Friday Fire: Did the Yankees Pass Over Barry Bonds for Richie Sexson?
Check out Costas Now when you get a chance. Great show about the state of baseball is airing the next week or so. The best part of the show was the exchange between Hank, Willie and Bob Gibson. America needs to appreciate talent as it exists instead of giving Willie Mays and Hank Aaron standing ovations 430 years later. Yeah they’ve been afforded a modicum of praise, but it’s a long time coming.
Gibson stayed in his chair. He was not giving those cats a standing o. Both hit close to .200 for their careers against the fearless fireballer. Supreme competitor even though he’s long since retired. He’s a legend that deserves any praise he gets and is a true G.
Had to be difficult for two of the greatest of all time because Barry was the 762 pound gorilla in the room.
Hideo Nomo retired yesterday. I’ll never forget when he and Dave Stewart threw no hitters on the same day and ESPN was lucky enough to air both games in succession.
This would be a common occurrence in Yankee Stadium
Barry Bonds a Yankee? Could it be? Not according to Brian Cashman:
“I would say any rampant speculation on us involving a player of that magnitude would be extremely premature. I would caution everybody to not misunderstand that since I’m not saying no to it, that that means, ‘Oh my gosh, that that might be happening down the line.’ It’s not something we’re focused on at this point. We’re focused on getting Hideki Matsui back rather than, you know, what we’re going to do if he’s not back.”
Anyway…the New York Yankees signed Richie Sexson yesterday. Yeah he comes cheap, but do you think Barry’s name was mentioned?
It looks like Hideki Matsui is done for the season so should’t this be an easy decision for Lil Steinbrenner?
Pull the trigger!
I think New York would be a great place for Barry because he’s used to all the bright lights. Of course this wouldn’t happen, but a brotha can dream right?
Collusion confusion abounds?
Barry hit .276 last year against lefties…not bad for someone supposedly over the hill. The Yankees picked up Sexson apparently for that purpose, so we’ll see how it goes.
Does anyone think Barry is gonna get any burn this season?
Barry would kill the short porch in right. After all his cousin is Reggie Jackson. I truly feel Yankee fans would warm to this move if Barry began to yank ‘em out down the right field line. I wonder what George would do in this situation. Would he drive around San Francisco chasing Barry down like he did Reggie?
Doesn’t this team have ARod, Jeter and Giambi on its roster? Barry would be alright, trust me people.
Bold move, but who else would pull the trigger. The Yankees are 6 back and in danger of missing the post season for the first time in like 93 years or something like that.
Do it Brian, do it. Right now! No reason to be shook because this is a move the Yankees would have made in the past.
We’ll see.
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July 18th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Mizzo - you are entirely correct. This is a move right up George Steinbrenner’s alley. The team would have made a similar move back in the day. Things have changed. The Yankees brought on Strawberry and Gooden and Raines and Steve Howe and many others during Steinbrenner’s tenure that most teams were reluctant to sign, let alone re-sign and entrust with playing big minutes. I don’t think Barry would like the Bronx or the media here. The fans wouldn’t like to see his trademark patience generate 150 BBs. They’d love to see 35 homers and a high batting average. But, they’d still HATE. The media would still HATE. With Barry, none of this is really about his on-field performance. It’s about the fact that he’s undefeated - so far.
Coincidentally,
Barry Bonds had the highest OPS of any player in all of major league baseball last season (including Alex Rodriguez). He’s not playing because teams (all teams) collectively decided (collusion or cultural mind fusion, your choice) that his PR and legal issues trump his on-field benefit AND he’s the scapegoat for the sins of the league.
This part of the purge. I think Mark McGwire was willing to be the scapegoat (in his own quiet way) when he walked away from the game. His refusal to talk about the past was equivalent to what a goat might say as its being led to the slaughter. “Baa, the past is the past. Baaa. Let’s move on ‘as a community.’ Baaa”
McGwire’s invisibility is in stark contrast to Bond’s invisibility. McGwire’s was a choice born of his desire to avoid all that Bonds is going through. Bond’s disappearance has been imposed as if we all lived under Napoleonic Law where we’re guilty until proven innocent.
