Sports Redux: The 755 Edition

It occurred at 7:29 PST on Saturday, after Padres pitcher Clay Hensley unleashed a first-inning fastball with a 2-and-1 count and the resulting shot soared 382 feet to a point beyond left field. And that was that - Hank Aaron was no longer the sole holder of baseball's most hallowed record. Barry Bonds had joined that club by tying the home run record with his 755th blast.

Kudos to the Globe's Nick Cardofo, who neatly and yet professionally summed up the conflicting emotions that have surrounded this home run race with the first sentence of his article today: A sea of flashbulbs resembled flickering asterisks while a mixed chorus of jeers and cheers reflected the split emotions at Petco Park and around the nation last night when Barry Bonds launched his 755th career home run in the second inning against San Diego Padres pitcher Clay Hensley, tying Hank Aaron for first on the all-time list. A sea of flashbulbs resembling flickering asterisks - niiiiiiice, Nick.

Also nice - and not at all surprising - was the goodwill demonstrated by a former member of the Red Sox. Smilin' Dave Roberts was one of the first to congratulate Bonds. Would we be jumping for the chance to pat Barry on the back? No, we're more of the Padres "Ignore, ignore, ignore" school of thought. But Dave has always been a classy guy and that was a classy move, much as we hate to admit it.

So there we go. The record is tied and now we have to wait for Barry to break it. Is there any way the guy can decide to retire now and retain at least a sliver of dignity? We didn't think so either.

-- With that in mind, we're going to extend hearty Bostonist congratulations to Alex Rodriguez, who on Saturday became the youngest baseball player to hit 500 career home runs. Cheering for a Yankee? Yes, because we're looking forward to the day when A-Rod breaks Barry's record. Sure, the guy tries to cheat when it comes to baserunning, but A-Rod is more honorable than Bonds.

-- The Red Sox also delivered a noteworthy, West Coast performance on Saturday. The seemingly hapless visitors to Seattle ended a Safeco Park losing streak and Daisuke Matsuzaka finally got his much-coveted victory over Ichiro the Mariners at the end of the 4-3 game.

No question that Dice-K brought his A game, with 10 strikeouts, a rocket of an arm and a steely resolve that earned him his 13th victory of the season. We personally got a kick out of the way he smacked his glove at the end of four innings - it seemed as if hanging out with Beckett, Paps and the rest of the pitching crew is starting to rub off on the guy.

Image of Bonds by flickr user foreverdigital