Barry Bonds appreciation, post-mortem (part 1)

So the Giants went on a 10-game road trip, realistically needing to win 7 to have a decent shot of making a race of it. One game was rained out. In the 9 that were played the offense clicked well enough, putting up 51 runs, including 8 or more runs 3 times.

But the woeful pitching became completely disastrous: The Giants surrendered 93 runs in the 8 games, including an astounding 26 first-inning runs (nearly 3 per game). 16 times the home team scored 3 or more runs against the Giants, including at least one such inning in each game. Given these numbers, it's no surprise that the Giants went 1-8 and fell completely out of the race (they were eliminated last night).

As for Barry Bonds, here were his stats for the trip:
G AB R  H HR RBI   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS
8 26 5 11 2 10 .423 .464 .731 1.195
Bonds started 7 of the 9 games, and drove in the winning run as apinch-hitter in the lone Giants win. 5 times he was removed for a pinch runner or defensive replacement, including one time when the Giants blew the lead after taking Bonds out of the game.

Now all the talk will be as to whether the Giants will sign Bonds for next season; barring an indictment and conviction (which, all headlines aside, I believe are not especially imminent or likely), that would seem their easiest decision. Finding some pitchers who might help us all to see another post-season featuring Barry, that'll be tougher.

As for this season... Bonds is sitting tonight, 2nd time in 3 games. Unless he enters the game and gets a plate appearance, he will become a non-qualifier again when the game ends.

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