of the wild card lead, which changes as frequently as the type of injury Nomar Garciaparra currently suffers from. Achilles ... no wait ... left wrist ... err, groin? The question begs to be asked: did he pull his latest stunt playing soccer?
But with Nomar out at least another four days, Sammy Sosa in the midst of a terrible funk, and three games in Florida cancelled a week and a half ago due to hurricane season, the Cubs must stay focused. Manager Dusty Baker dropped Sosa to sixth in the order behind Derrek Lee, the first time the slugger has seen action in that slot since 1994.
How Sosa responds will be anyone's guess - he did homer in Monday's game from the sixth hole - but the rest of the Cub lineup must step it up as well.
Starter Matt Clement has seen very limited run support from his lineup - just 17 runs in his 12 losses - and like the Phillies, bullpen injuries to Joe Borowski and hard-throwing Kyle Farnsworth have taken out some arms.
The Phillies won nine of 12 this month going into last night's action, including two three-game sweeps of the injury-wrecked New York Mets - by a combined 43-19 score - as well as taking three of four from the East-leading Atlanta Braves.
Philly has benefited from the return of Ryan Madson (9-2, 1.93 ERA), who essentially was the team's bullpen until he was sidelined in late July by an injury sustained while shagging flies in the outfield. Flamethrowing closer Billy Wagner - when he's not going "Jurassic" Carl Everett on the ump - is also back, and both more than make up for the mere presence of Roberto Hernandez in a bullpen that wouldn't have scared the bejesus out of a Jesse Burkett Little League club.
Throw in September rookie callup Gavin Floyd (1-0, 2.65 in three starts), and the returns of starter Vincente Padilla and outfielder Pat "The Bat" Burrell, and Philly is putting it back together.
But with five other teams still in the mix, it might just be too late.
