8.06.2007
Y'all Ready for This?
Two weeks ago I wrote of Bondsapalooza as if it were to be a furious week-long homestand that saw Barry ramp up his HR rate just in time to pass Aaron before the Giants hit the road again. That was a bit overeager of me. Taking into account Bonds' age and general creakiness, the desire of every opposing pitcher to avoid Al Downing-dom, and the Giants' overall irrelevance which allows those opposing pitchers to handle the Giants' lineup any way they damn well please, it makes sense that the home run march has slowed to a plod while every columnist and blogger savors that one last chance to get that one last sanctimonious opinion in that will surely render the others irrelevant.
But then Bonds finally nudged his way up to 755 over the weekend (courtesy of Clay Hensley, one of many confirmed 'roiders who have escaped any trace of public ire) and now comes home again with nothing in his way but a week's worth of Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers. The slate for this week is, well, less than intimidating:
Monday: John Lannan (LHP, two career starts, 5.40 ERA)
Tuesday: Mike Bacsik (LHP, 5.11 ERA in 36 career appearances)
Wednesday: Tim Redding (RHP, 2.43 ERA in 37 IP this year but 4.94 career ERA)
Thursday: Joel Hanrahan (RHP, two career starts, 3.27 ERA)
Friday: Matt Morris (RHP, banished to the Pirates just last week in a widely ridiculed trade...for the Pirates)
Saturday: Tony Armas (RHP, 6.31 ERA this year, 4.57 career)
Sunday: Tom Gorzelanny (RHP, 3.55 ERA, decent pitcher but just coming back from a shoulder injury)
That, friends, is the picture of mediocre starting pitching. Barry breaking the record this week is a shoo-in, a gimme, a mortal lock, sun rising in the east, death and taxes and the government spying on you. Book it.
Oh, and if it happens tonight or tomorrow, then yours truly will have something to write about because yours truly will be in attendance. Going by the standard mores of sports journalism, it will make my resulting opinions on the matter more Right and Relevant if I am actually there while it happens. So I might have that going for me, which would be nice.
But then Bonds finally nudged his way up to 755 over the weekend (courtesy of Clay Hensley, one of many confirmed 'roiders who have escaped any trace of public ire) and now comes home again with nothing in his way but a week's worth of Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers. The slate for this week is, well, less than intimidating:
Monday: John Lannan (LHP, two career starts, 5.40 ERA)
Tuesday: Mike Bacsik (LHP, 5.11 ERA in 36 career appearances)
Wednesday: Tim Redding (RHP, 2.43 ERA in 37 IP this year but 4.94 career ERA)
Thursday: Joel Hanrahan (RHP, two career starts, 3.27 ERA)
Friday: Matt Morris (RHP, banished to the Pirates just last week in a widely ridiculed trade...for the Pirates)
Saturday: Tony Armas (RHP, 6.31 ERA this year, 4.57 career)
Sunday: Tom Gorzelanny (RHP, 3.55 ERA, decent pitcher but just coming back from a shoulder injury)
That, friends, is the picture of mediocre starting pitching. Barry breaking the record this week is a shoo-in, a gimme, a mortal lock, sun rising in the east, death and taxes and the government spying on you. Book it.
Oh, and if it happens tonight or tomorrow, then yours truly will have something to write about because yours truly will be in attendance. Going by the standard mores of sports journalism, it will make my resulting opinions on the matter more Right and Relevant if I am actually there while it happens. So I might have that going for me, which would be nice.
Labels: barry bonds
