Barry's Final San Francisco Goodbye

Whether it's fair or not, there's only one baseball place on earth where Barry Bonds is beloved: AT&T Park in San Francisco. And tonight's the last night he'll ever be able to bask in that love.

It's Barry's last night in San Francisco as a Giant, and even though he'll be with another team next year, with their own fans, he'll never receive the unmitigated, unrestrained ovation that he will tonight. Even from fans who are kind of tired of him.

I'll miss Barry Bonds because I'll miss watching him play. I so, so, so won't miss talking about him, though. Wearing a Giants hat in another part of the country is a conversation-starter, but it's always a stupid conversation. Why do you root for Bonds? How can you root for Bonds? When would you stop rooting for Bonds? My answers, in order: Dunno, Eli Whitney, and I like banana cream pies. There's no sense in explaining it anymore.

The ovation Barry gets tonight — and he will get a huge one — is very likely the last, and biggest, he'll ever receive. No matter who he's playing for next year, tonight's how we will remember him. For better or worse, for the sake of the game, for whatever: The Barry Bonds we have known and hated and debated and defended and despised for a decade now ... that Barry Bonds ends tonight.

Open Game Thread, 9/26 [McCovey Chronicles]