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The Bonds Circus

The Marlins are going to be in the middle of the main ring in San Francisco tonight.  Of course, I'm talking about the Bonds home run quest.

Three more home games. Three more home runs to pass Hank Aaron.

If not, Bonds hits the road in his pursuit of the home run record, starting in Los Angeles, where Dodgers fans will be jeering instead of cheering.

The Marlins arrive for a three-game series in San Francisco today with Bonds surely feeling the pressure to make history in the city that embraces him - scandals and all.

Oh, I hope he does it in Los Angeles and not against the Marlins.  My problem with Bonds isn't the alleged steroid use, but that I don't like prima donnas who come across as thinking they are bigger than the game.  Oh, by the way, before this can of worms gets open, he has tested positive before for a banned substance, amphetamines.  Now, he did the prescribed penalty so it's over in my mind.

But if the Giants faithful don't get the chance to cheer for a Bonds record breaking home run, they have a backup plan.

Bored with the Barry Bonds story? It is time for a diversion. Armando Benitez is back in town. Fans should have a swell welcome-back prepared for their favorite reliever, who returns tonight as a setup man for the Florida Marlins.
"They'll probably boo him very loudly," Rich Aurilia said, noting that when Benitez pitched for the Giants, "his boos seemed louder than Jeff Kent's when Jeff comes back here with the Dodgers, and that's loud."

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Fans relishing a Bonds-Benitez matchup take note: Benitez owns him (0-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts). Benitez said, "I'll pitch to him. Here you go, hit."

Oh great, this is not a good sign that Bonds is 0-for-5 against Benitez.

I take you back to last night.

Why Benitez was allowed to pitch to Byrnes with first base open instead of walking him to load the bases with two outs was due to the fact Byrnes was 0 for 5 over his career against the Marlins pitcher.

And we all know how that turned out.