Bonds could do better than the Yankees. Actually, he could do better than MLB and its crooked-ass owners and its empty-vessel of a Hall of Fame. The problem is - they all seem to deserve one another.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Of course they did.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
As a Yankee fan, I want no part of Bonds. I didn’t want Sexson, either. I want arms….. I want Roy Oswalt. The Yankees have been undone by postseason pitching — poor pitching on our part; better pitching from the opposition — and Bonds doesn’t have the sexiest postseason resume of all time…. not until he juiced up and had a decent postseason in 2002. I doubt another bat is what will lift the Yankees over the Rays and Red Sox.
I’d prefer the Yankees go after starters. We’re not winning anything with an aging Pettitte and Mussina and only Joba as a young, dependable arm. Let Bonds go ruin some other team’s chemistry. We already have A-Rod’s circus…. we don’t need another.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Richie Sexson is known as a slugger and his bat against left handers will come in handy…I’m not sure if Barry Bonds name was in the running. You are right that the Yankees could use an outfielder or better yet Bonds could be the DH, but I think this all boiled down to $. Sexon is getting the minimum and how do you bring in Bonds and pay him the minimum.
I think Barry made more in his cameo appearance in the David Banner, Yung Joc, Chris Brown video than he would in signing for the veteran minimum.
In conclusion this is the NY Yankees and they always bring in hired guns and big bats either at the start of Spring ball or late in the season. Stay tuned!
July 18th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
AXG, Bonds has offered to play for the minimum.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Well like I said…stay tuned. Its the Yankees, they always pull rabbits out of the hat.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I meant to put it in my piece the other day, but my mind was all over the place.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I agree with B that the Yankees probably need pitching more than anything else.
With respect to Bonds’ post-season career, I think there are a couple of factors that are worth noting. Much of his career has been distinguished by his being surrounded by sub-par hitters. His talent as a hitter has often left him as the unprotected hitter in the lineup. He has been followed at the plate by some of the worst hitters in the history of the game. What really set him apart in his so-called Steroid Years was his discipline. He swung at fewer bad pitches, demonstrated a willingness to take walks, and when he did swing - he went yard.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
As a Yankee fan, I’m not one of these cats who would rather not get into the post season just because they passed on Bonds. This is a tailor made moment and the Yankees would be stupid not to capitalize.
Every major league team needs pitching this time of year.
If the Yankees get Roswalt, then I’d be happy as well, but I still want Barry.
Let him close Babe’s house down. Poetic moment.
July 18th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I actually do understand why some teams might not have wanted to sign Barry Bonds. Teams looking toward the future would not see a 44-year-old guy as the best way to do that.
but like the Yankees, or the Red Sox, can get away with that provided Barry understands he’s not there to replace Manny or A-Rod in the hierarchy. and he’s gonna be a DH. last year he was a horrible left fielder.
plus…. Richie Sexson is a top-shelf defensive first baseman so he serves that role.
i am going to make a comparison using another subject near and dear to my heart: the blog I link to.
Barry Bonds= Mitsuharu Misawa.
Just like Bonds, Misawa was the definitive star of his decade. And just like Barry, he had a log-standing reputation for aloofness and prickishness. But he was so good at what he did that his franchise, the one he drug to new heights of relevance, put up with it.
But now, just like Bonds, Misawa is in his 40’s and not nearly the same force he once was But he has redefined his expectations of himself to what his body can do. If Barry can do that, and realize he’ll be a cog in the machine and not the whole machine, he would help a major league team.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Barry hit 28 home runs last season and as Temple wrote, his OPS is well documented.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
The Yankees need a right handed bat. When Matsui and Damon come back that will be 5 left handed bats in the lineup on the regular. I’d love to see Barry on August 1st (my birthday/best day ever) when I go to Yankees stadium, but if we’re talking just baseball they needed a right hand batter.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Not in a million, million years.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Okori:
Seriously - which player on a current MLB roster is a more imposing and dangerous hitter than Bonds? For that matter, was there anyone better over the past seven years? Statistically, he’s the lead dog pulling every single sled in the league. Not that we need to do it, but if we controlled statistically for the Scrub Factor on the Giants (ie., substitute Bonds on the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, Rangers, etc.), Bonds would be so far ahead of his “peers” as to make a conversation patently absurd on its face.
