San Francisco – The list is more “Who’s That?” than “Who’s Who?”
Since Barry Bonds arrived on history’s welcome mat, he has had the door slammed in his face by some unlikely pitchers. There have been 12 in all, from vagabonds and veterans to 36-year-old rookies and a reliever whose name is pronounced BYE-muhl, which practically begs for the home run call: BYE-ball.
There’s been a Penny. And a Marshall. There’s been a Seo. So what? How about Takashi Saito? There was a Will Ohman, who naturally proved a bad omen. There was even a Roberto Novoa on the night that Robert DeNiro appeared on the scoreboard. There was a Hill who proved a mountain and an Eyre, who naturally gave up Bonds’ only hit.
So it is that the Bonds bus, radiator leaking, tires balding, sputters into Houston’s Minute Maid Park tonight for a three-game series. His drive to tie Babe Ruth remains stuck on a red light. He’s at 713, and, um, waiting.
“I gotta say, the last at-bat (Bonds) looked slow,” conceded Giants manager Felipe Alou after his team’s 6-3 loss Sunday at AT&T Park. “I am not going to talk anymore about Barry today.”
In Alou’s defense, what occurred over the past week defied explanation.
Bonds arrived in San Francisco feeling rejuvenated and refreshed after his mom, Pat, screwed his head on straight and after he hit a fastball on the screws that, in the words of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, “nearly tore down the golden arches (sign).”
After resting last Monday, Bonds, motivated to fill the void left by Moises Alou’s absence, played in six consecutive games. And to everyone’s surprise, he went homerless. Since going deep against Philadelphia’s Jon Lieber on May 7, he is 1-for-19 with eight walks in 27 plate appearances. He is hitting .217 and his career average dropped to .299.
“It just shows you how hard it is. Most guys when they get in a slump, they are talking about bunting,” said teammate Mark Sweeney, whose Giants sit in last place. “He’s talking about why he’s not hitting home runs.”
Well, that’s not entirely true. He’s not talking about anything, at least not to reporters. He nodded and shook his head at a few questions afterward, before saying he would try to play two of three games in Houston.
How did it get to this point, where 12 pitchers with a 329-293 lifetime record, 4.25 ERA and 589 home runs allowed shut out the game’s most feared slugger?
For starters, Bonds is trying to hit a home run, which usually results in failure. What’s more, as multiple teammates pointed out, he’s pulling everything – a difficult strategy when being attacked hard and away on the outside corner.
Bonds is most dangerous when he lets the ball travel and he takes it where it’s pitched. This past week he was consistently way out in front of everything with early swings.
Even more strange, Bonds is not just looking for a pitch to hit, he’s looking for the perfect pitch to hit. As a result, several prime offerings have gone undisturbed.
The homerless drought has coincided with criticism of Bonds’ overall effort. He passed on attempting to break up double plays and didn’t back up on an overthrow in the eighth inning Sunday that cost the Giants a run.
“We all want him to catch (Ruth) and pass him,” shortstop Omar Vizquel said. “The sooner it’s over, the better for him and the team.”
The Giants face Taylor Buchholz tonight, probably not a good sign, since like the previous dozen pitchers, few people know him.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
