Pat Burrell brings back memories of Barry Bonds

And the prodigal son shall return to his Bay Area roots to guide the Giants to the promised land.

Hey, if it ain't Barry Bonds, why not Pat Burrell?

What Bonds couldn't do in 15 years, Burrell is trying to do in little more than 15 weeks. Both grew up south of Candlestick Park - Bonds graduating from San Mateo's Serra High School, Burrell from San Jose's Bellarmine College Prep - envisioning wearing black and orange one day, and each got the opportunity to play left field for his boyhood team.

Bonds, who began his career in Pennsylvania (as a Pirate) as did Burrell (as a Phillie), never got a World Series ring. For that matter, nobody has for this team in San Francisco, but now another aging power hitter is giving it a whirl, hoping his presence can help make a difference.

Burrell's first postseason hit in 2010 was a three-run homer Friday night that gave the Giants momentum in Game 2 of the Division Series until the Braves tied it in the eighth, forced extra innings and won it 5-4 in the 11th on Rick Ankiel's homer.

Burrell, who batted .266 with 18 homers and 51 RBIs in 96 games, has nine game-winning RBIs and was on the verge of No. 10 with his first-inning homer. After Freddy Sanchez singled and Buster Posey drew a two-out walk, Burrell moseyed to the plate, joked with friend Brian McCann, the catcher, and sent Tommy Hanson's first pitch halfway up the bleachers.

"We didn't bury them early. We kind of went in cruise control after the homer," said Aubrey Huff, adding Burrell's contributions have been invaluable. "We wouldn't be here playing these games without him. That's how big he's been for us."

With Burrell, as with Bonds in his later years, the package includes questionable defense. Burrell's error on Derrek Lee's sixth-inning single permitted Lee to advance to second - he scored on a McCann single. It was 4-1 when Brian Wilson replaced Sergio Romo in the eighth, and the Braves quickly made it 4-4, so Burrell wasn't getting the decisive hit.

In the Bonds era, management brought in players to complement the king of homers. In Burrell's case, he's a complementary guy himself, signed in May when he was jobless after the Rays dumped him and his .202 average.

"He's been great in key situations, but the biggest thing with Burrell is being able to go to him and talk to him," said pitcher Matt Cain, who was in line to win his playoff debut after surrendering one unearned run in 6 2/3 innings. "He can walk you through games when you're pitching. He's a guy who's been in this situation, so he's a great guy to go to and steal some knowledge from."

The Giants' gain was the Padres' loss.

Friday, the San Diego Union-Tribune ran a column quoting Padres CEO Jeff Moorad saying he wished Burrell would have signed with San Diego. Moorad was Burrell's agent before jumping into management/ownership and said he had mentioned the outfielder's name to general manager Jed Hoyer, though it did no good.

In retrospect, Moorad said he should have more heavily suggested a pursuit of Burrell, and Hoyer said, "Jeff was absolutely right about Pat. In hindsight, I wish he had pushed harder."



(sfgate.com)