For the next three games, it’s up to the Met pitching staff to stop the most dangerous hitter in baseball. Barry Bonds will be looking to unleash bombs on New York City like the Green Goblin.
Forget for a moment that Bonds set the single-season home-run record last year, smashing 73 homers in an unforgettable season. The left fielder completely disrupts how you attack the entire Giant lineup.
“He’s become a great player,” Met second baseman Roberto Alomar said Sunday.
What Bonds has done lately is amazing, considering he already had three MVP awards before last year’s record-breaking campaign. The left-handed slugger has raised his game to the pinnacle of greatness, to a level in the upper echelon where only the best Hall of Famers play.
Beyond his 10 home runs, Bonds has an on-base percentage of .628, which is .132 higher than Jim Edmonds’ sterling .496 OBP. He also leads the league with a .391 batting average. And he had a power drought before hitting two taters in his last two games.
Even if you keep him in the yard, you probably won’t keep him off the bases or off the scoreboard.
Alomar and Bonds grew up together – sort of. They were both the sons of baseball nomads, and used to see each other around major-league parks.
Alomar remembers first meeting Bonds before he was 10 years old, and the two are still friendly. In the fall of 2000, they toured Japan with a group of major-league All-Stars.
When Alomar goes to the All-Star Game, he seeks out Bonds. His boyhood buddy’s ascension to the major-league throne isn’t shocking for a number of reasons.
“Does it surprise me? Not really,” Alomar said. “He’s a smart player. He’s a great player. Every day he plays, he learns. He’s just not a ballplayer. He knows what he’s doing every at-bat. He approaches different pitchers differently. He has a great idea.”
That said, the truth is Bonds won’t have much impact on the Mets beyond this series and the rematch in San Francisco Aug. 20-22. The two teams only play each other six times, and there will be eight other Giants in the lineup.
If both clubs reach the postseason, the next three nights will serve as a playoff primer for Met pitchers. Three hurlers on the 12-man staff – Shawn Estes, Scott Strickland and Grant Roberts – have never faced Bonds before. Estes, a former Giant, is pitching tomorrow.
Steve Trachsel, who faces Bonds tonight, has held the perennial All-Star to a .250 average (8-for-32) with only two doubles and two homers. Trachsel has walked Bonds 10 times and struck him out on seven occasions.
Pedro Astacio, who starts Thursday night, hasn’t had the same success. Bonds has hit .333 (8-for-24) against Astacio, taking him deep three times.