FanHouse MikeBacsik

Do you remember where you were one year ago? I was on my aunt's couch in Aiken, South Carolina enjoying the air conditioning after spending a day in the 105 degree heat, watching the Pirates play the Diamondbacks on my computer. My brother was watching SportsCenter on my aunt's TV as the clock crawled past midnight. As they'd been doing all week, ESPN cut away from SC to play Barry Bonds' at-bat live. That meant that I got to watch the player I'd grown to loathe as a Pirate fan hit his 756th home run off of Mike Bacsik, along with the message from Hank Aaron and the truly touching speech from Bonds made with his godfather, Willie Mays, at his side.

Like everyone else, we here at FanHouse went crazy posting Bonds news and opinions. We made at least six posts on Bonds alone in twelve hours after his record-setting homer. One year later, you have to scour the internet for a reminder that this is the one year anniversary of the most sacred record in American sports being broken.

In the year since Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record, the Mitchell Report broke and the Roger Clemens circus started while Bonds has essentially been strong-armed out of the game by owners not willing to put up with the media circus that constantly surrounds him. Rather than deal with their problems, baseball seems content to use Bonds and Clemens as scapegoats and merely erase them from the public mind.

Barry Bonds never existed. Roger Clemens never existed. Steroids never existed. Move along with your life. Please take note of the rainbow in the sky, but not the flood rushing towards you.

Gave up Barry Bonds' record breaking HR? Narrowly avoided a trade to the division leading Mets? Well I'd say that would put one in the mood to sing, wouldn't you?

Is it yet another reason to be afraid of the path of humanity? No, it's just "Wireless Wednesday" at RFK Stadium, where Chad Cordero and Mike Bacsik prove that the bullpen is always an interesting place to be before the relievers even warm up.

Despite the fact he's noticeably bulked up since his younger years, Barry Bonds' most impressive physical attribute has nothing to do with what he can bench press or how much he can squat. No, his most impressive ability is by far his eye sight, and in particular, recognizing balls from strikes.

Seriously, before climbing atop the career home run leaderboard, he broke the major league record for walks in a season three times, first in 2001 with 177 walks, again in 2002 with 198 walks and one more time in 2004 with 232 walks. If you take a look at the rest of the top 20 and you'll see his name appear three more times. So not only has he hit more home runs than anyone else, he's done it the last several years despite rarely seeing any pitches to hit.

Except tonight, that is. Mike Bacsik clearly wasn't daunted by the prospects of becoming a footnote in history. It would have been easy for Bacsik to walk Bonds at least a couple of times, especially after falling behind in the count, but instead he challenged Bonds each time he came up to bat. Bacsik paid for it, of course, as Bonds got hits in each of his first two at-bats and scored both times before launching the ball into the stands in the fifth inning. But still, challenging Bonds was the sporting thing to do.

After leaving the game, Bacsik did an in-game interview with ESPN's Erin Andrews and said he congratulated Bonds and told him he was the greatest. He added that Bonds, ever the sportsmen, gave him an autographed bat ... as well as a permanent place in sports trivia.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

San Francisco Giants (48-62) vs. Washington Nationals (51-61)-ESPN2 10:15PM Est.

It may be a bit unfair of me to demand that Barry Bonds hits a home run tonight so that we can all move on with our lives, but I don't care. I'm sick of waiting. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there's anything more exciting than watching two bad baseball teams play each other, but I have my limits. Tonight Barry will be facing Mike Bacsik, yes, that Mike Bacsik. It's a reunion five years in the making as Bonds has only had three at bats in his career against Bacsik and they all took place back in 2002 when Bacsik was with the Mets. In those three at bats Bonds was held hitless, and was hit by a pitch. That means he's due. Please, Barry, hit the home run tonight. Round the bases in front of all your fans. Hug your son at home plate. High five your teammates. Kiss your wife and daughters. Hell, sacrifice a virgin at home plate. Just hit the damn home run.

Mike Bacsik is very close to being called up to the major leagues to pitch for the Washington Nationals. But if I was Bacsik, I wouldn't leave the house. You see, the whole reason Bacsik is on his way to the show is because practically every other Nationals starter has fallen to injury. First is was John Patterson. Then Shawn Hill. Jerome Williams came off the DL on the 15th to only last two innings before returning.

And now it's Jason Bergmann, who recently came within six outs of throwing a no-hitter, is on now the disabled list with inflammation in his throwing elbow. So that's four-fifths of his rotation, in addition to Ryan Wagner and Luis Ayala, on the DL. Your starting rotation is now Matt Chico, Jason Simontacchi, Levale Speigner, and Bacsik. Yet this team, amazingly, has won five out of six.

We wondered what was in the Wheaties of the Nationals pitching ... now we know: elbow inflammation. Don't eat those Wheaties, Mike.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
What's in the Wheaties of the Nationals Pitching