Philadelphia – His face flushed, his words hushed, the frustrated San Francisco Giants outfielder had no interest in talking to reporters Saturday.
The catch? It was Moises Alou, whose sprained right ankle has left Barry Bonds hobbling toward Babe Ruth’s 714 home run milestone. Bonds arrived in Philadelphia at history’s doorstep, but has gone 1-for-6 with a bloop single, while losing his bodyguard in the lineup.
Even before Alou’s injury, Giants teammates predicted Bonds wouldn’t pass Ruth until this week’s homestand. Now with Alou gone for three weeks, there was talk, if only in jest, that he would never hit another home run.
“I always thought Mo would be the right guy here to hit behind Barry. It’s tough,” said Giants manager Felipe Alou, whose son was hurt Friday when he stepped awkwardly onto the dirt along the right-field foul line.
“I imagine Mo had gotten the attention of some managers with what he had done.”
All eyes in Saturday’s sellout crowd were fixated on Bonds, including those of his mother, Pat. She sat in the first row above the Giants’ dugout. Like many in the crowd on this windy night, she looked cold. Her son, 11 weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, looked old as he remained stuck on 712 home runs.
He will start tonight in a game televised by ESPN.
While the impact of Alou’s absence figures to grow, Bonds has received a handful of pitches to hit this weekend. However, the bat speed exhibited during batting practice – he enjoyed two of his most productive sessions this weekend – has not transferred to games.
Continuing with an approach first adopted at Coors Field two weeks ago, he is looking to hit the ball to the opposite field and hasn’t demonstrated his traditional pull power.
Against Saturday’s starter Ryan Madson, Bonds walked on a borderline 3-1 changeup, grounded into a 6-5-4 double play – topped only by Friday’s 3-5-4 double play – and flew out softly to left field. In the eighth inning, Bonds, with his mom snapping pictures, received a gift single against reliever Arthur Rhodes when Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell crossed signals on a swirling popup to shallow left.
What happened next symbolized Bonds’ evening. Hours after looking apprehensive in left field – he nearly fell down catching a Rollins line drive – Bonds was struck on the right foot on Steve Finley’s two-hop groundball. He couldn’t time his jump before getting struck.
Alou’s absence – he was leading the league in hitting with a .378 average – only aggravated an already frustrated Giants clubhouse. Teammates are tiring of the large media presence – there were in excess of 200 press credentials issued for this series – and weary after losing six of their past seven games.
Today’s starter Matt Morris was asked how this circus compared to life as a teammate of Mark McGwire during his record-breaking 70-home run season.
“There is a similar (amount of media),” Morris said. “The difference is that everybody was happy for McGwire.”
Philadelphia fans have been creative and surprisingly civil. When Bonds jogged onto the field Friday, he was greeted with a sign that read: “Ruth Did It With Hot Dogs and Beer.” They also have serenaded him with chants of “Chea-ter!” and “Ju-st Re-tire.”
Bonds insists the venom doesn’t bother him, but he has been a different player on the road. His lone home run in a visiting park came at Coors Field off Aaron Cook. He is hitting .206 in 34 at-bats with four extra-base hits and one RBI.
“This game is a mental grind, and he has to do it with every show, every day about him,” teammate Mark Sweeney said. “I bet 95 percent of the players would be out of the game if they had to go through that.
“I have said all along that he’s going to pass it at home because he wants to do it front of his fans.”
