Bonds Stays Hot, Giants Stay Cold

Barry Bonds continued his hot streak on Wednesday night, belting career home run number 759. It was Bonds' 5th home run in his last 9 games and his 25th on the season. At this pace, it's very possible that Bonds could reach the 800 home run plateau before he decides to retire, which he has stated would likely be after the 2008 season. There is still about 6 weeks left in the season and ending the season with 770 or more home runs is looking more and more likely by the day. However, Bonds' hot streak has not translated into Giants wins, and the team has looked terrible since Bonds broke the record 10 days ago. The Giants are 2-8 since the historic blast and they have fallen to a season low 20 games below .500. It's almost like their going through a post-Bonds hangover. They played their best ball in a while when ESPN was airing every game due to the Bonds chase, but since the spotlight has left the team, they have gone back to the lackluster, tired old squad that they have been for most of the first 4 months of the season.

It's not all bad news around Giants land though. The team did agree to deals with 2 of their first round picks just beating Wednesdays' deadline. The teams top pick, left-handed starter Madison Bumgarner, received the 2.3 million dollar signing bonus that he was asking for to keep him from attending the University of North Carolina. The teams 3rd pick, outfielder Wendall Fairly, signed for around a 1 million dollar bonus. Fairly would have attended Southern Mississippi State if the deal had fallen through with the Giants. Both the players will join the rest of the Giants 2007 draft class for the Instructional League which starts in mid-September. I will be following that league closely and keeping you updated on how these kids are doing.