Let's face it, San Francisco's first-class star, Barry Bonds, can be a first-class jerk much of the time.
Distant from teammates, surly with the media, put off by fans, Bonds and his personality never will be confused with that of Lou Gehrig or Yogi Berra, or even Sammy Sosa.
Maybe it's that ego and abrasiveness that keep many of us from recognizing that we just might be watching the greatest baseball player who ever lived.
And what he's doing now deserves our recognition, and yes, sympathy. He has taken his game to another level while his father, Bobby, fights an uphill battle against cancer.
On Tuesday, Bonds crushed a 475-foot homer in Chicago, then two nights later tied a game in the ninth with a two-run homer. All this with a heavy heart.
"I've been able to hold it, but I don't know for how much longer I'll be able to hold it back," Bonds told the San Francisco Chronicle.
So how does he handle it?
"Talking to my dad, basically," Bonds said. "Just playing and trying not to have a nervous breakdown, trying not to flip out or go crazy or pick a fight because of all the frustration and anger I have in me."
Bonds said he talks to his father every day, but Bobby is too sick to follow Barry's every game as he once did.
"I've never played baseball without my dad," Bonds said. "My dad's always been there. Now I play alone. I could take a bad swing on the field and my dad could make a phone call in five seconds and tell me what's wrong. There's no more phone calls."
TINY BUBBLES: When six Astros combined to no-hit the Yankees Wednesday, they found bottles of champagne waiting at their lockers after the game, and pitcher Billy Wagner said the Yankees left them. Everyone then thought, "Oh, how classy." Well, it turns out the Yankees didn't order the bubbly. (In fact, Yankees boss George Steinbrenner was looking to roll some heads when he thought someone from his organization was responsible.)
Everyone's job is safe. The champagne was ordered by a member of the Astros front office.
PUT A CORK IN IT: A few weeks ago, Sosa helped out an old teammate, Rondell White of the Padres, by giving White a couple of bats to help him break out of a slump. "Take a couple of these and you'll start hitting," Sosa said.
"Ever since I started using Sammy's bats," White said, "I've been hitting better."
It's not what you think. White broke one of the bats and found nothing but wood inside.
"I've still got one left," White said, "and I've got no problem using it."
POWER OUTAGE: Houston's Jeff Bagwell, who has hit at least 30 homers in eight of the past nine seasons, was without a homer in 140 at-bats, the longest drought of his career, before hitting one Saturday. Bagwell hit a career-high 10 in April but has just two since.
"Right now, I'm Ichiro (Suzuki) without speed and without the batting average," he joked.
LOST ART: Entering the weekend, the league stolen-base leader was Florida's Juan Pierre, who is on pace to steal 62 bases this season. Twenty years ago, that would have been fifth in the majors, 46 behind the leader. Stolen bases aren't what they used to be.
"Philosophies have changed," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Teams aren't willing to possibly give up that out. A lot of teams don't run at all now. Parks are smaller and balls are jumping."
HIT AND RUN: If Braves pitcher Greg Maddux becomes a free agent next winter as expected, there are about 14 teams that shouldn't even bother making a pitch. Which 14? Well, the entire American League. After starting in Oakland last week, Maddux sounded like a guy who has no interest in a league that uses designated hitters.
"It's boring," he said. "You sit there (between innings). You're not a baseball player; you're a pitcher. You don't get to hit, or try to get a bunt down, nothing. You just pitch."
THE LONE RANGERS: After watching his team lose 10 of 11 recently, Rangers owner Tom Hicks said, "We're starting to be realistic about how this season is going to shape up."
Translation: Look for the Rangers to start dumping salary. They've already sent Ruben Sierra to the Yankees for a no-name minor-leaguer, and don't be surprised if Tampa's Carl Everett and Juan Gonzalez follow Sierra out the door.
The biggest bait the Rangers have might be closer Ugueth Urbina. The Red Sox, Cardinals, Giants and Yankees all have called.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?: Cleveland second baseman Brandon Phillips gets our vote for absurd quote of the season so far.
"I am not in a slump," he said. At the time, he was hitting .195.
The last time an Indians regular hit less than .200 for an entire season was in 1958 when Billy Hunter hit .195. Before that, you have to go back to 1917 to find a regular below .200.
FREE BIRD: You know how players come into games to a song blaring over the sound system? Well, Braves closer John Smoltz said he didn't care what was played, at least until he heard ABBA when he entered a game.
"I said, "That's it, I can't come running out to Dancing Queen,"' Smoltz said.
It was switched to the AC/DC song Thunderstruck, but now there's buzz that it should be switched to the Imperial March, the song played when the bad guys showed up in Star Wars.
"As far as me walking onto the field, I'm not a very intimidating guy," Smoltz said. "So it's not like I'm scaring anybody."
Maybe he should go back to Dancing Queen, then.
THROWING GAMES: The Dodgers led the majors in ERA, but remain in second place because they can't hit. They have the NL's worst batting average, and only one regular (catcher Paul LoDuca) was hitting better than .288 entering the weekend. They are last in the NL in runs, homers, walks, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
Centerfielder Dave Roberts said, "We keep tipping our caps to their pitchers, but there comes a point where it doesn't matter who they're pitching, we have to score some runs."
SHORT HOPS: San Diego's Bruce Bochy on managing interleague games in American League parks: "Put it this way. It's as close to having an off day without having a day off." ... The Dodgers signed their 26th-round pick from the draft - catcher Thomas Piazza. If the name sounds familiar, it should. He is the younger brother of Mike, the former Dodgers and current Mets catcher. ... There was talk before the season that Philadelphia's Pat Burrell, who signed a six-year, $50-million extension, would be an MVP candidate. But he came into the weekend hitting .201 with 11 homers, 28 RBIs and 73 strikeouts in 224 at-bats. ... The Padres, who appear headed to their fifth consecutive losing season, have better home attendance than the Twins, who appear headed to their third straight winning season and second division title in a row.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
