On the same morning the SF Chronicle’s Scott Ostler wonders why Barry Bonds is still being pitched around (“he has no protection in the lineup, so why bother to pitch to him? There has never been a superstar slugger left so naked in the lineup for so many years. Also, Bonds is a liability on the bases, so his walks are devalued. He’s a poor baserunner now, sometimes doesn’t even pay attention to where the ball is hit by his teammates.”), the AP adds injury to insult with the following item :
Barry Bonds’ son, a bat boy for the San Francisco Giants, is on the disabled list for his dad’s home run chase.
Nikolai Bonds tore two ligaments in his left ankle last week when he dunked during a pickup basketball game and came down on someone’s foot ” and now the 17-year-old is hobbling around the clubhouse in a walking boot for the initial stage of what is expected to be a two-month recovery.
That means he might not be in a Giants uniform working as a bat boy when his father breaks Hank Aaron’s home run record, as the younger Bonds has been for many of his dad’s other milestones in recent years.
“He’ll still be there,” Barry Bonds said. “It’s not serious. I don’t think anything’s that serious at 17. Who says he won’t be down there. Who knows? We’re not there yet.”
I am sure CSTB Nation joins me in wishing Nikolai a speedy recovery. After all, who else can his dad use as a human shield the next time a press conference becomes contentious?