Saturday, November 04, 2006 |
Barry Bonds, Team Player — NOT!
According to sources inside and outside the Giants clubhouse, Bonds exasperated teammates and coaches several times last season when he chose to make himself unavailable in pinch-hitting situations.As Pinto said, "I'm somewhat amazed Alou allowed that to go on." Maybe it was the old intimidation at work, since Bonds was the 800 lb. gorilla for the Giants for so long, but clearly, whatever team takes him on in the future will have some open questions to answer.Multiple sources confirmed that Bonds had taken off his uniform during the ninth inning of a 5-3 loss at Milwaukee on Sept. 24. The Giants brought the winning run to the plate, but rookie catcher Eliezer Alfonzo hit into a game-ending double play and the loss officially eliminated the Giants from the division race.
Afterward, manager Felipe Alou covered for Bonds, saying it was a manager's decision.
In another instance April 20 in Arizona, Bonds disobeyed Alou when asked to take left field after drawing a walk as a pinch hitter. Alou had used reserve outfielder Jason Ellison earlier in the game and was forced to move third baseman Pedro Feliz to the outfield, where he hadn't played all season.
Bonds also raised eyebrows when he didn't appear as a pinch hitter in a 6-5 loss at Washington on July 27. The Giants were down three runs when Alfonzo hit a two-out, two-run home run in the ninth inning. Bonds had gone back to the clubhouse, so Alou sent Todd Greene to the plate. Greene struck out.
"I saw him with a bat in the tunnel," Alou said after that loss. "By the time I saw that, the game was over."
The Giants were 0-6 on that road trip.
And on Sept. 30, the day the Dodgers clinched a playoff spot with a 4-2 victory at AT&T Park, a source said Bonds was napping in the clubhouse during the ninth inning.
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