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Bring me the head of Peter Magowan
2006-12-17 17:31
by Bob Timmermann

While Bud Selig may not have said that exactly, T.J. Quinn of the New York Daily News reports that the Commissioner was displeased with the size of the contract that the Giants paid out to Barry Bonds.

Sources say commissioner Bud Selig is seething over the contract, in part because of the money, and in part because he would have been happy to see his friend Aaron's record preserved until a more suitable successor makes a run. Despite Bonds' claim that he didn't know what he was taking, he did admit to a federal grand jury that he used steroids.

Publicly, however, the commissioner's office is diplomatic, and MLB spokesman Rich Levin and senior MLB vice president for administration John McHale have been told to come up with a game plan in the event that Bonds ties and passes Aaron. Selig will attend any celebration, but officials say they are not sure whether Aaron will, despite reports that he will not.

"The commissioner has repeatedly made clear that this is a significant record. It is an enormous achievement built over an entire career," MLB president Bob DuPuy says. "Barry has had a long, successful career in San Francisco where he has been treated with the respect for his achievements you would expect San Francisco Giants fans to have."

Right now the Giants lineup looks like this
1B - Rich Aurilia
2B - Ray Durham
SS - Omar Vizquel
3B - Pedro Feliz
LF - Barry Bonds
CF - Dave Roberts/Randy Winn
RF - The guy above who doesn't play center
C - Bengie Molina
SP - Matt Cain, Matt Morris, Noah Lowry, Brad Hennessey, Jonathan Sanchez
RP - Armando Benitez, Steve Kline, Tim Worrell, Kevin Correia, Vinnie Chulk, and the rest...

Comments
2006-12-17 17:47:54
1.   D4P
Isn't that pretty much what the Giants lineup looks like every year...?
2006-12-17 17:52:23
2.   Bob Timmermann
1
QED
2006-12-17 18:01:40
3.   das411
Pedro Feliz is a nice young player.

....is there any proof besides malicious leaks by vendetta-ing sportswriters that Bonds did indeed testify that way?

"he did admit to a federal grand jury that he used steroids" seems several large assumptions away from what we actually know, even at this point...

2006-12-17 18:53:32
4.   Yu-Hsing Chen
all they need now is signing Sandy Alomar Jr as back up C and trade for Julio Franco and El-Duque with Cain.
2006-12-17 21:19:36
5.   deadteddy8
"The favored storyline in the Bay Area is that the Giants traded competitiveness for quick cash while Bonds chases Hank Aaron's career home-run record."

What? I don't understand why people don't understand that they signed THE BEST AVAILABLE HITTER to a one-year deal. This was the only way they could approach being competitive!

Say what you will about the guy (he's no cuddly puppy, that's for sure), but he's worth the money, and the Giants paid it because just getting him isn't enough; he has to be reasonably happy, like the article says through its incredulous tone. Things are tough enough anyway with that guy in the locker room. Once they decided to sign him at all, making him feel underpaid wasn't an option. It occurs to me that if Selig's reaction really is partly about the money, then why wasn't he outraged at the Varitek deal? After the 2004 season, Tek got paid well over a mid-30s catcher's market value for the time, and the Sox justified it by saying that his loyalty to the franchise should be rewarded, that his value to that particular club was more than his value to any other club. It seems that, because Varitek is, by many accounts, a swell guy, nobody cared, but when Bonds gets paid less than Carlos Lee's annual salary, on a one-year deal, people are getting upset about it. It doesn't sound like a new reason to dislike him, but a new manifestation of old contempt.

http://tinyurl.com/y6lo6a

--David (sportszillablog.com)

2006-12-17 22:04:54
6.   das411
That contract was signed before Varitek went all Brett Myers on ARod's face though, so I suppose people actually did think he was a swell guy.

Can the Giants sell any 756 merchandise or does it all have to go through Bonds b/c of his non-union situation?

2006-12-17 23:08:56
7.   Xeifrank
Bob, knowing what a big fan of Japanese baseball you are, I thought I'd pass along this blog entry.
http://marinerds.blogspot.com/
vr, Xei
2006-12-18 00:18:45
8.   Bob Timmermann
7
That blog's owner posts here frequently.
2006-12-18 09:28:11
9.   Schteeve
I can't believe there are still people out there who question whether or not Bonds used PEDs.
2006-12-18 11:09:53
10.   Voxter
Did you know: Barry Bonds was once expelled from Cambodia because Pol Pot was worried his presence "made [Pol] look bad".

True fact.

2006-12-18 12:28:11
11.   Icaros
Pedro Feliz is a nice young player.

He's 31 with a career .724 OPS.

2006-12-18 12:51:07
12.   El Lay Dave
11 Exactly; featuring a career OBP of .288!

It must be Winn for RF; you can't seriously play Roberts' North Beach (AKA spaghetti noodle) arm out there.

Which major league former SS do you want playing 1B for you, Rich Aurilia or Nomar Garciaparra?

Career OPS:

1B - Rich Aurilia .775
2B - Ray Durham .797
SS - Omar Vizquel .702
3B - Pedro Feliz .724
LF - Barry Bonds 1.051
CF - Dave Roberts .715
RF - Randy Winn .764
C - Bengie Molina .717

Barry and a bunch of 7th and 8th place hitters. What an ugly season they're going to have.

2006-12-18 13:04:05
13.   Icaros
The papers and radio up here all report that Winn will move to right. The Giants and Dodgers have got to have the two worst sets of outfield arms in all of baseball.

Guys are going to score from first on singles.

2006-12-18 14:10:31
14.   Shaun P
And Bochy plans on having the Giants running a lot. I guess that will be OK for Roberts and Winn, but who the heck among the rest of those guys can run?

The next question is, does Brian Sabean hang around long enough to see what life is like, post-Bonds, or does he get out while the getting is good?

2006-12-18 17:17:02
15.   Vishal
[11] yeah, tell that to vin. :)

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