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Baseball Season 2006
- Thread starter MacNut
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Middle inning and closing bullpen have been their nemesis since Methuselah played sandlot ball. They've had a couple or three over the years, perhaps. All kinds of talent at every spot, but there. They give up a 5-2 lead in the seventh. What happens in the eighth? 7-5. LaRussa needs to light some kind of fire under them. The Astros are hungry. And my apologies to the LA inchas who saw SD sneak another half game on them. Who wants it bad enough will get it.MacNut said:
xsedrinam said:
That was yesterday. The Dodgers won tonight, and the Phillies lost, so that puts LA one up in the wild card race.
xsedrinam said:
Lets stretch that back just a little bit,
THE ASTROS JUST SWEPT THE CARDINALS before the games you mentioned and they had a makeup game v. the phillies (who were wildcard co-leaders ) at the time ... so lets not complain too much about that stuff. If STL wanted to put them away (and they still can) all they needed to do was win last weekend but they failed to do that.
The Astros are a late surge team, its kind of fun to watch ....
Every year it gets worse for Astros fans. Last year they didn't clinch the wild card until the last day of play.
Now, with 5 to go, they're 1.5 out of the NL Central lead. Why does this team wait until *the* last possible moment to get after it?
Oh well, it makes for some exciting ball. I ponied up the $15 to watch the rest of the Astros games on MLB.tv.
Go 'Stros!
Now, with 5 to go, they're 1.5 out of the NL Central lead. Why does this team wait until *the* last possible moment to get after it?
Oh well, it makes for some exciting ball. I ponied up the $15 to watch the rest of the Astros games on MLB.tv.
Go 'Stros!
Silencio said:The Giants were eliminated from playoff contention a couple of days ago. Baseball season is over!
So baseball only matters if the Giants win? You guys are as bad as Yankee fans!
MacNut said:
Not sure why you're asking me, but I don't think so. He says he wants to play another season and expects an offer from the Giants, and if not them, then another team. Shockingly, one of the teams mentioned is the Dodgers! Personally, I'd sooner expect a ski resort to open in hell -- but that's the word as of today.
Hey, maybe the Yankees will want Bonds. They could pay him $9 million to pinch hit.
That would be awful. Truely, truely awful. I like the Yankees, and enjoy watching them play (I have ever since they avenged my Redbirds in 1996). Bringing in Bonds would be cancerous.IJ Reilly said:
I would be surprised if the Giants give him an extension, That team needs to get younger and dump salary more then any other team. If anything he becomes a DH, or better yet he ends up in jail. Anyhoo. Looks like the A's clinched, that should make those Giants fans happy to see their neighbors go another round only to lose in 5 games to the Tigers.
MacNut said:
Up until about a year and a half ago everyone assumed that Bonds would finish up as a DH in the AL. But his baggage is now so heavy that most baseball people now believe that the Giants are the only team that will want him. And now that the Giants have invested this much in him, they'll probably prefer that he try to break Aaron's record in SF.
A Bay area acquaintance of mine told me recently that the rumor is that next year the Giants will concentrate on getting Bonds the record instead of contending, in an effort to wring as much revenue as possible out of him. Don't know if that's true or not.
At any rate, if he duplicates this season again next year, then he'll have the record. Pretty hard to tell how his production will be though.
Here's the story, from today's LA Times. If he signed with an NL team, it would almost certainly have to be the Giants. He gets booed everywhere else in the league, and besides, he can hardly run anymore. If he doesn't stay with the Giants, the next most likely candidate would be the Yankees, IMO. They are the only team that is ready, willing and able to offer extravagant contracts to part-time players.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bonds27sep27,1,5061174.story
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-bonds27sep27,1,5061174.story
I don't see the Yankees taking him on, Its just not worth it. Cashman is smarter then that to take on Bonds for a record that might not be broken if 1, his knee blows out beyond repair or 2, if he ends up in jail, Its not worth the risk for the Yankees. If the Giants take him back would they write outs in the contract if he is unable to play.
MacNut said:
So would any other team that signed him. No doubt, Bonds' price would be high. Very few franchises have the ability to pay large salaries to guys who play mainly off the bench. As every baseball fan knows, the Yankees have always been the "money is no object" club, and Yankee fans being Yankee fans, they'd probably even get perverse pleasure out of having a player who's booed whenever he appears.
