Friday, September 21, 2007
Barry Says Bye-Bye
Barry Bonds announced on his website today that the Giants have told him that they would not be bringing him back in 2008. It's not a surprise, as the Giants will be looking to rebuild, but it's still downright sad. Some quick thoughts on this, because it's Friday afternoon and I need a nap...
1) Now batting for your Los Angeles Angels...Barrrrry Bonds!!! Yeah, it's going to be totally weird seeing Barry take some hacks in another uniform next season. It'll be pretty strange starting a season without Bonds's name penciled into the starting lineup. It's like a war veteran who's had his arm blown off, then wakes up at times with the feeling that it's still attached. Um, or something like that.
2) Bonds has a 1.053 OPS this year, which is the best in the National League. Now picture the 2008 Giants lineup, most likely returning a bunch of the same sub-.700 OPS ne'er-do-wells, and picture that lineup sans Bonds. Yeah. It's uglier than a Karl Rove-Rosie O'Donnell love child.
Let's say hypothetically that Bonds wants so bad to retire as a Giants that he'll agree to take a substantial pay cut. He'll come back for $10 million in 2008. Knowing what Bonds brings to a lineup, even at age 42, should the Giants do a 180 (or a Jason Kidd 360) and bring him back at this discounted price? Let's face it, it's likely that this team is going to be absolutely miserable to watch with no Bonds next season. Hell, they're unwatchable with Bonds! If he can put some butts in the seats, hit some home runs, help put some runs on the board, and make a big farewell tour, would it be worth it to take the senior discount?
I think Rob Neyer hit it on the head in a blog post today. As much as it sucks to see the icon of the franchise for the past 15 years just waltz off unceremoniously, it would probably just make very little sense, in the end, to re-sign him, to any dollar amount (unless we're talking like $5 million or something, but that's a little too crazy a dream). The Giants need to rebuild, and the only way they're going to do it effectively is by giving some younger guys a chance to play and prove that they can produce in the major leagues. That is not going to be accomplished by signing Bonds and playing him just for sentimental value. The Astros are killing themselves with Craig Biggio this year for just that reason.
Bonds will find himself on another team in '08 and he'll doubtless help that team score runs and win ballgames. The Giants, meanwhile, need to break the ball and chain and find a way to make this new era of suck as short as possible. Bonds will be missed, and some day he'll come back to Mays Field and be the recipient of one of the greatest ovations ever given to a baseball player.
--I had so much fun embedding that DMB video last Friday, that I think I'll make this a regular feature here on Stankeye, kind of a TGIF thing. This week's random video features the Angry Video Game Nerd. If you don't know who he is, well, he's a video game reviewer who became immensely popular on YouTube and now does work for Gametrailers. He basically only reviews crappy old Nintendo games...while drinking beer and cussing...a lot. It's one of the funniest things around nowadays.
This is a trailer for his review of a bunch of old, awful Spiderman games on the classic game consoles. Again, this is just the trailer, (the full video can be found on this page), but it's freaking hilarious. Warning: it's brimming with filthy language, so kiddies take heed. Enjoy, and have a good weekend!
1) Now batting for your Los Angeles Angels...Barrrrry Bonds!!! Yeah, it's going to be totally weird seeing Barry take some hacks in another uniform next season. It'll be pretty strange starting a season without Bonds's name penciled into the starting lineup. It's like a war veteran who's had his arm blown off, then wakes up at times with the feeling that it's still attached. Um, or something like that.
2) Bonds has a 1.053 OPS this year, which is the best in the National League. Now picture the 2008 Giants lineup, most likely returning a bunch of the same sub-.700 OPS ne'er-do-wells, and picture that lineup sans Bonds. Yeah. It's uglier than a Karl Rove-Rosie O'Donnell love child.
Let's say hypothetically that Bonds wants so bad to retire as a Giants that he'll agree to take a substantial pay cut. He'll come back for $10 million in 2008. Knowing what Bonds brings to a lineup, even at age 42, should the Giants do a 180 (or a Jason Kidd 360) and bring him back at this discounted price? Let's face it, it's likely that this team is going to be absolutely miserable to watch with no Bonds next season. Hell, they're unwatchable with Bonds! If he can put some butts in the seats, hit some home runs, help put some runs on the board, and make a big farewell tour, would it be worth it to take the senior discount?
I think Rob Neyer hit it on the head in a blog post today. As much as it sucks to see the icon of the franchise for the past 15 years just waltz off unceremoniously, it would probably just make very little sense, in the end, to re-sign him, to any dollar amount (unless we're talking like $5 million or something, but that's a little too crazy a dream). The Giants need to rebuild, and the only way they're going to do it effectively is by giving some younger guys a chance to play and prove that they can produce in the major leagues. That is not going to be accomplished by signing Bonds and playing him just for sentimental value. The Astros are killing themselves with Craig Biggio this year for just that reason.
Bonds will find himself on another team in '08 and he'll doubtless help that team score runs and win ballgames. The Giants, meanwhile, need to break the ball and chain and find a way to make this new era of suck as short as possible. Bonds will be missed, and some day he'll come back to Mays Field and be the recipient of one of the greatest ovations ever given to a baseball player.
--I had so much fun embedding that DMB video last Friday, that I think I'll make this a regular feature here on Stankeye, kind of a TGIF thing. This week's random video features the Angry Video Game Nerd. If you don't know who he is, well, he's a video game reviewer who became immensely popular on YouTube and now does work for Gametrailers. He basically only reviews crappy old Nintendo games...while drinking beer and cussing...a lot. It's one of the funniest things around nowadays.
This is a trailer for his review of a bunch of old, awful Spiderman games on the classic game consoles. Again, this is just the trailer, (the full video can be found on this page), but it's freaking hilarious. Warning: it's brimming with filthy language, so kiddies take heed. Enjoy, and have a good weekend!
Labels: arbitrary youtube links, barry bonds
