It's funny the way the media thinks: thoughts on Bonds, Glavine, Howard

Three big baseball milestones were reached during the 2007 season, and all three happened on the same weekend.

Of course, those would be Alex Rodriguez's 500th homer, Barry Bonds' 755th dinger (to tie Hank Aaron), and Tom Glavine's 300th win. While A-Rod and Glavine's achievements were celebrated - and rightfully so - Bonds' was largely ignored or criticized because of the alleged steroid controversy. People actually want A-Rod to someday eclipse Bonds' new record, and others want Ryan Howard to eventually do that too.

Now, I have a problem with Bonds' achievement being trashed by fans and the media across America. After all, this was a piece of history that everyone had witnessed, and it should not have been disregarded. But I will dissect that issue down the road. Right now, I want to focus on Glavine, and my curiosity as to why the media seems to have this undeserved love affair with him.

All season long, on baseball telecasts, I hear broadcasters on the Glavine bandwagon, saying it was great to see him get his 300th win and all that. But where were all the naysayers when he blew the Mets' 2007 season with that brutal start in the regular-season finale? Meanwhile, people criticized Bonds for not having a "great" season. Almost every single time you turn onto some talk show, people were bashing Bonds. Hello? What were they talking about? Bonds hit 28 home runs in 2007 - which is not among the league leaders - but people forget that Bonds was walked almost every time the game was on the line. In fact, Bonds ended up with only 340 at-bats for the season. 28 homers and 66 ribbies in 340 at-bats aren't too shabby. If every pitcher started walking A-Rod or Howard like crazy, would either of them be able to hit 40 home runs? People said "oh, Bonds hit only .276." But again, if the Giants had any kind of protection for Bonds in their lineup, he would be seeing better pitches. Put it this way, if Bonds were in the Yankees' lineup, his numbers would be much better. And let's not forget - Bonds plays half of his games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark.

Speaking of Howard, I learned something new this season. As long as you hit home runs and your team wins the division, it doesn't matter how much you strike out. It doesn't matter how low your batting average is, either. Ryan Howard struck out an incredible 199 times in 2007. One hundred and ninety-nine! Was Howard scrutinized? Nope. Geez, I guess because he's a nice guy, hits home runs (he had 47), and his team came out on top in the NL East, beating Glavine's Mets. And oh yeah, Howard hit .268 for the season. (Hmm, wasn't that lower than Bonds? Again, no one scrutinized Howard.) And wait - Howard didn't suddenly learn how to strike out this year. Didn't he fan 181 times in '06? Oh, right. He hit 58 home runs, so that was why he deserved the NL MVP award. Funny.

And oh yes, Glavine.

One problem I have with him is that he expects the umpires to give him all the breaks. I remember him saying before that elite pitchers like him should get the calls from the umps if they could hit the outside corner. And he further stated that rookies should not get the benefit of the doubt from the same umps if these first-year pitchers hit that same spot, because - get this - they haven't proven they could hit the corners consistently. Hello? That is laughable. Wouldn't a strike be a strike regardless of who's pitching? I don't care if it's Glavine or Gustavo Chacin pitching; if a pitch is a strike for one pitcher, it has to be a strike for an opposing pitcher in the same game. That comment and thinking alone, makes me not be a Glavine fan. Strike one.

Next, his pitching performance down the stretch wasn't that great either. The '07 Mets lost his final four starts of the season on their way to an epic collapse, and in Glavine's last two starts, he had an ERA of 21.94. 13 runs in 5 1/3 innings, along with three home runs. Yup, that's clutch pitching all right. I wonder why Glavine is still regarded as one of the clutch pitchers of his era. And please don't say the 1995 World Series. When you get that many chances to pitch in the Fall Classic (as he has had), you're bound to have a few good games now and then. Of course, mediocre players have also won W.S. MVPs too. So what? Are we going to call Pat Borders one of the greatest ever for having a hot two weeks in the 1992 Classic? Besides, Glavine's MVP was over 12 years ago. I remember he was killed in the '92 NLCS against Pittsburgh and in the '97 series against the Marlins, and the 2000 Divisional Series in St. Louis. The point is, his pitching hasn't been that great. Strike two.

Well, I don't need to have a third strike to indict Glavine. Bonds was attacked by the media for being a so-called jerk and for the steroid controversy. That's two things. I think for Glavine, those above two are enough. I think it's about time for the media to end this love affair with the former Mets hurler. Well, since I started this, let's get Howard in the mix too. High strikeout totals, low batting average. You're out too, Ryan!