If Bonds plays again next year, I'm still wagering Giants, Yankees, in that order. He doesn't fit in anywhere else, as nearly as I can see.
IJ Reilly said:
I think the Yankees are much less likely than the Giants. In SF he has the history, the fan base, the ballpark basically built for him, and the team that didn't move to Florida mostly because he made them contenders. With the Yankees he'd be just another Gary Sheffield.
The only way I can see him leaving SF is if the Giants completely lowball him and he's so insulted that he signs elsewhere. But I don't even see the Yankees offering him really big money because he wouldn't play often enough to justify it. The Yankees throw a lot of money around, but they do choose carefully.
The two AL teams that make the most sense on the surface are the Angels and A's because he has homes near both. But the Angels have a swell of solid prospects coming up and a huge payroll. If Bonds really swallowed his pride he could sign an incentive-based contract with the A's a la Frank Thomas. Three problems with that idea: (1) Bonds has shown little tendency to swallow his pride in the past, (2) he would shoot a huge hole through the A's team chemistry and wouldn't seem to fit into their clubhouse at all, and (3) there's been no indication from the A's that they'd even want him.
So my opinion -- worth every penny you paid for it -- is that he stays with the Giants another year or retires.
I disagree that the Yankees would be the most likely to sign Bonds should the Giants not end up doing so... there's simply no room for him. Their outfield is rather set with Damon, Abreu and Matsui (I don't see him leaving the Yankees)... add in Cabrera to spell the top 3 and there's really no room in the outfield. It's sounding like the Yankees will pick up Sheffield's option to platoon him at 1B/DH with Giambi. Between the outfield and 1B/DH there's really not the space for the Yankees to give Bonds even a regular part-time position much less an everday one.
I do agree that his most likely landing place will be with the Giants for reasons already mentioned... I also agree that the AL would be the next most likely destination. But I would put Oakland (to stay in the Bay area) and even the Tigers (the Leyland-Pirates connection) though I'd really hate to see that happen... over the Yankees.
EDIT: Angels would be another option, like aloof mentioned, but if he could choose between the two I think he chooses Oakland over the Angels.
I do agree that his most likely landing place will be with the Giants for reasons already mentioned... I also agree that the AL would be the next most likely destination. But I would put Oakland (to stay in the Bay area) and even the Tigers (the Leyland-Pirates connection) though I'd really hate to see that happen... over the Yankees.
EDIT: Angels would be another option, like aloof mentioned, but if he could choose between the two I think he chooses Oakland over the Angels.
I agree, the Giants are his best prospect. After that, somewhere in the AL where he can DH. The A's seem unlikely for the reasons stated, and also because they've got an allergic reaction to forking out for big-ticket players, and I suspect not a lot of Giants fans are going to cross the bay to watch Bonds take hacks at the record book. I'm guessing also that A's fans don't have a warm place in their hearts for Bonds.
The Giants have to sign Bonds...he's such a huge draw and the home run record well within reach for next year. And with the All-Star game being in SF next year, the deal will get done. He's been great the second half of the year and seems to be pretty well fully recovered from his knee surgeries finally. The Giants (and pressure from the fans) won't let him break the HR record elsewhere.
IJ Reilly said:So baseball only matters if the Giants win? You guys are as bad as Yankee fans!
I was being (mostly) sarcastic. But I honestly haven't been keeping a sharp eye on baseball -- Giants or otherwise -- this season. Every time the Giants would get hot, they'd end up dropping 6 or 7 games in a row and fall right back down. Think I need to pull for the Tigers in the playoffs -- who the heck are all those guys, anyway?
As for Bonds: he has looked a lot better in the last two months, like he finally found the strength in his legs. Much better in the field, much better on the bases, more power at the plate, and 40 more points on the batting average. He definitely looks good enough for one more season, and it probably will be with the Giants. However, he does have to be realistic about the money. He knows he doesn't need $15 million more in the bank, and the Giants need to invest in many other areas of their roster.
We'll see if Barry can put the priorities of the Giants ahead of his own when it comes time to negotiate terms. Let's just say, I have my doubts.