The statistical “isolates” (for lack of a better word) that discern the performance of an individual are crystal clear.
He’s far from done - except that he’s done.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I would love to see how he would be received in Japan.
July 18th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Temple: Manny Ramirez, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez. and that’s the 3 that i could remember off the top of my head that were better than Bonds from 2001-2008.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
You are joking right? When it’s all said and done, NONE of those players will amass the walks you are conveniently not factoring in. Do you know how many home runs he would have hit simply based on his hr per pitch ratio?
Like Temple said in another thread I think, Barry did not swing at bad pitches…when he did, he hit them out.
People do not fall into the propaganda of the baseball media.
All you hear now is this dude is old.
I’d take him in a second. Could you imagine Bonds in the middle of the lineup with bases loaded late in October?
Come on people. Get real here. Don’t diminish how great a player Barry Bonds IS just because you hear the same bullshit day in and day out from a jealous ass media.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
ok Mizz…. who do you think you’re talking to? I’m not Shaska or Koko B. Stupid. I know what I’m talking about.
and I happen to believe that A-Rod was a better player than Bonds from 2001-2008. Let’s review this, rationally so no one somehow fools themselves into thinking that I’m making a specious point to hurt the black man.
In the 7 years (2001-2008) A-Rod played shortstop and 3rd Base, much harder defensive positions to play than Left Field.
He also averaged the following numbers over those 7 years: 47 Home Runs, 129 RBI’s, a .590 Slugging Percentage, and a .399 OBP which means he was ops’ing .989 from the single most demanding defensive position on the diamond that isn’t named catcher where he won back-to-back gold gloves.
But hey…. I’m just a bitter white boy. Rite Mizz? Because I can’t se superior skill and have it not be because i’m racist right?
July 18th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
and Mizz I like this site, and these questions, more when you think you don’t know the answer to the question.
Constructive criticism: because sometimes when you do you can come off as dismissive of contrary points of view.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Okori:
You’re going to lose this one. You should leave it alone now, while you can. The issue is about Bond’s hitting - not his defense, running or anything else. The comment was:
As much as I love Manny and Pujols, it’s not even close. Bonds has played with so many scrubs (as table setters), low average power hitters, and high strikeout RBI men that you’d have to be a true junkie to run down the list. It was during his seasons with Jeff Kent that he put up seasons which rivaled the Sultan of Swat himself.
Manny has been playing with Big Papi and a bunch of studs for years (and he was in the middle of a Bomb Ass Lineup in Cleveland), but he has yet to get Ruthian. (And I think Manny is the 2nd best hitter of this generation. He’s awesome…but he ain’t Barry or even Barry’s milk man or garbage man or mail man.)
Pujols. Just stop. Same factors. Powerful lineup. Favorable stadium numbers in support of hitters vs. SF.
A-Rod - great player - but not a more imposing and dangerous hitter than Bonds. Never has been, never will be. And, he’s had the benefit of solid lineup protection his entire life. His time in NY was his only time in a stadium that wasn’t a launching pad.
Barry Bonds hasn’t been the best all around player in baseball since he lost his wheels. When it comes to hitting, these two players simply reside in different worlds. A-Rod has struck out over 100 times 11 times in his career and will most certainly do it again and again and again and again. Bonds - once.
Ultimate Fear Factor - Career Intentional Walks:
Bonds - 688
Rodriguez - 75
GIDP?
Bonds - 165
Rodriguez - 177
Of course there is a great deal of context to these numbers (lineup, team speed, etc.), but it should be obvious to even a casual observer that Barry Bonds is peerless among the living when it comes to hitting.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Two of the last few years, A-Rod has had slugging percentages in the low .500’s (.512 - 2004; .523 - 2006). Bonds hasn’t had a slugging percentage that low since Ice Cube was with NWA.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
admittedly Temple this is not my strongest suit. I don’t run a baseball blog. but i will say that in all-around player conversations Bonds hasn’t been in that discussion for the pst few years.
