Monday, July 12, 2004
• It's all fine and good with me that Roger Clemens is starting and Jason Schmidt is not. I'd just assume Schmidt not pitch at all, what with him pitching eight strong innings just yesterday to earn his 11th straight victorious decision, the longest such streak by a Giants pitcher in over 40 years. He started last year's game anyway, and besides, Roger's in his hometown. Let him start. No biggie. Clemens won the game's MVP award the other time the game was held in Houston, in 1986.
• I'd also rather not see Barry Bonds do anything to risk injury, but then again, what is the Home Run Derby but a glorified batting practice? Anyway, the controversy about Barry Bonds allegedly getting paid to participate is totally stupid. Can the guy ever catch a break?
• Good to see the league office get its wits about it and put Carlos Beltran in the game, for cryin' out loud. It's not his fault he got traded to the other league. But the guy got voted in, the fans want him. Isn't it all about the fans, Bud Selig?
• Of course, we need the National League to win the game to give the N.L. the home-field advantage in the World Series.
• Not necessarily surprising that Barry Bonds does not lead the team in RBIs, given that he walks so many times. What is surprising is that Pedro Feliz leads the team with 51 (a distinction he shares with Marquis Grissom). I would not have called that in the spring.
• Barry got intentionally walked three times Saturday, giving him a whopping 71 walks of that kind for the season. He's already broken his record from last year, 68. His number of intentional passes this year is just barely smaller than the total number of walks, unintentional and intentional, that second-place holder Lance Berkman has (75). And overall, Bonds has 131, and just 19 strikeouts. Totally unbelievable. One wonders if this stat alone could get him a shot at yet another MVP trophy.
• Shame about former Giant Rich Aurilia, who got designated for assignment (!) by the Mariners this weekend. That's not a good thing for a veteran to have to deal with. Pretty much means he sucks. Yikes. he was so good for the Giants for a time; he says he underestimated how easy it would be to switch to the American League, among other cited reasons. The Mariners apparently tried to trade him back to San Francisco before the release. No way man, we've got Deivi Cruz!
