Nats' Bacsik, next pitcher to face Bonds*, enjoying hype
Aug. 7, 2007
By Scott Miller
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Scott your opinion!
SAN FRANCISCO -- Ever wonder what the lion tamer thinks just before he steps into the cage?
Mike Bacsik faced Bonds* three times in '02 and didn't give up a home run. (AP)
"Oh, I'm glad you're here!" Washington starting pitcher Mike Bacsik tells me just after I introduce myself to him in the visiting dugout Monday afternoon.
Why, what a lovely sentiment.
"I do Fantasy Football with CBS SportsLine, and I've been having trouble with. ..."
Yes, you heard right.
Barry Bonds* is one swat away from going where no man has ever gone. The pitcher who served up No. 755 on Saturday was optioned to the minors quicker than you can say "Red Lion Inn."
And roughly 24 hours before he steps onstage for the biggest game of his life, the man who will take the ball Tuesday for the Nationals couldn't be happier to see me because there's a glitch with his Fantasy Football.
"I'm the Commissioner of our league," Bacsik explains. "And. ..."
I am an angel sent straight from heaven. I am a tow truck driver passing by at precisely the right moment. What can I say?
I'm here to help. And the way things are going, I'm figuring I may as well offer some advice on how to pitch to Bonds* as well: Away. Make him hit it to the opposite field.
"We're a bunch of nobodies, and everybody wants to talk to us right now," Bacsik says. "That's what's going on.
"Not many people know who's in the Nationals rotation, or even who's on the Nationals team. But it's kind of dream-come-true time. I've been in the minor leagues for 2½ years, and to pitch in this atmosphere against the Home Run King ... I couldn't ask for anything more right now."
He is 29, the Nationals signed him as a minor league free agent last winter after he went 11-0 with a 2.79 ERA in 28 appearances (10 starts) with Tucson, Arizona's Triple-A affiliate.
He represents most of the starting pitchers Bonds* will face this week from Washington and Pittsburgh: No-name guys who simply are trying to gain traction in the majors.
And guys who suddenly are getting more tips than an Arby's suggestion box.
"I've got friends telling me, 'Give it up and you'll be the answer to future Trivial Pursuit questions,'" Bacsik says. "And others are telling me, 'Why don't you hit him? I don't like him.'
"You know what? It's fun. This is the closest I've come to a World Series -- or playoff-type of atmosphere."
Soon as Bonds* finished going 0-for-3 with a walk before being removed in the eighth inning of San Francisco's 3-2, 11-inning win Monday night, Bacsik's turn was up.
Before now, he figures, the biggest game of his life probably was his first major league appearance (with Cleveland in 2001) or his first major league start (for the Mets in 2002).
Whatever happens Tuesday shouldn't scar him. If Bacsik was weak-kneed, he would have washed away years ago.
That first major league appearance in '01? It was against a Seattle club that would win 116 games that season, and he was summoned in relief in the third inning of a game the Indians already trailed 4-0. The bases were loaded and nobody was out.
"I was sweating," he says.
Two innings later, it was 12-0.
Eventually, the Mariners jacked up the lead to 14-2 ... before Cleveland stormed back to win 15-14, matching the largest deficit overcome to win a baseball game.
His first start?
"It was in Florida, and my parents were there," Bacsik says. "Nothing special, but it was special to me. Five innings. I was effectively wild."
He's faced Bonds* just once before, in '02. Even five years later, Bacsik vividly remembers the encounter: He hit the Giant with a pitch, induced a popup to the catcher and then retired him on a groundout to second.
"Anytime you face great hitters -- Bonds, Griffey, Sosa -- you're going to remember them," he says. "I don't have enough time in the big leagues to forget about guys."
He is 5-6 with a 4.19 ERA this season, is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA over his past starts and he has one very cool thing in common with Bonds*: Just as Barry's father Bobby was a major leaguer, Bacsik's father, Mike, pitched in the majors with Texas (1975-1977) and Minnesota (1978-1979).
"First father-son combo to play for Texas," he says, proudly, before adding with a smile: "Barry and Bobby have had a more distinguished career than the Bacsiks."
He spoke to his father the other day, and dad's advice?
"He said, 'Hey, go after him, and have some fun. If you give it up, you give it up. It's not a big deal -- you've got to be a pretty special player to do something that will be remembered,'" Bacsik says.
And so here it is. He plans to follow the Nationals gameplan to the letter, challenging Bonds* early and, if it's late and the game is on the line, putting him aboard if he has to, booing from the partisan AT&T crowd be ****ed.
"I'm going to enjoy it more now," he says, anticipating Tuesday's duel while recalling that '02 battle with Bonds. "I'm 29 now, not 24.
"I love baseball. And I know how big these games are."
And if he becomes the next Al Downing (who served up Hank Aaron's 715th), Tracy Stallard (Roger Maris' 61st) or Steve Trachsel (Mark McGwire's 62nd)?
Whatever happens, we can be pretty sure of two things: Bacsik will handle the moment with grace, and when the game is finished and I've solved his Fantasy mystery, he's going to be even happier to see me than he was on Monday.
Think I should tell him to not to be suckered into taking Daunte Culpepper on draft day as well?
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