Bonds commands respect from Sox
Friday, June 15, 2007By GARRY
BROWNgbrown@repub.com
BOSTON - Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants come to Fenway Park tonight. Good news or bad news?
Apparently, it all depends on how an observer feels about Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record. It's a quest tainted by the innuendo of steroid abuse, thereby becoming a hot-button issue throughout the baseball world.
In the Boston Red Sox clubhouse, Bonds gets high marks from several players who know him from times as a teammate or as a fearsome slugger facing them in the batter's box.
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Julian Tavarez, who starts for the Red Sox tonight in the opener of the three-game interleague series, played with the Giants from 1997 through '99.
"I played three years with him and never talked to him - just a high-five when he scored after hitting a home run," Tavarez said.
"I can tell you he prepares himself and is serious about what he does, and that's why he's so good at it. I'm proud of Barry for the way he works and for what's he's done and is still doing. He was a good teammate. He showed up every day and played hard. I never had a problem with him."
Lefty reliever Javy Lopez, who could be facing Bonds in the late innings of this series, said Bonds can be intimidating because he stands right on top of the plate.
"He has total command of the strike zone. When he takes a pitch, he knows it's going to be a ball. For me, he's the greatest hitter I've seen, for average and power. I relish the fact that I might get to face him," Lopez said.
"He's the best power hitter to play the game if not the best player ever," reliever Kyle Snyder said. "In recent years he's been amid a controversy (about steroids) and that adds to the attention he gets. I don't think we have an appreciation for how difficult it is to hit a baseball. Everybody has their opinions, and are entitled, but with all the speculation I'm sure it's very difficult on him and I'm sure some players sympathize with that."
As a Seattle player last season, Sox reliever Joel Pineiro saw Bonds turn on a Felix Hernandez fastball.
"It was like 96 (mph) and he pulled it like it was 88. Tip your cap to him because he's so good. It's just too bad about what's going on off the field with him, because on the field he's the best hitter and he makes pitchers pay. Every time he gets to the plate, it's like a magical moment because people expect a home run and that's what he's done his whole career."
Red Sox manager Terry Francona recalled a game in San Francisco when he was managing the Philadelphia Phillies.
"I went to the mound to talk to my guy about pitching to Barry. I wasn't even back in my seat when he hit one out," Francona said.
"We got him out a few times (three-game series in San Francisco in 2004). Will we walk him? Depends on the situation. I remember when I was with the Oakland A's, we walked him leading off the ninth inning. YOU walked him," Francona said with a grin, pointing to NESN analyst Ken Macha, who was in the crowd at his pre-game press conference.
Francona served as Oakland's bench coach in 2003, when Macha had the managing job.
"Having Bonds here won't affect our approach. We just want to get him out. We don't want anybody hitting a home run against us. It'll be an electric atmosphere with him here, but we're used to that. Every game at Fenway has a playoff atmosphere."