http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...t=.jsp&c_id=mlb

He won't be back

Best thing for the Giants.

Saw this coming.

It was something that had to happen even though he's still a great offensive player. I'm interested to see where he winds up.

Read his blog earlier today, I'm actually pretty surprised, but I think this shows that the Giants are looking towards the future, and they want to win games. See ya' Barry.

Can't imagine seeing him in any other uniform...

If they wanted to win games they'd keep him (.279 BA, .483 OBP, 28 HR's). But going from 60 wins to 65 wins next year is not a big inscentive for them so it's time for the future.

I mean, this was as clear as ever that this was going to happen. They were desperate to make this happen last year, and the only reason Bonds returned was all the revenue from Bonds hitting the home run that broke Arron's record. The chase for it would increase revenue for the Giants, that was the only reason he was back. Now thats over with, they have no need whatsoever for him.

He'll likely go to the A's, and perform decent.

It'll be interesting to see his numbers when he is DH and not in such a pitchers park and has hitters around him that don't include Omar Vizquel, Bengie Molina, and Ray Durham.

Why doesn't he just retire? I know he wants a WS ring, but I just can't see the strongest AL teams showing much interest in Bonds.

Why not? He's still a lethal offensive threat and brings more fans to the stadium.

Just a hunch, but it could be the allure of making enough money to buy a new car every time he steps up to the plate. ;)

I'd concur with that.

Let's check Bonds' recent Interleague splits:

2004: .304/.566/.587
2005: (Did not play vs. AL teams)
2006: .273/.529/.667
2007: .372/.550/.605

Without exaggeration, relieved of the stress of playing left field, Bonds would certainly be a Championship-caliber DH, and he might be an MVP. Look at those batting lines: even accounting for a decline with age, .275/.525/.575 looks reasonable. Yes, his overall 2005-2007 stats are a little below that, but his BABIP since then has been low, too, and he hasn't had that trouble vs. AL teams, perhaps because the AL game features more OBP and SLG and less speed in the outfield, where lots of Bonds' balls in play go.

The 2007 Oakland A's have underperformed their talent by roughly ten games. If they sign Bonds, and if everybody just meets expectations, it'll look as if Bonds revitalized the team. Adding those ten games to the half-dozen-odd that Bonds might be worth could put the A's at roughly the Angels' level in 2008. Quite seriously, I wouldn't be surprised to see a run at an MVP for Bonds, despite his past history and steroid allegations.

And that, too, might be what he craves: while $10-20 million for playing one more year is important to almost anybody, a last MVP season achieved with a rigorous drug testing program in place could change Barry Bonds' legacy. Given what the man has endured, his wanting to prove that he can hit cleanup for a winning team at age 43 without steroids could be the primary motivating factor.

He is a lethal offensive threat with a bad elbow and worse knees. And he brought fans to the stadiums because he was pursuing a record. And outside of San Francisco, he was booed unmercifully in every single stadium. Would a team still sign him if they thought a lot of their season ticket holders would rather cash in their tickets than pay for Bonds?

And anyone saying the A's will sign him - hello, the A's are home to Billy Beane, Mr. Minimum Wage or Hit the Road.

That's why he'd get a one-year contract with incentives.

How good is Barry Bonds? Well, his OPS is 1.053 per BR as I type. Alex Rodriguez has an OPS of 1.051, he's having the best season of his career, and he's looking to get a long-term $30 million per year contract. David Ortiz is third in MLB with an OPS of 1.034, he can't play defense as well as Barry Bonds, his injuries are as bad as or worse than Bonds' injuries, Big Papi has a cardiac issue that may affect his career significantly, and I've heard nobody calling him overpaid with his $12.5 million annual contract guaranteed through 2010. Barry Bonds has an established hitting performance level higher than that of these superstars. Regardless of health questions, in today's free agent market he's worth eight figures. I'd suggest that his 2007 contract, with $15.8 million guaranteed ($5.8 million deferred), $4.2 million in playing-time incentives, and an explicit waiver of grievance rights relating to contract termination for Federal indictment, would be his approximate vallue for 2008.

In Oakland he wouldn't be leaving the Bay Area, where he remains popular.

Billy Beane signed Mike Piazza to a one-year $8.5 million contract to play DH, which he has done for 67 games this year. (He's also pinch-hit in 11 more games.) Mike Piazza is almost exactly an MLB average hitter at this stage of his career, and he's played less than Barry Bonds despite not having taken the playing field once on defense, as best I can tell from BR. Guaranteeing Bonds roughly twice as much money, given that he's still arguably the best pure hitter in baseball, seems within Billy Beane's style--remember, he's the guy who loves OBP, and Bonds is more dominating with respect to OBP than he is with respect to OPS.

And not once in your lengthy, over-analytical post did you mention the BAGGAGE that comes with Barry Bonds. Nor the strong likelihood that even as a DH, he is likely to spend substantial time on the DL. You compare him to A-Rod, who is more than a decade younger and has had none of the health problems or baggage of Bonds; and you compare him to Ortiz, who is invaluable to the Red Sox. No comparison.

wtf are you talking about? he points out that barry bonds has an OPS similar to and better than some major MLB studs...so you say that he can't be compared to them? wtf?

haha wow, Bonds can compare to A-Rod if he didn't get walked so much times...

