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Supporting players come through
© St. Petersburg Times SAN FRANCISCO -- As strategies go, this one is pretty simple. As challenges go, it is not terribly subtle. The Angels have decided Barry Bonds is not going to beat them. Put another way, they don't believe the other guys are good enough to beat them. Depending on the neighborhood, this would be known as throwing down. Or maybe calling out. Either way, it's a threat to their manhood. So naturally, it took the Giants a little time to correctly phrase their response. Finally, in Game 4 on Wednesday, they found the right words. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah. What we have here is a little spite and increasing drama. The World Series is tied after four games because the Giants finally got tired of being put down as the world's greatest one-man show. Who knew the Pips could be headliners? This is a group of castoffs. Bit players in the big production. The rightfielder has been with five teams in five years. The centerfielder has worn three uniforms in the past two seasons. The catcher was discovered in a retirement community in south Florida. Who knew the Huns could roll without Attila? Throughout Games 2 and 3, the Giants seemed to place all of their trust in the Bonds market. Hitting behind him, Benito Santiago was so quiet, you could have mistaken him for an Outback owner. Bonds has nine bases on balls in his 17 plate appearances, including a Series record five intentional walks. Walking Bonds might not be great theater. It might not be macho. But like it or not, every manager does it. Bonds was walked intentionally a record 68 times during the regular season. And what happened? The Giants went 40-13 in those games. That is known as being picked up by your teammates. It worked during the regular season, and Wednesday, it worked in the Series. "I learned when I hit 73 home runs and my son and daughter were upset, saying, 'They pitch to everyone else dad, how come you don't get to hit?"' Bonds said. "That made it easier for me because I had to explain to my son there are other parts of the game than just swinging the bat. "I said, 'When I get on base, now I'm a baserunner and I need to get to second and score."' Perhaps, when you are staring at the greatest player in the universe, it is difficult to see the adjacent stars. The truth is, the Giants might have been the most complete team in the National League. It's not their fault if no one bothered to notice. San Francisco was fourth in the league in hitting, first in pitching and third in fielding. No other team was in the top four in all three categories. "That club is so much more than Barry Bonds," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said. "Barry is an incredible part of a championship team. "But there are so many more challenges in that lineup than just Barry." Yeah, sure, but do you really fear them? Take Reggie Sanders, for instance. The guy has wandered the globe in search of a kinder postseason. He has made the playoffs with four organizations and been pretty awful with just about everyone. Coming into the Series, Sanders had a .182 batting average with 48 strikeouts in 126 postseason at-bats. Yet he's hitting .333 with two home runs in this Series. Take Kenny Lofton, for instance. He no longer runs the way he once did, and he's something of a liability on defense. But he had the pennant-winning hit in the National League Championship Series, and his fifth-inning bunt single was a key Wednesday. Take J.T. Snow, for instance. It was his two-run homer that carried the Giants in a 4-3 victory in Game 1, and he began the winning rally in Game 4 with a leadoff single in the eighth. "I didn't need to see Barry hitting any more home runs to get any more respect for his talent. He's locked in right now," Scioscia said. "If there's going to be an opportunity for us to make Benito or J.T. or Reggie beat us, we're going to take advantage of that. It's not a knock on those guys. It's just where Barry is right now. He's incredible." Anaheim intentionally walked Bonds with two on and one out in the first Wednesday. Santiago hit into a double play. The Angels walked him again with two on and one out in the third. Santiago hit into another double play. On a roll, the Angels tried it one more time in the fifth. The Giants had a runner on second with two outs and intentionally passed Bonds. Santiago finally made Anaheim pay with a tying single. "Whoever you put back there, it's going to be the same situation," Giants manager Dusty Baker said of the pressure on Santiago. "Benito has come up big time in the second half, and that's why he's remained there. "It's been working pretty good so far." On this night, at least, it worked out. On this night, the Giants were not going to be embarrassed by Anaheim's strategy. On this night, they had an answer: You can walk, but you cannot hide.
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