There is that small part of me that wanted Bonds to go away. After #s 751, 752, and 753, there's going to be a media blitz like never before. You can read the headlines already: Why I Won't Cheer. Amazing Disgrace! Where Have You Gone, Horatio Alger? Penguin Rape Up 58%: Thanks, Barry. It'll come at a furious pace, and we'll all want to grab the national media by their collective lapels and beg them to just let the Giants suck in peace. We cheered every homerun, and now we'll have to pay for it like a character in some Greek myth.
But if there is a chance the Giants won't suck - and I maintain there is a small chance they won't - they will need Barry there. Even if just for 100 games, his OBP is crucial, and he's the only real power threat the Giants have. You know this. I know this. Apparently, the Giants know this. Bruce Jenkins might need a little more convincing, but I knew that. You knew that.
This has to be a short column because there are demons and imps taking pickaxes to my tonsils and sinuses right now. So I'll go straight to the comment starter, which is a simple list of priorites:
- Figure out how to get Richie Sexson or Pat Burrell without giving up Matt Cain, Noah Lowry, or Jonathan Sanchez. Or, figure out a way to snag Adam LaRoche, for whom I would trade Sanchez and, maybe, Lowry.
- One more righty reliever - David Riske, please - and one more lefty reliever. If Darren Oliver comes dirt cheap, I actually would take him. His peripherals were solid last year, which was his first as a reliever. Kline wouldn't be so bad to have back.
- One more starter of the Jamey Wright variety. I like Hennessey more as a reliever, and the team will need someone behind Cain/Morris/Lowry/Sanchez. Go for an old guy who will only want a one-year deal, or a cheap deal on a reclamation project like Tomo Ohka.
Edit: It wasn't made especially clear up there, but I still really, really, really wanted Barry back. Let there be no confusion on that point.