I've heard from more than one person that as recent as seven hours prior to the first pitch of tonight's Dodgers/Giants game in Los Angeles, ESPN Radio was reporting Barry Bonds would not be in the starting lineup. That's not a huge shock considering Henry Schulman wrote in Tuesday's San Francisco Chronicle that Bonds could sit out tonight's opener. Well, Barry was batting cleanup and starting in left for the Giants tonight. So what happened in between?My guess is that the Giants were pressured into having Barry start tonight. I already noted Bud Selig's comments on Costas Now that he would step in if the Giants were not playing Barry in a normal pattern on the road. That could be the case considering the Giants had an off day on Monday. Or, the Giants could have been pressured by ESPN to play Barry. I'm sure ESPN paid a lot of money for the rights to televise tonight's Dodgers/Giants game, and like most other sports media outlets, has spent a lot of time, effort, and money covering the Bonds home run chase. Their game tonight would certainly have less allure to the viewing public without Barry batting three or four times. So is it possible that either of these two forces pressured the Giants into playing Bonds tonight? I think so.
Previously at FanHouse:
Bud Selig Will Step in if Giants Sit Bonds on the Road Too Much
Is Barry Bonds Skipping ESPN Games?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-01-2007 @ 12:03AM
Matt said...
No way anybody pressured Bonds into playing ... Barry Bonds decides when he is going to play and he would never succumb to pressure from the commissioner or a network ... he would retire first ... which, come to think of it, wouldn't be a bad idea; quitting now would be a wonderful sign that he really wants to preserve the integrity of the game ...
Reply
8-01-2007 @ 12:20AM
petejayhawk said...
Larry,
Honestly, I have a hard time believing that Barry Bonds would allow anyone, much less ESPN and their "Entertainment Tonight" mentality to dictate when and where he plays. If you look at his games played, he tends to stay away from games broadcast on ESPN.
For the record, I'm not a Bonds fan. Not even close. I'm just sick of this whole thing.
Reply
8-01-2007 @ 1:08AM
George B Vieto said...
ESPN televised the game and Barry Bonds just wants to get this Hank Aaron home run chase over with and decided to play tonight. ESPN and Bud Selig may have twisted his arm but that is it.
Reply
8-01-2007 @ 2:12AM
rick said...
i was hoping brad penny would do a juan marichal and throw a high inside fastball right between the eyes. our rivalry needs a shot in the arm anyhow. oh and barry sorry when i referred to shot that didnt mean steriods sorry
Reply