Barry Bonds In Boston: Bombing Balls Or Just Plain Bombing?

MayorBob.

Posted to Sport on Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 06:10:29 PM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

As the 2008 Major League Baseball (MLB) season opened there was one name conspicuously absent from every line-up card. That name would be Barry Bonds. The man who had just eclipsed Hank Aaron as the all time home run king in the sport would, the very next year, be unsigned and apparently unwanted by any club in the sport. There were allegations that there might be some sort of conspiracy aimed at keeping Bonds out of the game he had played so superbly for two decades. It's quite possible that Bonds will be in the line-up of a major league team soon. But he won't be suiting up for just any team though, due to an injury to one of their key players, the reigning World Series champion Boston Red Sox could view Bonds as a crucial addition to help them on towards their second straight world championship.

David Ortiz is the injured player and he's not going to be playing ball for at least a month due to a wrist injury. As much as any other Red Sox, the 32-year-old "Papi" is the heart and soul of the Bosox. Although his production was down this year, his absence leaves a gaping hole in the Red Sox offensive line up right at a time when they are right in it with the remarkable rise of the Tampa Bay Rays. What they need is a player who needn't be burdened by having to do anything but step up to the plate and swing for the fences. Bonds isn't liable to go yard as frequently as he did during his record-shattering season of 2001 where he homered 73 times (15 percent of every at bat was a homer). But, last year, he was producing a home run every 12th at bat. Comparing this production to Ortiz's 2008 home run rate of one every 16th at bat, would seem to argue in favor of signing Bonds for at least a month.

Ortiz's injury is said to keep him sidelined for at least a month, thus signing Bonds might be a commitment the Bosox have to make for the remainder of this season. The question isn't what sort of offense Bonds might contribute to the team. The main question is what sorts of downsides are there to signing him and whether the Bosox want to pay the price for him. First of all, there's those legal clouds Bonds has hanging over his head. Then there's that business of much of his home run legacy being tarnished by accusations of steroid use. It does give pause to consider if the fans in Fenway Park would be nearly as protective and forgiving of Bonds as the fans in San Francisco had been.

A number of those Bosox fans indicate that, with Papi out, it's "Bonds time." But, you've got to wonder how well Barry will bond with his new teammates. After all, he was always considered a man apart from his teammates in the Giant lockerroom. And Curt Schilling, one of Boston's key pitchers, and he have had their media moments. Lastly, you wonder how Barry will fit into the whole Boston scene, as he did one time offer that the town is "too racist for me."