Bonds to Come to Japan?

No way. Bonds is a malcontent in America, so there's no way he'd adjust in Japan.

If he does go to Japan (not likely, he's in his 40's and has a balky knee), I'd love nothing more than to see him corkscrew into the ground flailing at a pitch.

Didn't we go through this same exercise a year ago, regarding the possibility of Sammy Sosa going to Japan?

Baroid probably won't get the kind of yen he wants, and if his aim is to break Oh's world professional record, I don't think that would make him a very beloved figure in Japanese parks.

I agree with this. As for which team could possibly afford him, I'd have to go with SoftBank, which is ironically managed by Sadaharu Oh. Matsunaka goes to first base and Bonds would DH. Bonds loves to wait on fastballs, so he'd have to learn how to hit breaking balls, since that's all he will see.

Bonds is pretty popular with a lot of Japanese fans for his Nichi-Bei stuff and friendship with Shinjo. I guess he's a great guy when you can't understand a single word he's saying. Hehe.

Bonds playing for Oh, interesting.

Bonds has a murky future in MLB. His salary is going to go way down next year, he may do better over here in Japan financially. Don't see the SF Giants keeping him beyond this year, so who would pick him up? Bonds has said that he does not want to play in the American League already.

So he comes here and plays a couple of years. Bonds would rip Japanese pitching. He retires when he matches Oh's record out of respect for his coach. Nice story.

I can't see that happening. Given Bond's steroids issues I don't think any Japanese club would touch him. Even if Oh wanted him I suspect that the SoftBank front office would veto the move. I would also think that his salary expectations would be rather high.

I heard Robert Whiting on the New York radio show called Talking Baseball (the only thing on WFAN that's worth listening to) and he said Oh was legit ... during the off-season MLB tours Oh hit homers off guys like Carlton, Gibson, and Palmer. I learned that Japan had a reserve clause at the time (just like MLB) binding players to their teams for life, otherwise, Oh may have come to MLB.

If Baroid goes to Japan, he'd have to do it with a humble spirit, or else it could become a rocky experience for him.

The SF Giants have said they will not re-sign Bonds. NPB might be an interesting place for him. Humble spirit, hmmmmm.

I'm not sure who in MLB would sign him at this point. His commercial value has diminished. Chasing Oh's record would seem like a hollow victory if achieved, since I, for one, don't think credit in another international league should count toward another international league's record.

It's too bad Oh didn't have the opportunity to bring his talent to MLB for a few seasons at least. I do remember a home run derby between Oh and Willie Mays and an ASG. It was close, but I don't remember who won, not that it means anything. Maybe that is where he hit his homers off Gibson, Palmer, and Carlton? I suspect it was during some off season tour.

Mr. Ed,

Well, his being cut by the Giants makes it a little more interesting for him to come to Japan. He can't field any longer, so perhaps the Pacific League. Orix seems to specialize in old folks home players, it did pay off with Tuffy for them this year. Tuffy, no doubt, will move on to another Japanese team. Perhaps Barry can fill in.

Bonds or no Bonds, the Giants need position players. It would not hurt them to give Alex Ochoa a look in spring training. If he needs to play in AAA he'd probably do much better in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League than he did last year at Pawtucket, where I believe he was simply unfamiliar with the pitchers. Look at how many times guys come up from AAA and bamboozle MLB teams in their first start or two!

Sadaharu Oh will possibly manage his final season next year. According to Japan Baseball Daily, Sports Illustrated mentioned Bonds possibly playing in Fukuoka next year (did they read my post?). I expect Barry to hit over 100 homers next year to break Sadaharu Oh's record. Then they'll both embrace and raise their arms in triumph.

Unfortunately for SI, I also thought Sammy Sosa was going to be a Ham Fighter.

Bonds is not a protruding nail. He is a jagged rip saw. He will not survive in Japan, and even if he came over, he would see even less strikes than he has in MLB if he chases a home run record.