From the Arizona Republic’s Bob McManaman :
According to Moises Alou, the reason teams aren’t pitching to Barry Bonds is because they don’t want to see the Giants slugger break Hank Aaron’s home run record.
That’s what the Giants outfielder intimated, and when asked to clarify his conspiracy theory, Alou repeated it.
“They’re giving me that impression,” Alou said, “the way they’ve been treating him, like (Friday) night.”
The Diamondbacks intentionally walked Bonds that night with the Giants holding a five-run lead in the eighth inning – raising some eyebrows. But manager Bob Melvin repeatedly has said he thought his team was still in the game, and going for an inning-ending double play opportunity was his best percentage.
So Bonds was walked, and Alou belted a three-run homer to put things out of reach. Remember, Bonds had driven in four runs in the game, so walking him didn’t seem like such a bad idea, regardless.
There’s no truth to the rumor that Victor Zambrano might be pulled from his next Mets start in order to protect the modern record for most losses in a season (26), jointly held by Bob Groom and Happy Townsend.