Hitter… yes. you beat me. and i can accept it.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Who said anything about you hatin’ brothas?
Damn right I think comparing Bonds to anyone is ludicrous. Bonds’ numbers in terms of walks are absolutely staggering. Has nothing to do with race.
Chill…
July 18th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
and theremight be a challenge upcoming on my turf about something of mine. be ready.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
sorry Mizz. we’ve got the Croatian kids coming in today and their mother hasn’t ascertained proper nutrition. so I had to take them to lunch, and give the mother the riot act. thus= nerves are kind of frayed.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
It’s cool bruh. You are good peoples. My bad if I came off as offensive. I was speaking in a general sense later on in my comment and not directly to you.
July 18th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
thanx man. Fridays are hard round this joint.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
The fix is in. The fact that a hitter of Barry’s caliber-who loves the big-time, who would kill the right field corner, who still has all kinds of game-is getting passed over for a guy like Sexson who is the poor man’s Rob Deer tells you The Fix Is In.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Bonds changes everything just by being in uniform in a ballpark, even if he’s not in the lineup. It’s hard to comprehend his impact unless you’ve watched him on an everday basis, or are in the game trying to figure out how to beat him. No other hitter since Ruth, if even the Babe, has had that kind of presence - not even close. As Temple points out, the best evidence is his walk totals - that’s the most telling stat of all. What his other numbers would have been if he’d been pitched to like every other hitter in the game is hard to imagine, not to mention that he played most of his career in two of the toughest ballparks for left-handed batters.
I’m not a Yankee fan, never have been, but it seems like a perfect move for them to sign Bonds. The NY media would bother him less than a mosquito after all he’s put up with. Not only that, I have a feeling that if he did sign with the Yankees the media would soon be a whole lot less hostile. I’ve thought for a long time that part of their hostility came from being offended that the best player in the game was not on a NY team. If they got the chance to watch him ever day, and see the way he conducts himself, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t finally recognized as the true giant of the game he’s long been. He’s a fine man, with a complete and solid sense of who he is and how he fits in the history of the game. He’s intelligent, charming, and witty when he’s not under attack, and has maintained his dignity and self-respect through decades of assault.
It’s hard to imagine a bigger triumph for him than signing with the Yankees and turning the NY media’s opinion of him on its head. His age and physical limitations would be more than balanced by that short right field porch and potent bats behind him. I’d expect him to put up mind-boggling numbers under those conditions.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
TBR and Mizz: check my blog. you have *cue evil music* a challenge to answer.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Its a shame that bonds hasn’t been picked up, a total shame.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I don’t know if you were joking, so maybe I’m the ass, but Fernando pitched a no-hitter the same day as Stewart. Please let me know if I’m the idiot. I get this all the time.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Mizzo:
Did you see the piece on Willie Mays (ESPN Classic?) about Leo Durocher and the creation of the “Say Hey Kid” (Man-Child) image? The segment which I watched at a bar (closed captions) talked about how the Giants created this Man-Child persona to infantilize Mays and offer a paternalistic Sosa-esque image of a “happy” Negro running around the field of dreams.
As I’ve always said, Barry Bonds would have had to be a COMPLETE fool to have a loving, trusting open relationship with the American media. That same media trafficked in the worst types of imagery in characterizing his own father and god father. In other words, how stupid do the writers really think he is?
Just off the plantation dumb?
Just off the boat dumb?
July 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
They don’t care about that shit. No disrespect to Willie, but older cats in my family couldn’t stand him.
As far as the media…they see their sons….
July 20th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Bryson, you are correct. My bad. My apologies to Fernando as well.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:05 am
Guess who I saw today while driving the fam around the city?
Solo stroll up 5th Avenue in the Mid-Fiddies, chillin’.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:48 am
You should have yelled his way to stop hitting into so many dps with money on the line.
He is such a talent, but in my eyes he’s not a Yankee until he starts stirrin’ the drink.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:46 pm
I saw that piece about Willie, Temple. Pissed me off.