Bonds intentionally walked; thousands of Dodger fans photograph epic event

[Oeditpus Rex]

Thus proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that a walk is as good as a hit.

:eyes:

[Initech]

1. Personally I was hoping for the world's first baseball riot.

[JVS]

3. nickle beer night and disco demolition already have happened

[KitchenWitch]

2. tsk tsk

GODDAMNIT - Pitch to the mofo.

[mzteris]

4. Intentional walk is bs....

I think that says - you can't pitch well enough so he can't hit it!

(I'm not watching, but that sucks.)

[KitchenWitch]

6. agreed!

If pitchers had enough swagger to pitch to him, they might actually get him to ground out or K.

[SaveElmer]

18. Hey...I hear the Twins are gonna try and get Torrii Hunter re-signed...

At the end of the year...

I was a bit worried they were gonna try and unload him today...

[KitchenWitch]

24. Yes!

I was worried as well.

Terry Ryan thinks we are still in it (and we are!)

Wish Kevin Garnett had not gone to Boston though. I really like him.

[SaveElmer]

29. Me too...

Although I have to say prior to the Timberwolves coming to town, I was a huge Celtics fan...still kinda am...so if he had to go somewhere...I'm glad it was Boston and not the Evil Empire in L.A.

[KitchenWitch]

34. No kidding.

Although I do live in the Los Angeles area now, and could go see KG play there...I would rather see him as a Celtic or a Clipper than a Laker.

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. It says 'I'm a wuss' (n/t)

[SaveElmer]

12. You mean ever?

Or just against Bonds...

[mzteris]

16. pretty much ever -

it's kinda like playing "stall ball" and "keep away" in basketball.

Either play the damn game or get off the field (or court).

[SaveElmer]

17. Baseball is a game of numbers...

Tie game, two outs , bottom ninth, man on second and third and Bonds coming up...you walk him plain and simple...any manager that didn't would be run out of town...

[mzteris]

21. kinda like intentional fouling - though,

isn't it?

I mean, there should be some kind of penalty.

It's not like you're really playing fair, now is it?

[SaveElmer]

26. Not the same...

Walking a batter, intentionally or otherwise, is not against the rules...

And of course its fair...part of the strategy both managers have to deal with...intentionally walking someone only works in certain situations...do it at the wrong time and it can bite you in the ass...

[mzteris]

33. stall ball wasn't "against the rules" either

(back when)

but it was boring as hell and unsportsmanlike, imho.

Kinda like life - just cause you CAN, doesn't mean you "should".



BTW, is it "strategy" to walk Bonds in this particular instant, or just spite?

[SaveElmer]

35. I'm not watching the game so don't know...

But...

The name of the game is to win...and any manager/coach that does not use every legal tool in his arsenal to win should not be in that position...

You don't forgo a winning strategy just because some don't like it...

If it becomes a detriment to the game, the rules will change...like turning hits that bounced out of the stands into ground rule doubles rather than home runs (which they used to be)

Baseball has had the intentional walk for over 100 years...hasn't proven to be a big problem...

[Oeditpus Rex]

27. I wouldn't walk him in that situation

I give Bonds credit for being a smart hitter, so with runners at second and third, he's just looking to hit it somewhere. But he's hitting only about .270 and he's too fucking proud to lay one down against the infield shift, which would let a runner on third crawl home.

Of course, I'd also pitch him inside so he couldn't do that. :D

[SaveElmer]

31. Of course it depends on who is coming up after him...

And Bonds this year is a bit different...but the main point is, an intentional walk can be a smart strategy...

[KitchenWitch]

25. Or prevent defense in football

only thing prevent defense does is prevent you from winning the damn game.

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. At this point, I wouldn't be too surprised

if they walked him in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and the score tied.

Then Little would excuse it with, "I didn't want to get beat with a homer."

He's gonna lead off the sixth. We'll see what happens.

[KitchenWitch]

28. YEARRRGH!

On a good note - the Twins are on a four game winning streak!

:)

[Danger Mouse]

5. Haha,

in your face, you juiced-up motherfucker.
:D

[SaveElmer]

7. Just intentionally walk him every at bat the rest of the year...

Personally I think its a disgrace that he is gonna get that record...

[gmoney]

11. Seconded...

make him wait until next spring, go through spring training, etc...

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Oh, yeah

That'd show him.

:eyes:

[Joe Fields]

43. They did that with George Brett, the year he flirted with batting .400

[pokerfan]

68. For what purpose?

A BB doesn't affect a players BA. It's a PA, not an AB.

Only AB's factor into calculating BA.

[Hippo_Tron]

69. How about walking him by just having the pitcher hit him with the ball every time

Or is that too mean?

[Oeditpus Rex]

70. It wouldn't last long

Baseball has taken away that part of the game.

[Kutjara]

9. Sorry, what game are you talking about?

Surely not that one where fat guys try to hit a little ball with a stick? You all still play that?

[Blue-Jay]

45. That's golf.

[Kutjara]

50. Are you sure?

I thought that was the one where the clowns tried to plug gopher holes with a tiny ball.

[Ptah]

14. I don't follow baseball very closely, but are there pitchers that will pitch to him?

Or is it a manager's decision?

[SaveElmer]

15. Manager's call...

Depends on the situation...sometimes the odds are better to walk the guy to get to a worse hitter...

[Ptah]

22. So this would have probably happened

even without the impending record?

:shrug:

[SaveElmer]

32. I'm not watching...but I doubt he was walked because of the record...

Probably situational...

[Oeditpus Rex]

36. There was one out in the third and a runner at first

Dodgers were leading 1-0.

It wasn't situational.

More surprising, Penny's pitching for the Dodgers. He's given up four yaks all year.

