Barry Bonds is the new home run king. It’s sad though. But we’ll live.

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It’s all the same story really. The shot came off of Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik in the bottom of the fifth inning in a full count.

Barry…oh Barry! You sly fox, you!! Did Barry Bonds look at the schedule before hand and planned to break the record against either Milwaukee or Atlanta? Or does fate have a cruel way of aligning the stars. So much for an 0-21 slump that the media picked at for so long. He broke out of that with 2 Home Runs, and if you saw them, they weren’t ordinary Home Runs. Those pitches were absolutely slaughtered.

The reason I ask about Barry looking at the schedule is that he begins a series against Milwaukee tonight (Friday) to Sunday at Milwaukee. Then Bonds moves back to San Francisco to play not a regular 3-game series but a 4-game series against…the Atlanta Braves. Talk about fate…or planning.

I said “Bonds” begins a series because it’s not about the Giants anymore. All eyes are on Barry Bonds. The Giants are out of the race, and now they aren’t even in the picture. It’s Barry time. The media will be swarming, and what better way to have the media eating out of your hands, than on your home turf against the team for whom the record stands.

What would the Braves do? What would Bobby Cox do? Would you walk Barry and let him break the record against some other team? Or would you challenge him to preserve the integrity of Hank Aaron’s grit and determination. In fact, if the Braves walk Barry, how would Aaron react, because oftentimes he’s said that records are made to be broken. That may sound cliché, but perhaps it’s true. Records are meant to be broken, but by whom?

The Journal News reports that the Yankees may be looking at former Diamondback and Athletic Erubiel Durazo. Durazo is currently plying his trade in the Mexican League.

The Yankees GM said that they haven’t signed Durazo, while Pinestripes PA , a Yankees blog (both the bigs and the minors) begs to differ. Durazo had some good seasons even though most came with limited playing time. He had some good power with the Athletics and that may be what the Yankees are hoping for.

If Durazo really signed with the Yankees, then it makes it even more likely that they will no longer pursue Shea Hillenbrand. I can see why…

Big Vlad is the new Home Run Derby Champion. This year’s derby lacked a certain…I don’t know what. The left-handers Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder and Justin Morneau failed to entertain with the Cove.

Guerrero needed only 3 HRs to win, after Alex Rios hit only 2 in the final.

A good job by MLB for showing the derby online at MLB.com; not everyone will be able to allocate time to watch it on TV.