THE Giants are now free to enter the A-Rod Opt-Out Sweepstakes.
By finally saying no to Barry Bonds, they are creating an opening for Alex Rodriguez. You can expect the Giants to be one of several teams to chase after Rodriguez – if he does indeed opt out.
Bonds, 43, announced yesterday on his Web site that the Giants washed their hands of him Thursday night after 15 years. Owner Peter Magowan told Bonds he would not be back as a Giant. Bonds’ days as a Giant will end Sept. 30 in Los Angeles. His final game in San Francisco will be Wednesday against the Padres.
The last-place Giants got exactly what they deserved with Bonds, essentially dealing with the baseball devil. The seven-time MVP gave them home runs, tainted records and filled the seats at AT&T Park. Now it’s time to move on and try to build a baseball team, and that’s where Rodriguez comes into play.
It makes the most sense for A-Rod to stay with the Yankees, where his plaque in Monument Park is assured if he remains in pinstripes. But baseball is a sport that rarely makes sense, and Rodriguez is represented by Scott Boras, so anything is possible.
If A-Rod becomes a free agent, the Giants will try to spend money on him just like they spent money on another Boras client, Barry Zito.
Magowan believes San Francisco is a city that needs a superstar, and that’s why he paid Bonds $15.8 million this season. Crazy things happen, and there will other teams besides the Giants chasing after Rodriguez, by far the best player in the game.
That title used to belong to Bonds, who is sitting on 762 home runs, having hit 28 this season. On Aug. 7 Bonds blasted his 756th home run to break Hank Aaron’s record. He owns 2,935 hits over 22 seasons and wants to get to 3,000.
His peers respect him and he is baseball’s single-season and all-time home run champion, but he never really has understood the team game. That’s why you had to laugh when he closed his “Goodbye Giants” journal on his Web site yesterday with these words: “My quest for a World Series ring continues.”
Barry’s quest has never been about a World Series. It has been about Barry. And that’s fine. He was the star of his own show, and the Giants let him get away with it. The shadow of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs have made each day with Bonds an event.
Will teams be desperate enough to sign Bonds as a designated hitter? Bonds would love to play for the Angels. He has a home in Los Angeles, and Bonds would offer the Angels a much cheaper alternative to A-Rod.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia, however, does not put up with players who are not team players, and it will be interesting to see if the Angels become desperate enough to go after Bonds.
Through the years Bonds’ body changed, growing so much bigger and stronger, but his attitude has always been the same. He is at ease joking and laughing with opposing players but Bonds has always been only about Bonds. Magowan yesterday called Bonds, “The greatest player of his generation, one of the greatest of all time … it was a great advantage” to have Bonds on the Giants.
He added, “It’s always difficult to say goodbye.”
Not really. Magowan grew tired of the Bonds Show. At the All-Star Game, Magowan wanted Bonds to participate in the Home Run Derby, but Bonds would not step up for Magowan, and those close to the owner said that was the final straw.
Bonds loves the fans in San Francisco because they stood by him. He said he was disappointed he could not remain a Giant, noting, “I would have loved nothing more than to retire as a Giant in the place where I call home and have shared so many momentous moments with all of you, but there is more baseball in me and I plan on continuing my career.”
Bonds will not go away quietly. There are still home runs to hit and paychecks to collect.