Milestone Weekend

The NFL hall of fame weekend and an emotional speech by Michael Irvin signaled the start of the NFL pre-season. So this might very well be the last weekend of undivided attention for MLB this year. MLB did have something good to offer this weekend. All the milestones we have been waiting for a while happened this weekend. A-Rod hit 500, Bonds tied the record with 755 on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Tom Glavine got his 300-Th win. The only thing remaining now is 756 for Barry. He is back home for 4 against the Nationals and as expected sat out the game at San Diego on Sunday. He had a long press conference yesterday after the game and the reason he gave for not playing on Sun I thought was weird. He said "I'll not be in the lineup tomorrow. I am going to celebrate with my family". What? Just say you have a sore thumb or whatever or just leave it to the usual "Bonds will not play day games after night games". I thought his answer was strange to say the least.

The San Diego crowd cheered the Bonds home run more than they booed. That was not really a surprise to me. Some experts made a big deal out of it saying it'll be ugly and nasty and all that. I thought American people are too nice for that. Eventually, I knew they'll just get caught in the excitement and respect the moment and let Bonds off easy. Thats exactly what happened. There were enough boos and "asterix" signs in the crowd, but most people cheered the feat and even gave him a standing ovation. May be it would have been a little worse at LA because of the rivalry, but the reception would have been pretty much the same in any other town. Bud Selig seemed to have more problems with it than the Sand Diego fans. He kind of just stood up and was completely stoic. He didn't even clap his hands.

Bud is really pushing it. He seems to have some real issues with Barry Bonds as if it's all Bonds fault and is talking like he is making a major sacrifice by even being there. I thought his statement after the game was not gracious at all. He seemed to point to all the scandals and kind of gave Bonds a back-handed compliment. "No matter what anybody thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable," Selig said, adding that "all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty." There's no need for this on this day. The only thing more ridiculous was when he said last week that he is making a herculean effort to attend these games. “This has been a tough experience, I don’t mind telling you,” Selig said. “I don’t think anybody can say I haven’t made a Herculean effort,” he said. “In fact, I have a lot of people who are stunned I’m still at it.” What?? I think he is growing senile. He needs to understand he is part of the problem and is fooling nobody with his "holier than thou" attitude. Did he forget that he is the commissioner of the game and the steroid dealers were running around his clubhouses right underneath his nose?

Bud didn't congratulate Bonds except for that stupid statement. Also, he apparently called to congratulate A-Rod for his 500 and openly said he would love to attend Glavine's 300-Th win. Bud just hates Bonds and I don't know why. Speaking of A-Rod, he finally got his 500-Th home run as a prolonged slump was getting a little ugly for him. The Yankees offense has been feasting on some bad teams the last couple of weeks. There have been games where they have scored 21 runs and 16 runs and another with 8 home runs. But A-Rod got to 499 and was kind of stuck there for a while. He went hitless in 21 at-bats after hitting the 499-Th home run on July 25-Th. There was some talk again about how this guy can't come through under pressure. Tabloids were on him again for not being able to perform when it matters the most. Poor guy, can't win even when he hits his 500-Th home run. I am sure he is glad the thing is over now.

Tom Glavine also got his 300-Th win and might very well be the last one to do it for a while. I know everybody said the same thing when Maddux got there a couple of years back, but we did know than that Glavine had a real shot at it. Now, I don't see anybody with a realistic chance except may be an outside shot for Mike Mussina who has 245 wins and is 38 years old. Randy Johnson is pretty close to 300, but is also pretty old and pretty injured. He may not even pitch again. So Glavine might truly be the last one. The Cubs fans were all love for Glavine. A classy superstar with a lot of talent, breaking great records will get mad love even on the road. Thats why I guess the whole Bonds deal looks so bad because that kind of hatred and booing is unusual when you are a superstar at that level chasing that kind of a record. You couldn't help but notice the contrast between the two scenarios, thanks to the classy Cubs fans. 300 is done now for Glavine and the biggest loser is ESPN! They can't show his beautiful wife Christine Glavine every 8 seconds anymore. She was a real cutie with genuine concern on her face whenever the Cubs scored runs and heart-felt tears in her eyes at the end. Baseball never looked this beautiful :-)