San Francisco – Chasing history creates chilling abnormalities.
The San Francisco Giants entered the ninth inning Saturday trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by three. Chants of “Beat L.A.!” echoed throughout the stadium, though at suspiciously lower decibels. That’s because an estimated 10,000 of the fourth-largest crowd at AT&T Park headed to the exits minutes earlier when Jason Ellison replaced Barry Bonds in left field.
Those fans didn’t see a Bonds home run or the Giants’ goose- bump comeback in a dramatic 6-5 victory.
Omar Vizquel provided the exclamation point with a sacrifice fly and then an explanation for those who heard the rally on their car radio.
“Those are the bad fans,” Vizquel said. “They weren’t around for something special.”
Absence was a reverberating theme afterward: Why Bonds’ home-run swing is missing – he remains super-glued to 713, one shy of Babe Ruth even after being switched to the third spot in the lineup – and why Bonds himself was missing from the Giants’ raucous celebration at home plate.
The latter created the first testy response from Giants manager Felipe Alou since the night his son, Moises Alou, suffered a badly sprained ankle in Philadelphia eight days ago. While it can be argued Bonds’ presence would have demonstrated leadership, it was not required or necessary, according to Alou.
“When you take a guy out, whether it’s a pitcher or player, they go into the clubhouse,” explained Alou, who said Bonds would play today in the last game of the homestand before the Giants head to Houston. “I don’t know if you know that, but you know now.”
Bonds’ teammates defended the slugger after a win that left Dodgers closer Danys Baez clinging to his job. Outfielder Steve Finley indicated Bonds, who went 0-for-3 with a walk, and a handful of relievers were among the first to greet players when they entered the clubhouse.
Bonds did not speak to the media afterward. He was seen in the hallway outside talking with some fans before reporters were allowed in. He hoisted his 7-year-old daughter, Aisha, on his shoulders and walked out.
It was a difficult week for Bonds, who has hiccuped on his way to history. Since crushing a 450-foot souvenir off Philadelphia’s Jon Lieber a week ago, Bonds is homerless in 23 plate appearances, going 1-for-17 with six walks. He is hitting .222.
He also has drawn criticism for his defense, which included a poorly played ball Friday night.
Acknowledging the slump, Felipe Alou shifted Bonds to third in the order for the first time since May 23, 2003, a span of 281 games. Even more remarkable, Alou admitted when he told Bonds of the change Saturday it marked the first time they had discussed hitting since he took over as manager before the 2003 season.
“That surprises me because Felipe is always around the batting cage talking,” Vizquel said.
Bonds, 41, struck out looking in the first, lined out in the fourth and walked in the sixth against Dodgers starter Aaron Sele, who has replaced Odalis Perez in the rotation. In the eighth, reliever Takashi Saito induced a harmless groundout to first base, ending Bonds’ afternoon and starting the questions.
“We all want Barry to pass (Ruth), but we can’t worry about that or about fans leaving,” said Giants catcher Todd Greene, his double instrumental in the ninth inning. “We haven’t played good enough baseball to keep the fans here. Maybe this win will give them more confidence in us.”