[SaveElmer]

39. WHo was up after im?

[Oeditpus Rex]

47. Klesko, who's hitting .279

Bonds is hitting .276.

But in that situation, it doesn't matter. Bonds is more liable than most guys to strike out or hit into a double play.

Beimel just pitched to him and popped him up — and Furcal dropped it. :grr:

And Bonds is sittin' down. No 755 tonight.

[pokerfan]

71. Are you sure about that?

I didn't see the game but this guy must be all wet:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/sports/baseball/01bonds.html?hp

The Dodgers intentionally walked Bonds with one out and a runner on third in the third, a decision that was heavily booed. But the strategy worked as Ryan Klesko hit into a double play.

[Oeditpus Rex]

72. Okay, I goofed

I checked mlb.com's Gameday, and Randy Winn was at third. :blush:

I was watching on a B&W teevee with a five-inch screen; it's right next to me. The big teevee in the living room was on in case something big happened.

Still, no excuse. :banghead:

[pokerfan]

73. 1 out, tying run 90 feet away, first base open

I don't have a problem with a walk there.

Even if you don't get the DP, you now have a force at second.

Why do you say there was no excuse?

[Oeditpus Rex]

74. Because I should've known the situation

regardless of the size of the teevee I was watching.

[pokerfan]

75. My bad for not looking at your emoticons

I have no problem with Bonds. It's not like he's the only player suspected of using performance enhancing drugs during the so-called "asterisk era." Besides, I think A-Rod will eventually own the record anyway.

[Ptah]

61. Thanks. n/t

[wildhorses]

19. i might cry before this mess is over with

my hero

[Ptah]

23. my hero

[wildhorses]

42. mickey mantle --

good one!!

[KitchenWitch]

38. Ah Henry!

Milwaukee Braves uni even!

:woohoo:

[wildhorses]

41. what a class act!!

yeah, almost posted the atlanta jersy but, look how YOUNG...had to honor the WHOLE career;)

[LostInAnomie]

20. Good

Walk him for the rest of his career. Let him cry about it to his syringe.

[Oeditpus Rex]

30. Mmyeah

That'd be good for baseball.

[LostInAnomie]

37. And, letting a roid pumping cheater steal the homerun record is good for baseball?

[Oeditpus Rex]

44. You want to compound one atrocity with another?

I'd lots rather see Bonds crank it and get this shit over with than see every NL pitcher crawl inside his own asshole and go "Waaaahhh! I don't want him to hit it off meeeeeeeeeeeeee!" :cry:

Fans already boo their own pitchers for walking him. Imagine the reaction if everybody walked him.

[LostInAnomie]

49. The fans in the stands just want to be there for the tying and breaking of the record.

They'll get over it when they realize it ain't gonna happen.

It's would be a bigger "atrocity" to let some juiced up fuck set the record so damn high that it can't be broken legitimately. Give him a couple more years and that's just what will happen.

[Oeditpus Rex]

52. You apparently have little regard for baseball fans' sense of what's right

"They'll get over it." :eyes:

[LostInAnomie]

54. If they can get over the strike from a few years ago...

... they can get over Barry "Balco" Bonds not stealing Hank Aaron's record.

[DS1]

40. bummer

is the game still on?

[Blue-Jay]

46. Just pitch him low & inside, so he can't get under it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

48. Beimel just pitched him low and outside

and popped him up. And Furcal dropped it.

Then Bochy sent Lewis in to run for him.

[EFerrari]

51. I've been thinking of you all night

and how mad you're gonna be when we win. :evilgrin:

[Oeditpus Rex]

53. Assuming that happens

We've still got two more ups, and we've been known to stage a comeback or two in the last couple seasons.

If we lose this one, though, I'll be mad — not at the Giants, but at us, for losing three straight to inferior clubs and falling out of first place. :grr:

[EFerrari]

55. I'm kidding, Oedie. I'm a Giants' fan and winning is just

a peripheral consideration. lol

:hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

56. I never kid

about a Giants-Dodgers game.

This is war. Do you hear me? WAR!

:grr:

[EFerrari]

57. You know it is!

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Oeditpus Rex]

58. It's a war I've helped wage

every spring and summer for the last 42 years.

And I've loved every minute of it. :D

[EFerrari]

59. I recall being on the offramp to get to Candlestick for AN HOUR

waiting to get into a Dodger-Giants game. And the AIR was charged, not from the summer heat, but from THIS WAR.

It's a most excellent war. :)

[Oeditpus Rex]

60. One of baseball's best ever

Not quite up there with the Red Sox-Jankees, but I'll always bless Kollyforniyans for having the good sense to continue the rivalry from New York, where one's fandom was defining.

And just as it was as much borough vs. borough as ball club vs. ball club there, it's NorCal vs. SoCal here.

(How the hell I became a Dodgers fan on that basis is a mystery. I hate LA.)

[EFerrari]

63. I lived there for three years and never found the pulse of the place.

So, I don't get L.A. For one thing, the mountains run in the wrong direction. On the other hand, I worked at home so was never really out and about enough to get to know the place. A lot of my show business friends work there but they commute back and forth.

There must be something about L.A. to make people go to all that trouble to get water there. I just have never figured it out.

[PittPoliSci]

62. i was hoping people were just going to bean him for the rest of the season.

[Oeditpus Rex]

64. They wouldn't get away with it for long

Baseball has gotten weird about throwing at guys' heads.

[PittPoliSci]

65. it's kinda hard not to throw at his head...

considering how HUGE it has gotten from all the 'roids.

[Oeditpus Rex]

66. Y'mean like this?

:rofl:

[PittPoliSci]

67. hahaha!

exactly!