Second thoughts

Bonds smiles through boos in Pittsburgh

Barry Bonds made an appearance at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Monday to present Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen with his MVP trophy to the cheers and boos of Pirates fans.

Bonds, who played for the Pirates in 1986-1992 before leaving in free agency to sign with the San Francisco Giants, was joined by Pirates legend Dick Groat and former manager Jim Leyland, who presented Clint Hurdle with his National League Manager of the Year award from last season.

The reaction to Bonds’ return was mixed, according to several media members.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pirates beat writer Jenn Menendez: “From field level it sounded like Pittsburgh showed more love for Barry Bonds than anger. 70-30 cheers-to-boos ratio.”

Post-Gazette sports writer Bill Brink: “Quick takeaways: Bonds smiled through entire pres sconference, happy to return w/ Leyland, crowd seemed generally in favor, though some boos.”

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune: “Pirates fans boo Barry Bonds but he appears oblivious.”

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Dejan Kovacevic: “And Bonds gets booed. Bigtime. Actually forces [Pirates broadcaster] Greg Brown to pause.” Trout feast

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout celebrated his new six-year, $144.5 million contract the only way he knew how: By eating the largest steak he could find.

Trout and teammate Garrett Richards ordered 36-ounce steaks at a restaurant in Anaheim on Saturday night after the Angels’ exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“No word on how much steak was consumed, but eating a third would be an accomplishment on its own,” wrote Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports.

Certainly Trout has come a long way since he played for the Arkansas Travelers in 2011.

Impressive, sir

Miami Gulliver Prep senior Joe Dunand achieved a feat even his uncle would be proud of.

His uncle?

Alex Rodriguez.

Dunand, 18, finished 10 for 12 with 9 home runs, including 8 consecutive home runs on his final 8 swings, according to the Miami Herald, in the Horizon National Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., this past week.

Gulliver went 4-1 in the tournament and Dunand was named the offensive MVP before the championship game was played.

“It’s the most unbelievable thing,” Gulliver Coach Javier Rodriguez said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. It looked like a video game at one point. It didn’t matter what they were trying to throw at him, everything was gone.”

Rodriguez said he was impressed with his nephew’s performance.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Rodriguez said. “His last eight swings were home runs. Everyone was in awe.”

Dunand has committed to North Carolina State. But Rodriguez said he believes Dunand will have a hard time repeating his performance in Arizona.

“I hope he continues what he was doing out there, but nothing is going to top this,” Rodriguez said. “Not even if he is a major league 15-year All-Star, he won’t be able to top this.”

Dunand was in awe, like his coach and uncle.

“I was surprised, but I wasn’t complaining,” he said. “I was just letting it happen. I was seeing the ball very well. I just hit it and it kept going every time.”Quote of the day “I’m a pretty low maintenance guy at my

core. Money doesn’t drive me.” Arkansas women’s basketball coach Jimmy Dykes

Sports, Pages 18 on 04/01/2014

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