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0-fer October Bonds bombs again; Baker makes questionable decision
NEW YORK (AP) -- Barry Bonds didn't get it done at the plate. Dusty Baker didn't do much better in the dugout. There was plenty of blame to be shared by the San Francisco Giants after their season ended Sunday with a 4-0 loss to the New York Mets. Most of it landed in the laps of Bonds, the slugger, and Baker, the manager. One didn't slug much. The other didn't manage all that well. Bonds made the final out of the season for the Giants, hitting a fly ball to center to cap an 0-for-4 afternoon. He was 0-for-9 with two walks over the final two games of the series, dropping his career postseason batting average to .196. "Definitely bummed," was how he described his mood after the game. Bonds went 3-for-8 in the two games at Pacific Bell Park, but one of those at-bats set a tone for the rest of the series. It came on the final pitch of the bottom half of the 10th inning in Game 2 when Bonds looked at a called third strike from John Franco to end the game. A three-time MVP and a candidate to win the award for the fourth time, he never looked the same from that point on. Bonds struck out against Franco again Saturday and then struck out in his first two at-bats Sunday, the first time swinging through an 87 mph fastball, the second time looking at a 2-2 pitch from Bobby J. Jones that nipped the inside corner. Bonds' postseason resume now includes five appearances that are underwhelming to various degrees:
• a .167 average for Pittsburgh in 1990 as the Pirates lost 4-2 to the Reds. • a .148 average for the Pirates in 1991 when they lost to the Braves in seven games. • a .261 average for Pittsburgh in 1992 -- including his only career postseason home run -- when the Pirates again lost to Atlanta in seven games. • a .250 average for the Giants in 1997 when San Francisco was swept in three games by the Florida Marlins. • a .176 average in this series. "God blessed me with the ability to play baseball and has gotten me gifts I've never even dreamed of," Bonds said. "I love this game. I'll keep trying." Baker, meanwhile, will have the whole winter to wonder whether he should have pinch-hit for pitcher Mark Gardner with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. After flailing weakly at the first pitch and taking the second pitch for a ball, Gardner popped out to second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo to end the inning. It turned out to be the only threat the Giants would have, and Gardner was knocked out of the game just on-third of an inning later -- making Baker's decision look even worse. "I don't regret it," Baker said, explaining that he thought it was too early to turn to a bullpen that had been depleted the day before in a 13-inning game. "If you don't have a full bullpen, you don't have a full bullpen." Gardner was a .116 hitter during the regular season, getting only five singles in 43 at-bats and striking out 22 times. He is a career .128 hitter in 101/2 seasons. "At that point we thought we were going to get (Jones) on the ropes again," Gardner said. "It was early in the ballgame, it was only 2-0. Usually when that happens and the pitcher is taken out, that might be your last chance to score runs and I don't think he felt that way." Had Baker chosen to send up a pinch-hitter for Gardner against right-hander Bobby J. Jones, his choices included switch-hitter Felipe Crespo, who batted .315 left-handed -- including .333 (13-for-39) as a pinch-hitter. "My job at that time is to be ready, whether he decides to put someone in or not," Crespo said. "I'm not there to decide. That's not my job."
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