FanHouse CostasNow

I've heard from more than one person that as recent as seven hours prior to the first pitch of tonight's Dodgers/Giants game in Los Angeles, ESPN Radio was reporting Barry Bonds would not be in the starting lineup. That's not a huge shock considering Henry Schulman wrote in Tuesday's San Francisco Chronicle that Bonds could sit out tonight's opener. Well, Barry was batting cleanup and starting in left for the Giants tonight. So what happened in between?

My guess is that the Giants were pressured into having Barry start tonight. I already noted Bud Selig's comments on Costas Now that he would step in if the Giants were not playing Barry in a normal pattern on the road. That could be the case considering the Giants had an off day on Monday. Or, the Giants could have been pressured by ESPN to play Barry. I'm sure ESPN paid a lot of money for the rights to televise tonight's Dodgers/Giants game, and like most other sports media outlets, has spent a lot of time, effort, and money covering the Bonds home run chase. Their game tonight would certainly have less allure to the viewing public without Barry batting three or four times. So is it possible that either of these two forces pressured the Giants into playing Bonds tonight? I think so.

Previously at FanHouse:
Bud Selig Will Step in if Giants Sit Bonds on the Road Too Much
Is Barry Bonds Skipping ESPN Games?

By now, you've probably heard a lot about the Costas Now show on HBO that's been making waves in the baseball world. To begin with, I told you about the interview with BALCO chemist Patrick Arnold who says Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield took performance-enhancers. Then, PostmanR let you know about Bonds' response to Costas' show, wherein he labeled Costas a midget who doesn't know jack about baseball. Then, PostmanE told you about the Curt Schilling interview, during which Schilling said this was forever the steroids era. Well, I finally got to watch the episode, and I was intrigued by the Bud Selig interview. Here was one part I found interesting:

Costas: "If [the Giants] go on the road and they start sitting him in a pattern that you find questionable -- especially against contending teams -- will you move in and order the Giants to play him?"

Selig: "I've said in the past -- we are in a pennant race -- and so there's no question people will be watching. I understand that he can't play every day, but I expect the pattern to be a fair and consistent one, and if it wasn't, you bet, I would have something to say."

Hey, so much for all that manipulating history business I was talking about earlier in the week. Glad to hear Bud Selig will do his part to step in and not allow any funny business. It also should be pointed out that Costas did an excellent job putting Selig on the spot regarding the steroids issue -- questioning whether or not Selig turned a blind eye to that issue. Bud of course pleaded ignorance -- saying steroids only became an issue to him when he read about Mark McGwire's use of andro. Seems to me like Bud used a "don't ask don't tell" policy more than anything else -- and that's sad.

Previously at FanHouse:
BALCO Chemist Says Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield Took Performance-Enhancers
Barry Bonds Thinks Bob Costas Is a Midget and Doesn't Know Jack About Baseball
Curt Schilling Wants to Share His Opinions! Aren't You Excited? Aren't You?
Manipulating History: Should the Giants Sit Barry Out for Road Games?