Barry Bonds is angry that he is often hit by pitches & believes his teammates (especially Giant pitchers) don't back him up by retaliating. Opposing pitchers know they can hit Bonds without paying a price. How do we know this? Bonds went public, telling all this to the press. If he has a problem with his team, why didn't he just thrash it out within the locker room? What does Bonds gain by taking his complaints public?


~Adam

They had a piece on Baseball Tonight about this. I have no sympathy for him. He crowds the plate and by wearing all that body armor, he's somewhat protected. There's a bunch of players who crowd the plate, wear the body armor AND dive in to pitches, so you know what? They're gonna get plunked now and then. I'm a big fan of pitching, rather than hitting, so I'm biased, of course, but I think pitchers have to throw on the inside part of the plate to keep those meany hitters honest. Hitters get all bent out of shape when that happens though, as if throwing inside is against the rules or something. And again, the modern player is just a spoiled whiner. From what I've read of old-timers like Don Drysdale or Sal Maglie, hitters would eat dust all the time; they owned the inside of the plate and hitters ventured there at their own peril.

Intentionally throwing at someone--unless it's Clemens of course! --or aiming for the head, that's different.

As for the team dynamic, again, I have no sympathy for Bonds. He's an aloof, stand-alone teammate who it has been whispered about--off the record, of course--that he only cares for his own stats etc. So, if indeed his pitchers are refusing to back him up by retaliating, then I would file it under: You Reap What You Sow.

Ditto what Jim Allen said! Bonds has brought all this on himself. His body armor, added girth from "all that weight training" (yeah, right ) and crowding the plate more than he used to. Sounds like a recipe for Hit Batter Casserole to me.

As for the teammates not backing him up, he chose his usual classless means of airing the team's dirty laundry. If he thinks they weren't backing him up before, see what happens now! As for Barry's image, sorry, but there is way too much smoke for there not to be some fire.

I normally tend to defend Bonds but won't here. Maybe Bonds has been paying too much attention to Rob Dibble. The most ironic thing is Bonds really doesn't get hit THAT much. He was hit 9 times last year--compare that to Craig Biggio, who was hit 28 times.

Sorry, but when you're practically stepping ON home plate as Barry does, you're gonna get hit. Clearly he expects to get hit, hence the armor on his forearm, etc. I think if Bonds is gonna crowd the plate like that he should be a man and not wear all the little league protection. As for his teammates not responding in kind, it's clear the concept of a TEAM is something Bonds has simply read about and doesn't really comprehend. He seems as despised by his own teammates as he is by the rest of us. Here's a newsflash, Barry - you reap what you sow.

YAWN! This is such a boring subject. Trying to take pot shots at the biggest star in baseball. Cheap shots is a better word.

[quote]Originally posted by billsf:
YAWN! This is such a boring subject. Trying to take pot shots at the biggest star in baseball. Cheap shots is a better word.

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Are you saying when the "biggest star in baseball" comes out with inane statements, he shouldn't be subject to criticism? (Or perhaps you were kidding.) Anyway, these criticisms were not nearly as bad as the cheap shot that Bonds said about his teammates publicly.

Bonds is once again having a great year. I don't see why he is trying to screw it up.

[quote]Originally posted by billsf:
YAWN! This is such a boring subject. Trying to take pot shots at the biggest star in baseball. Cheap shots is a better word.

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Bet you wouldn't be so bored if the player was a Yankee or a Dodger or even a Brewer!

More "Bondsense"!

This is posted on ESPN.com from an interview Bonds gave to the Washington Post.

[quote] Barry Bonds does not want to go on strike. However, Bonds says that if major league baseball players do walk off the field yet again this year -- the World Series was wiped out by a work stoppage in 1994 -- he expects the fans to come back.


"If you have kids who might (grow up to) be major league baseball players, we're fighting for your kids, possibly," Bonds told The Washington Post before the Giants beat the Orioles on Friday night. "If I work for your newspaper and you're in the union fighting for your equality and rights, sure I would strike, and so would you..."

"It's not my fault you don't play baseball," Bonds told The Post. "It's not our fault you're not an actor or Bill Gates or anybody else. Nobody is complaining about their salaries, or the owners' salaries. So don't complain about ours. We have the right to make it."

"It's entertainment," he told The Post. "It will come back. A lot of companies go on strike, not just baseball. And people still ride the bus."

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God this guy is so out of touch! I especially love the quote that the players will strike for the kids who may grow up to be baseball players. Hey Barry, get off the cross, we need the wood. And when he says lots of companies go on strike and people still ride the bus, well yeah Barry, for some of us its the only affordable mode of transportation.

Complete Article (If You Can Stomach It)

[quote]Originally posted by George_vikingfan:
Hey Barry, get off the cross, we need the wood.

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Great line. I'm gonna steal it and pretend it's my own.

[quote]Originally posted by billsf:
YAWN! This is such a boring subject. Trying to take pot shots at the biggest star in baseball. Cheap shots is a better word.

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Nobody's saying anything bad about A-Rod. Or were you talking about The Big Unit Randy Johnson?

Feel the love in the Giants' clubhouse!

[quote] SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Barry Bonds hit his 592nd career home run right after a dugout tussle with Giants teammate Jeff Kent, spicing up the San Diego Padres' 10-7 win over the San Francisco on Tuesday night.

