Barry returns...

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:11 pm

Apologies to BAC, but I sincerely hope that BB stumbles on the first ball hit to him and injures his knee to a point that he never steps up to the plate again.

I'm sorry if you think this is over the line, but I simply can't stomach this farce any longer; having to see BB's name listed above Ruth's or (God forbid) Aaron's for the rest of my life is a very repulsive thought to this sports fan.

And that goes for Giambi, Palmeiro, McGwire and ALL the jerks who decided that baseball's history means nothing...

Post by **SonomaCat** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:23 pm

There's no reason to apologize to me ... voodoo him all you want. It's fine by me.

As for him coming back, it doesn't really matter too much right now, except for window dressing. The Giants could have used him about a month ago to get back into the race, but they're pretty much out of it now. They've managed to put some pieces in place during the season, and have some really good young pitchers (watched Matt Cain pitch a great game on Friday night), so although Barry coming back is great for butts in seats, it's all just a warm-up for next season from a practical standpoint.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:10 pm

It's really hard to describe the difference Bonds' presence has on the Giants. Not only from being a big bat in the lineup, but just from the excitement that he brings to the stadium. The neighborhood was livelier last night (a Monday night) than I have seen it in a long time. Even though the Giants are out of the race, I'm starting to think that it's good for Bonds to be back in there just because the fans love to see him, and that's good for the momentum of the team going into next season. The games were honestly very flat and emotionless much of this season, and now they're exciting again.

This speaks all of the more about the Giants needing to find a "next Bonds" really quickly, because once he retires, this team will need someone else to draw the fans into the ballpark. They have a bit mortgage to pay, and they need to keep the ticket prices high and the stadium packed to make it work.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... EMQL71.DTL

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:43 pm

Too bad the Mariners tied up Ichiro a few years ago; I think he'd be a good draw for the Giants with SF's large Asian population.

No doubt they'll have to spend BIG to replace the draw Barry has been. It's probably not even possible with just 1 player; they'll probably need to bring in several higher profile guys to keep the stands full.

Either that or start getting & staying in playoff races; winning generally puts more butts in the seats than stars w/out wins.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:48 pm

Good point about Ichiro. I've been to several Mariners games at Oakland (a good friend of mine is from Seattle, and I am her token baseball game watching buddy), and every time there are tons of Japanese people at the game, doing the cheers in Japanese and chanting on their guy. The other Asians don't seem to feel that kinship quite as much (probably because the Chinese and Koreans still harbor a bit of resentment towards Japan in many cases and don't really consider themselves to be a part of the same group) and don't really seem to be rooting for him, but the relatively small (as compared to the other Asian groups) Japanese community here comes out in droves for him.

I need to see a Warriors game when Yao Ming is in town. A player like that could be HUGE (and not just literally) here ... a lot more so than in Houston.

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:01 pm

Sorry, BAC, but when I talked to coach Jackson earlier this summer at my store (which he frequents when in the Flathead), I said that I knew why he decided to go back to the Lakers. When I told him it was because they are going to end up with LeBron & Yao in the next couple years, he just smiled and said "it could happen".

(Not that I really expect that they will get those 2 guys to go with Kobe, I just wanted to drop my "brush with greatness" moment on you!)

Post by **SonomaCat** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:12 pm

El_Gato wrote:Sorry, BAC, but when I talked to coach Jackson earlier this summer at my store (which he frequents when in the Flathead), I said that I knew why he decided to go back to the Lakers. When I told him it was because they are going to end up with LeBron & Yao in the next couple years, he just smiled and said "it could happen".

(Not that I really expect that they will get those 2 guys to go with Kobe, I just wanted to drop my "brush with greatness" moment on you!)

Very cool. Did you get a little taste of Zen just hanging out with the Master himself?

Sadly, the damn Lakers probably will be stacked again soon, so I wouldn't be shocked if that scenario came to pass (does China have to authorize any of Yao's trades or free agent signings?). There's just something about that city that draws athletes to it. I guess if you have millions of dollars it would be a fun place to pluck groupies, but outside of that, it's just not a place that has much to offer my tastes. It's one big strip mall with bad smog ... kind of like San Jose, actually.

'93HonoluluCat · Post by **'93HonoluluCat** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 7:39 pm

El_Gato wrote:...having to see BB's name listed above Ruth's or (God forbid) Aaron's for the rest of my life is a very repulsive thought to this sports fan.

And that goes for Giambi, Palmeiro, McGwire and ALL the jerks who decided that baseball's history means nothing...

Absolutely.

Barry returns...

Barry returns...

Re: Barry returns...