I hear Barry Bonds might come to Oakland. Do you actually think that's a possibility? If so, what is your opinion on him joining the A's?
-- Dave, Pleasant Hill, Calif.
It's definitely a possibility, as evidenced by A's owner Lew Wolff's comments to MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom last week. With Frank Thomas taking his big bat to Toronto, the A's need a new slugger in the middle of the order, and Wolff said he'd like to have that slugger be Bonds if the price is right.
As for my thoughts on Bonds in white cleats, at first the notion seemed ridiculous to me -- too much baggage being the main reason. But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.
For one thing, Bonds might not be as expensive as his agent wants us to think. Thomas turned down a reported two-year, $15 million deal from the A's, and that same deal could very well be enough to land Bonds.
Sure, Thomas had a better year than Bonds in 2006. He's younger, too. But Bonds the DH will surely put up much better numbers than Bonds the left fielder, and Thomas' ankle/foot makes him no less of a health risk. Baseball-wise, it'd be an even swap; declining-but-dangerous slugger for declining-but-dangerous slugger.
Also, Oakland is probably the only other market in the country in which Bonds would be remotely accepted by the fans; witness the cheers he got when he hit No. 714 at McAfee Coliseum. Some of those cheers came from Giants fans who made the trip across the bridge, of course, but not all of them. If that homer were hit anywhere else on the road, it would have been all boos.
Regarding the baggage and potential for clubhouse discord, it's important to realize that general manager Billy Beane isn't as enamored with chemistry as it appears. He brought in Thomas, who was said to be something of a Bonds Light in terms of selfishness in Chicago. He also brought in Milton Bradley, who has nearly as much as baggage as Bonds, and he brought in Esteban Loaiza, who didn't have the greatest rep in the world, either.
The bottom line is that Beane will do anything that makes sense for the club, no matter the public perception, and he knows that if Bonds helps the A's win games, the players will do the same thing they did with their public expressions of support for Bradley.
Will it happen? I'd say it's a long shot. But the A's have already tweaked the Giants by making their big stadium announcement in San Jose. They just might see signing the Giants' longtime meal ticket right before he breaks the home run record as another nice little kidney shot.
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Would signing Bonds be a good move?
Would signing Bonds be a good move?
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