Home Run Derby

On Monday, The Cincinnati Reds announced Dusty Baker as their manager for the 2008 season and beyond.  During his introductory press conference,  Baker had the following to say …

“I can attract players to come here” 

“… a number of players … called me about coming to Cincinnati.”

Okay, I’ll bite … WHO?  

Who called Dusty between the leak of his hiring on Sunday and the press conerence on Monday afternoon?  Who might have Johnnie B Baker’s digits programmed into the old cell phone? 

Who could make a big impact on the Reds?  We were about to scroll down the list of potential free agents and trade candidates … but one name jumped out at us before we even did any research … BARRY BONDS

The Giants have said good-bye to baseball’s all-time Home Run leader, and Bonds has said he wants to play in 2008 in an effort to reach 3,000 hits.

Baker has a long and healthy relationship with Bonds – he was Bonds’ manager for ten years in San Francisco.  There’s lots of speculation that Baker gave Bonds preferential treatment in San Francisco, which could make Bonds interested in reuniting with his old skipper.

Not to mention that Baker is on record as having defended Bonds in light of steroid accusations against the slugger.

“You’ve got to take Barry at his word. A man’s innocent until proven guilty,” Baker said. “Hey, if that’s what he says, and if that’s what he says before a grand jury, that’s the only thing you can go by.  

“I feel bad for Barry,” Baker said. “I’ve known him, and I feel badly because this guy works. I mean, I haven’t seen anybody work as hard as Barry.”

If the Reds were to pick up Bonds and play him in left field, it would allow them to move the outfield-challenged Adam Dunn to first base.

Bonds would be playing in NL Central, where he’s fared real well against the pitching the past three seasons.  During that span, he’s also put on a show at the Home Run-friendly NL Central Ballparks. 

If the Reds are going to give Dusty Baker a team suited for his managerial skills, he’ll need another big bat in the lineup.  A veteran bat.  Bonds fits that need.  And Baker knows how to work with Bonds.

If they’re willing to spend the money, the Reds just might have an inside track to get Barry Bonds.  They already spent some on Baker.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Barry Bonds, Reds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.