If Beane wants to destroy team chemistry, the clubhouse mood and any semblance of sanity by signing Barry Bonds, hey, maybe he doesn't have that much to lose. Remember this, though: Over the past two seasons, Bonds hurt the Giants more from a baseball standpoint than any steroid-related issues. Without Bonds - even if they don't make a single deal - the Giants will improve at least five games in the standings, simply because they can call themselves a team.
How Barry Bonds "Hurt" the Giants from a Baseball Standpoint in 2006: .270/.454/.545 in 130 games. 26 HR.
How Barry Bonds "Hurt" the Giants from a Baseball Standpoint in 2007: .276/.480/.565 in 126 games. 28 HR.
Yes, watching him play LF was painful. And yes, there will probably be a palpable sense of relief among the Giants' players that he's gone. But it's not easy to find a hitter who can put up those numbers. Even if he can't run, he was on base almost half the time.
I would say (uncontroversially) that he hurt the team far more from a non-baseball standpoint, in that he was a terrible sideshow who distracted everyone around him with his steroidiness. (That's a word, I think.) And if the Giants are 5 games better in the standings next year, it will be because their excellent young pitchers are a year older and better, not because they lost a guy with a 156/170 OPS+ the last two years.
I think this is the funniest and most entertaining post I've ever made. The end.
Labels: barry bonds, bruce jenkins
