Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Ratto: Bonds has upper hand

Columnist Ray Ratto raves the Giants need Bonds

Sporting Green columnist Ray Ratto recently wrote:

So, Peter Magowan says, and we swear he really did, that Barry Bonds is no longer going to be the centerpiece of the Giants....I mean, who's he kidding? If Bonds comes back, he is by definition the centerpiece...What Magowan meant to say was, "I like him around despite everything, but I don't want to pay him very much." But because when he speaks, he tends to lead with his pancreas, it came out like, well, absolute nonsense...Bonds is coming back unless someone offers him more money, pure and simple.

But let's be honest here, as much as it may pain them to try it. The only way not to make Bonds not be the centerpiece of the team is to get rid of him, and since we know that isn't going to happen, we'd all be better off if Magowan didn't try to run out laughable arglebargle like "He is no longer going to be the centerpiece of our team."

Once again, Ray Ratto makes two large assumptions and based his argument around them, rendering his writing, to use his own words, "absolute nonsense".

The first assumption is that Magowan needs Bonds more than Bonds needs him. Are you kidding? Barry Bonds will forever be a baseball legend (to what degree we will keep out of the discussion), however the Giants franchise will be around forever. There's a reason they have the saying, the name on the front is more important than the name on the back.

Ratto takes to the idea that the Giants need Bonds to sell seats, prompting the Magowan line, "He is no longer going to be the centerpiece of our team." Bonds sells seats next year. Winning sells them EVERY year. This is precisely what the owner was saying. If anything, it's sports writers like Ratto who twist it around and overthink it in an effort to be sell papers.

Everything begins with the contract. Whether Bonds will sign an incentive-laden contract is irrelevant. No team will want to touch the media frenzy that comes with him. They can completely distract a team. Ratto seems to think otherwise, "Bonds is coming back unless someone offers him more money, pure and simple".

Thanks for that other assumption you made--that there is another team. Who were you thinking? Oakland? Doubtful. Seattle? Not a chance. New York? They have enough personalities to deal with.

What do they all know? They would have to take a siginifant chance on a player that makes T.O.'s baggage look like carry ons.

Magowan does not want to pay Bonds like a centerpiece player because he no longer is one. It's that simple. If he comes back, the contract not only needs to detail how much he makes, but signify what his new role will be.

A reconstruction is taking place. Let's hope Sabean and Magowan have the guts to continue to follow that game plan. In the meantime, do us all a favor Ratty and start using facts before drawing conclusions.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris - nice take on the Fatto-Ratto column. As usual, he blathers out a bunch of nonsense while he scarfs down endless hotdogs and milkshakes. I'm ok if Bonds comes back at a reasonable price (read < $7M), allowing the Giants to add some other key players.

4:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

its not about Bonds. don't understand why ratto doesn't get that.

6:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chris-Whats upsetting me is not what Ratto said, it's what Magowan said and WHY? I know this is posturing, but youre dealing with one of the most enormous ego's on this planet here. If he kept his mouth shut, there might have been a chance Bonds would have settled for a lesser contract that was heavily incentive laden. I don't think there's any chance of that now. Why doesnt he leave baseball matters to the people(Sabean) who know baseball. Now it looks like Bonds might just snub his nose at the Giants. Which, in effect, just frees up more money for free agents, which is also fine by me. I really did want to see Bonds break the record and retire as a Giant, but not at the expense of the team winning next year. t

5:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When Bonds was hitting homers and batting well over 300, you could throw some decent veteran players around him and things worked. I think that is what Magowan said when he meant "centerpiece." Bonds can't physically play every day, and he doesn't have the numbers to warrant that either. If we keep Bonds, he is going to be part of something else, not the foundation.

There is talk about Bonds going other places, but I really wonder what teams would offer him a lot of money. He doesn't produce at all like he used to, and I don't think he brings in people either. Attendence was down at ATT this year, even with Bonds chasing records. People won't sit and watch a team lose no matter who is on the field.

Add in the whole media circus that would ensue from a Bonds move and the steriods issue, and it really drops down his price. No team would be quick to buy into a load of trouble.

10:05 PM  
Blogger chris.daglow said...

In addition, they're saying he might not even play 100 games next season. You simply don't pay big money to a player who is not eligible to play everyday.

9:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I once catered a gig for FSN. Ratto was an asshole.

9:56 AM  

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