Lucky for me, I just picked up Barry for my fantasy league. One of the other guys who had him said he could not stand that Barry plays every other day and dropped him. That was my queue to snap him up. Barry helps with your on base percentage and HR's. He has hit two this week for me.
This is Barry's line from yesterday. One of the walks was intentional. Of course on Friday they walked him intentionally with the bases loaded. He still draws more walks than any other player and only plays in half the games.
He has the highest OPS on his team and the highest Slugging percentage.This is from a guy who is not in the lineup for every game.In fact, he was told he was getting the day off today and he insisted on playing.I am pretty sure Alou is glad he let him start.Bonds still has one of the sweetest swings in baseball and he appears to me to be getting healthier every day.
His knee does not look like it is bothering him that much as he made two spectacular catches this week, (One pictured above) and even stole a base on Wednesday.Could it be he wants to impress the Oakland A’s so he can DH for them next year?Maybe that is why he did not want to miss a game in this series.Who knows for sure, but Aaron better watch out because a new sheriff is coming to town.
According to the Dreams Foundation of CA, all mammals dream.Dreams are funny things.So are nightmares which are just dreams that have less than desirable outcomes.Let me give you a rather personal example of how one man’s dreams are another man’s nightmares.For my son, a trip to Cold Stone is a wonderful dream.As we approach the counter and decide which delicious concoction that our taste buds will encounter, we find out that the daily supplies did not arrive and therefore they are out of ice cream.My son would leave the establishment in tears of sorrow while my wife would be in nirvana realizing that my ever expanding waistline was safe for another day.
Webster’s Dictionary has nine entries for the word dream.The two that most of us think about would probably be:
1: a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep
4 a: a strongly desired goal or purpose <a dream of becoming president> b: something that fully satisfies a wish
I will not discuss the nature of my dreams which fit into the first definition, but as a child I had dreams of being a professional basketball player, but the fact that I am vertically challenged both in height and the ability to leap, all of which are genetically linked, I settled for coaching instead.Maybe I could have pursued my dream to play in the NBA under the American for Disabilities Act much the same way that Casey Martin won an appeal to use a cart on the PGA, but somehow I did not see myself on the bench as the token ADA player.
In the sporting world, one man’s dreams may be another man’s nightmares is never more true.Here is one dream that I would love to see come to pass but might just be your nightmare.
My dream, your nightmare, is that George Steinbrenner picks up the phone and calls Barry Bonds and makes him one of The Bosses’ patented “can’t say no” deals so that Barry decides to come to New York next year as a DH.Can you imagine seeing Barry in Yankee pinstripes?Some have argued that Bonds has already said that he would not DH but I would like to put forth some reasons I believe he may just shock everyone, except for me and George, and put on the Yankee ball cap next year if not sooner.
He could DH for two more years and easily pass Aaron for the all-time leader in HR’s.Not having to play the outfield will ease the burden on his ancient frame and anyone who does not believe that Barry is competitive and wants that HR title does not know what it feels like to be a professional athlete.In the fictional book, Game of Shadows, the authors tell us that one of the driving forces behind Bonds’ decision to take steroids was because he was jealous of Mark McGwire’s single season record.If there is any truth to this tall tale, then the fires of competition that burn deep within Barry will not let him rest until the last ember is put out by finally passing Henry Aaron on the all time list.
Twenty million dollars is a lot of money for anyone to pass up.For someone who may never work in baseball again, Barry needs to earn all that he can in the next few years.The irony in all of this is that Babe Ruth so desperately wanted to manage the Yankees when he retired and yet he was so hated in his day that he was never allowed to work with the organization in any significant capacity.If the treatment of Barry prior to retirement is any indicator of how he will be treated, Bonds will be no different than Ruth.Barry needs to keep on bringing home a paycheck as long as he can swing a bat.
Age is not a factor.Julio Franco is a prime example of a player who can continue to play even in the NL as a part time DH.(For those who think a player can not put on muscle in their 40's just look at Julio's rookie card and then look at him today. He is at least 40 lbs. heavier and all muscle. That is just a skinny kid in that rookie card, sort of reminds me of Barry as a rookie.)Barry is still in good health with the exception of his knee.Rest and being a DH will take care of all that ails him.
The last reason he may continue to play is that as long as he is hitting HR’s it gives him a diversion from all of the perjury talk and those that insist he will go to jail.Just three weeks ago everyone was claiming he was in serious trouble and going to be indicted for perjury, but alas it is not to be.You see for perjury charges to be proven you need to prove intent which is almost never proven.Bill Clinton stood and asked the world to define the word “is” and walked away without perjury charges and so will Barry.That does not mean he did not lie just as Clinton surely lied to Hillary, Monica, and his other mistresses, but proving it is an entirely different thing.As long as Barry plays, he has a reason to get up and prove the world wrong. It is also interesting that some people have said that Barry has made statements saying he will never DH. Those same individuals claim Barry is lying about steroids so what is to prevent him from lying about being a DH.
In a perfect world, I would love to see it happen tomorrow so Bonds could pass Babe Ruth on the HR list as a Yankee.I guess I can always dream or is that someone else's nightmare!
SoCalSportsFan
*For those who have still not figured out sarcasm, Game of Shadows is a book that is carried in the non-fiction aisle at Barne's and Nobles, but I tend to believe any book that bases its facts on hearsay as fiction. Watch Hoodwinked and you will see how one person's perspective can be entirely wrong.Also check out the link to Bill and Monica for a funny picture.*
A lot has been made about the number of at bats that it took Hank Aaron to reach his total of 755 HR and the fact that Barry will have had many more at bats than Babe Ruth. There are many factors as to why one player gets more at bats than another but the hard reality is that the record does not say who had more at bats it states who has more HR's. My benchmark has to do with the number of seasons a player participated in and see how they stack up. Here is a table that I compiled from baseball-reference.com.
According to the 
My dream, your nightmare, 
He could DH for two more years and easily pass Aaron for the all-time leader in HR’s.
The last reason he may continue to play is that as long as he is hitting HR’s it gives him a diversion from all of the perjury talk and those that insist he will go to jail.