To pitch to Barry Bonds or not to pitch to Barry Bonds? That is the question. Walking Barry has become something of a cult phenomenon among opposing managers and it will be interesting to see how Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia treats Bonds over the course of the World Series. Anaheim ace Jarod Washburn has publicly stated his desire to challenge Bonds, but this writer is pretty sure that Scioscia will choose to follow a better-safe-than-sorry policy when it comes to giving Bonds something to hit.
On his part, it appears Bonds finally has the chance to win it all and put to rest the doubts about his crunch-time heart. What happens though if the Giants do win the series, but Bonds is ordinary, or conversely, if Bonds performs at his usual other-worldly level yet the Giants lose?
People seem to forget baseball is a team game and it takes a team effort to win the World Series, no matter how good one player might be. Therefore, in my mind Barry’s legacy as one of the best ever is safe no matter what happens over the next eight days.
Statistic of the week: The St. Louis Rams are 1-5 while the New Orleans Saints are 5-1.
Patrick Ewing recently announced his retirement from professional basketball. For all the shortcomings attributed to Ewing during his career that his critics say prevented him from winning a ring, no one ever accused him of not trying. Ewing left his heart on the floor every game and no more can be asked of any professional athlete.
Last but not least, Michael Schumacher won the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix last weekend to raise his victory total for the year to 11. That’s 11 wins in 17 races, folks. In fact, Schumacher (and Ferrari) were so dominant in 2002, the governing body of Formula One is considering rule changes for next year in order to level the playing field. Now that’s just sick.