You compare Bonds to A-Rod and Big Papi? Even if healthy, Bonds is much older than the both of them. No way he will draw the kind of money they draw. And again, you are looking at potential fan fallout for whatever team signs him. OPS and OBP aside, Bonds has entirely too much baggage IMO. I don't think any team will sign him; if they do, it will be for considerably less than 8 figures.

When was the last time the Red Sox were on a road trip and Big Papi got booed and syringes thrown at him?

Thank you! B)

Except for that comment that he's still popular in the Bay Area, which, by implication, suggests a potential lack of popularity elsewhere. ;)

And, of course, there's that bit about specifically mentioning the necessity of a contract clause covering the team in the case of Bonds' indictment...that kinda touches on stuff that might be construed as "BAGGAGE."

Or were you referring to all that luggage he packs for every road trip? :lol:

I'm puzzled why you'd write that.

Here is Barry Bonds' injury history for 2006-2007, courtesy Sportsnet.ca:

Barry Bonds hasn't been on the DL since 2005.

I guess that any player might end up on the DL, but Bonds has a long track record of pretty good health, excepting his 2005 issues, and they haven't caused another DL trip for two years now.

There is an obvious comparison: those three are the MLB OPS leaders.

Now, if you go back and actually check what I wrote, I suggested that A-Rod is worth a multi-year deal worth $30 million per annum, whereas I suggested that Bonds was worth a single-year deal worth approximately half that much guaranteed, and you might surmise that age, health and popularity might fit into that calculus...but, hey, believe what you will.

It's tough to predict the future for either Bonds or Ortiz. Big Papi is certainly popular in Red Sox Nation, but he's an aging slow-moving slugger, and players like that go downhill fast. Bonds is an aging one-time five-tool superstar who's still posting a 1.053 OPS--even if those five tools have declined, I'd suggest that Barry Bonds is still a dramatically better outfielder than David Ortiz would be, and that Bonds' chances for a catastrophic career-ending health problem might not be so different from Big Papi's, despite their age difference.

But, hey, YMMV.

You might be right. Our opinions are both posted; let's see how it works out this winter. *beer*

I just keep on laughing, eh? Bonds probably draws more fans than A-Rod and Papi put together.

Lets say Bonds has 558 at bats like A-Rod does this year, Bonds would have 46 HR's, only 6 less than A-Rod.

Goodbye to the greatest offensive player of all time. I hope he plays next year though, just out of the AL East.

Did you forget...this season Bonds was going for a record, that's what put the fans in the seats. The chance to see history.

Oh, so I guess he has never put fans in seats before this season...riiiight.

Whatever. I'll be the first to bump this thread and eat my words when he signs the $100 mil contract you toads apparently see him signing this winter.

Probably will. Who doesn't want a ton of production and a player that brings a lot of additional fans to the stadium?

I'm actually with Kyy on this one. Yeah, he'll sign with a team, probably the A's, but I don't think he brings much, other than the fact who else is out there? Maybe he'll be a little better not playing D, and possibly he'll hit 30-35 homers. But if pitcher's had balls against Bonds his OBP would drop 50-100 points, which is the best thing he brings. And still it doesn't matter if Bonds gets on base, he can't run the bases too well.

Interesting short piece by Nate Silver in BP Unfiltered:

The other teams were 100-1 odds or worse.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=536

It's interesting that Nate Silver sees the Padres as stronger candidates than the A's. San Diego is a laid-back town without an aggressive sports media, and they may need a left fielder. Still, the A's, Angels and Tigers could all use him at DH, where he really belongs.

I would, however, get a kick out of Boston signing Barry Bonds. I guess that one might surmise that Papi could play first base and Manny and Barry could trade off LF and DH, but Papi can't play first base regularly any more...I like the concept of an odd three-way platoon of Manny, Papi and Barry around LF and DH, with Ellsbury and Coco in CF and JD Drew playing right field 162 days a year. :lol:

Edit: link added; format

But pitchers don't have balls, so until then Bonds still will be a walk machine generating a lot of runs on a good offense.

The Giants are finally separating themselves from Bonds & his hefty contracts. Its a move that is in the best interest of the Club & is the first step in a much needed roster overhaul. Look up & down that roster, it is old, unproductive, and will never compete with the likes of the Pads, Dodgers, or Rockies. Shit, the best team in the AL West is coincidentally the youngest in Arizona.

The Giants desperately need a return to the Playoffs in the upcoming seasons & if they hope to attract any marquee Free Agents, they have to put together a team that actually has a shot at the post season. I dont care how much money they throw at A-Rod b/c it is in my opinion that if he doesnt see a team that can potentially earn him a ring...he will say "no thanks."

Along with Bonds, I would hope for the Giants' sake that we see the eventual departures of:

- Bengie Molina
- Ray Durham
- Ryan Klesko
- Omar Vizquel
- Pedro Feliz
- Dave Roberts
- Randy Wynn
- Steve Kline
- Russ Ortiz

Klesko and Vizquel will be gone next year...Winn and Roberts will be gone in 2009...Durham and Kline gone in 2008 (hopefully we can trade Ray before then). But other than that Ortiz makes the league minimum so no problems keeping him around, and Bengie was one of the top three offensive catchers in the NL this year so no reason to see them go. It'd be nice to see Zito leave too (but he has a no trade clause).