[報導] Yanks ready for Bonds matchup

[richardcyl (more)]

"He's still a threat," manager Joe Torre said of Barry Bonds.


06/21/2007 9:48 PM ET
Yanks ready for Bonds matchup
Manager Torre discusses slugger's chase of home run record
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

DENVER -- Just one of Barry Bonds' 748 career home runs has come against the
Yankees, but even that footnote stands out in what has become a historic and
much-scrutinized career.

Digging in for his second-ever game at Yankee Stadium on June 8, 2002, Bonds
turned on an offering from left-hander Ted Lilly and punished a ball into the
heights of the Bronx, depositing a three-run souvenir into Section 31 of the
upper deck in right field.

It is that moment that sticks out in Yankees manager Joe Torre's mind when he
is asked about Bonds, though he is quick to separate that version of the
power-hitting outfielder from the lithe speedster who tormented his St. Louis
Cardinals clubs in the early 1990s.

"You can't emphasize enough what a great player this kid was when he was
young, before there were any questions about how he was doing it," Torre said
Thursday.

"He's got a short stroke, he's got a very quick bat and he's one of the few
guys who can choke up on the bat a little bit and still hit the thing 400
feet. He's still a threat. You still want to be in a position not to have him
be the important guy for them."

Bonds and the Yankees will collide again this weekend on the West Coast, a
scheduling point of interest that once appeared as though it might have
historical implications, especially given Bonds' hot April in which he
slugged eight home runs.

While the nation looked on, some Yankees took to amateur statistical
projections, wondering how often Bonds would need to continue going deep to
make this weekend's series a challenge for the record books.

The torrid pace slowed, however, as Bonds homered four times in May and has
slugged just two so far this month heading into the tilt. Sitting eight home
runs shy of passing Henry Aaron on the all-time home run list, the Yankees
are unlikely to be witnesses to history.

Having such focus embroiled on each pitch to Bonds, a will-he-or-won't-he
scenario, could have been an unwelcome distraction for a Yankees club that --
after spending much of the season under .500 and coming off a three-game
sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies -- has plenty to handle just
within its own house.

"We deal with a lot of hoopla," said right-hander Mike Mussina, who pitches
Sunday against the Giants. "We deal with a lot of stuff around here.

"It's part of the game and it's part of what we do. People are achieving
milestones all the time, whether it's wins or strikeouts or homers or hits.
Somebody's going to be out there competing against you when it happens."

Perhaps it's just as well that the Yankees aren't involved. A teammate of
Aaron's for eight seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, Torre admits
to having mixed feelings regarding Bonds' pursuit of 755 and the allegations
that surround his journey toward that vaunted number.

Torre may not have been outwardly upset had the Yankees been in attendance
for Bonds' near-inevitable passing of Aaron, but like the home run king,
Torre isn't likely to go out of his way to celebrate Bonds' eventual
accomplishment.

"It's going to be a part of history, no matter how we look at it -- whether
it's going to be looked down upon or up to," Torre said.

" ... Knowing Henry as I do, the proud individual that he is, you hate to see
him having to be faced with something at this time in his life. He certainly
deserves to be acclaimed for what he's done and what he represents."

As Bonds plods on toward Aaron, Torre said that situational left-hander Mike
Myers is already well aware of how he'll be spending his weekend.

Myers, a submarining left-hander, hasn't been exceptional in his career
against Bonds. The slugger is hitting .320 (8-for-25) with a home run and
five RBIs against Myers, but Torre believes that Myers represents the
Yankees' best threat to throw Bonds off and stall his pursuit.

"It's important to try to upset his timing, and I think Myers has enough of a
variety to do that," Torre said. "He pitches in and out, and you want to rely
on Barry being a little anxious too -- not wanting to walk. He's walked so
many times that I think he's obviously tired of that stuff."

It may not involve a Yankee, but somewhere down the line, someone will wind
up giving up the big hit to Bonds -- the one that carries the same replay
value of Al Downing's April 1974 offering that boosted Aaron past Babe Ruth.

Presented with that hypothetical situation, Myers said he couldn't see
himself shying away from challenging Bonds on an ultimate date with history.

"You've got to have your mind clear enough to get him out, whether he's going
for the all-time record or not," Myers said. "I love the game of baseball and
I'm a huge fan of baseball, and you don't want a teammate to give up the home
run.

"Personally for me, I would want to be there when he hits it. I wouldn't want
to be the one that gives it up, because that means I [couldn't get the out]
and the team doesn't have a good chance to win that day. I'll see it on TV."

For as many times as the Cubs' Jason Marquis was shown jerking his neck
around to watch the trail of Sammy Sosa's 600th home run on Wednesday night,
the exposure of the unfortunate pitcher who serves up No. 756 to Bonds will
be comparatively infinite.

"Somebody has to throw the pitches," Mussina said. "You're going to be
remembered for a long time, because it's going to be shown four million times
on television for the next 25 years. That's how it ends up being remembered."

The Yankees are just satisfied that it won't be one of their backs on the
screen, delivering a pitch toward Cooperstown.



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◆ From: 61.229.13.28
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