"I don't know what the goal is here anymore," Giants right-hander Matt Morris said last Thursday after a 9-8 loss to the Cubs. "To win games?"
Morris spoke not only for many Giants, but also for other players who grow disenchanted when star teammates pursue records or milestones that overshadow team goals.
The issue is less of a problem when a team is winning -- see Sammy Sosa in 1998 or Bonds in 2001. But when the losses mount, the extreme focus on one individual can be grating.
Bonds seems to be doing his part to win games. When he is able to play, he has an OBP of nearly .500. Is there anyone else on the team contributing as much as he is?
The Giants aren't losing because of the attention on Barry Bonds, they're losing because their team as currently assembled isn't good enough to compete with the rest of the NL West.
Your point is well made. There's no doubt the Bonds scene has to be a huge distraction for the San Francisco dugout.
That being said, they'd probably stink just as much without him. It's clear Giants ownership has written off this year to just make money off the publicity.
Without even counting his homerun and three walks tonight against the Marlins, Bonds is worth close to 9 wins alone (Wins Above Replacement Player -- look at his WARP-3 on that page).
So, the 44-57 (assuming they win tonight) Giants would be about 35-66 without Bonds. That's 3 games behind the Major League-worst Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Bonds is among the most valuable players in the National League (along with Chase Utley, Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, Chipper Jones, Edgar Renteria, and Albert Pujols).
You know why the Giants are bad? No offense, aside from Bonds. Randy Winn and Ryan Klesko are the only regulars in the Giants lineup performing at an above-average level, and Winn is just barely doing so, and Klesko has 100 less AB than everyone else. They have no bench.
It seems to be distracting for opposing teams as well. After Barry hit 754 tonight, Marlin pitchers can't find the strike zone.
I can only imagine how all of the players feel as they watch history. My nerves are a mess just when I sit at home and watch each possibly historic at bat.
I AM A RETIRED TEACHER. - BORN IN BROOKLYN, LIVING IN SOUTH CAROLINA. * I AM A PURE FRONT RUNNER, I SEE HOW THE SEASON IS GOING AND GET ATTRACTED TO A TEAM. *MY LACK OF LOYALTY IS RELATED TO HAVING THE GREATEST SPORTS TEAM OF ALL TIME - THE BROOKLYN DODGERS, LEAVE TOWN - *NO BROOKLYN FAN CAN EVER RECOVER FROM THAT TRAUMA - AND WHEN MY GENERATION DIES OUT, NO ONE WILL REMAIN WHO CAN APPRECIATE WHAT A HORRIBLE
FEELING THAT WAS - ALMOST A DEATH IN THE FAMILY - AND YOU COULD DROP THE WORD "ALMOST." *THE GREATEST -- OSCAR ROBERTSON -- JIM BROWN - JOE LOUIS - JOE NAMATH - SANDY KOUFAX - WILLIE MAYS - MUHAMMAD ALI - #42 - BABE RUTH - BILL RUSSELL - ROBERTO CLEMENTE
**THE SCUM OF THE SPORTS WORLD - >>> BARRY BONDS - A SNAKE WITHOUT HONOR.
*READ ME AT WWW.BIGGAFF.N ET