Bonds shoved Kent in the chest during a scrape between the second and third innings, and they had to be separated. TV replays showed that trainer Stan Conte and manager Dusty Baker also were involved.

In the bottom of the second, third baseman David Bell fielded Julius Matos' high chopper on the grass and went to second to try to force Wiki Gonzalez. Kent came off the bag too soon in fielding the ball, and Wiki Gonzalez was safe before Kent could get his foot back on the bag.

Last season, when Bonds set the single-season home run record with 73, Kent criticized Bonds' standoffish nature.

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Well, I don't feel any sympathy for Jeff Kent--he's not exactly going to get the Favorite Player award from his teammates either--but Barry Bonds: Clubhouse Toxin? I can't wait to read the spin on this incident.

ripped from http://www.sportsline.com/b/page/pressbox/...5467613,00.html

According to several eyewitness accounts -- fans and others in close proximity to the Giants dugout -- and verified by at least one Giants player and non-uniformed personnel, this is how it played out:

Bell and Kent began jawing in the dugout and, as that escalated, Bonds told them to "Shut the (expletive) up."

Kent then snapped back at Bonds, who again told him to "Shut the (expletive) up."

At that point, with Bell heading for the on-deck circle because he was due to bat second in the third inning, the altercation between Bonds and Kent flared, and the National League’s past two MVPs had to be separated. Television replays appeared to show Bonds shove Kent in the chest.

That's when Baker came storming down toward the two. It is unclear what he said at that point but, according to sources, Kent screamed at the manager: "It's his (expletive) team, anyway! Of course you'll take his side!"

As Baker responded, Kent screamed: "I want off this team!"

Baker replied, "You don't ever say that!" and then grabbed Kent and slammed him up against the dugout wall.

"That was the worst of it," said one Giants player who asked his name not be used. "Everybody was trying to separate them."

[quote]That's when Baker came storming down toward the two. It is unclear what he said at that point but, according to sources, Kent screamed at the manager: "It's his (expletive) team, anyway! Of course you'll take his side!"

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Woah! Directly challenging the manager's authority, not good for clubhouse unity, is it? Either Kent is a total ass (a big possibility) or he's just saying what others feel. Either way, it's bad--other teams have these kinds of tensions, but usually don't make such a public display of their dysfunction.

So, wanna bet that Kent's gone at the end of the season?

Boy, these altercations are just exclusive to the Giants, right guys? I've never seen any team have personal vendettas in the clubhouse. It's all Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent!

If you actually knew anything about the Giants, actually went to the games, you'd know these guys are just incredibly competitive and total egomaniacs. But, they have great respect for each other as teammates (I'm sure that's going to be posted as a quote for a quick bitchy response!). If they still perform while I'm comfortably watching from my season ticket seats, I could care less what shenanigans they erupt with.

By the way, Barry's right. If the players strike, the fans will be back no matter what. We love baseball.

[quote]Originally posted by billsf:
Boy, these altercations are just exclusive to the Giants, right guys? I've never seen any team have personal vendettas in the clubhouse. It's all Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent!

If you actually knew anything about the Giants, actually went to the games, you'd know these guys are just incredibly competitive and total egomaniacs. But, they have great respect for each other as teammates (I'm sure that's going to be posted as a quote for a quick bitchy response!). If they still perform while I'm comfortably watching from my season ticket seats, I could care less what shenanigans they erupt with.

By the way, Barry's right. If the players strike, the fans will be back no matter what. We love baseball.

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I don't know about this. 1994 was the final straw for me. Kent needs to tone down his hysteria. If he screwed up the play he should accept it like a man. All this "it's his team" whining is for the birds. SF would be in first place if they had pitching to match the Diamondbacks. They're still a very good team. And Bonds is a superstar. An often idiotic, self-centered one, but a superstar all the same. Kent is...Kent.

[quote]Boy, these altercations are just exclusive to the Giants, right guys? I've never seen any team have personal vendettas in the clubhouse. It's all Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent!

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The title of this thread is Bond's Comments and the subject Barry Bonds and his teammates, not Mo Vaughn Is A Clubhouse Toxin or somesuch. Of course other teams have issues--I watched the Angeles implode a few years ago from clubhouse bullshit. But BillSF, we don't have to go to PacBell 81 times a year, or read every word written on them to know that Bonds and Kent are egomaniacs and hyper-competitive. Why so defensive? I don't have to read the Philly papers on a daily basis or *yikes* go to games at the Vet to know that there's a lot of distracting bullshit going on in Philadelphia surrounding Bowa and Rolen and the management.

As someone who played on a softball team at Gay Games 1994 that fell apart after our final game in New York due to personal tensions, I know that these kinds of things can derail a team. It's a legitimate story coming out of SF.

Well, call me Pollyanna if you want to, but I haven't heard anything about the Mariners having any discord in their clubhouse last year or this. Supposedly they're a bunch of professionals who genuinely like each other. No joke. Apparently management puts a high premium on getting nice guys who "play well together" in every sense of that phrase. That's one reason they got rid of David Bell last year. (See above comments about Bell's involvement in the Bonds incident.)

I can't think of a single current Mariner who has any kind of bad reputation whatsoever. (Although Carlos Guillen did recently get arrested for DUI, he was apparently quite polite to the police. More proof.)