The wait is over. Major League Baseball can put the special hologrammed baseballs away until next season when Barry Bonds approaches his godfather's 660 home runs. Willie Mays ranks behind only Babe Ruth's 714 homers and Hank Aaron's 755, all goals that appear reasonable for Barry.

Based on his current pace, he should finish the season with around 615 career homers. Even taking into account the increased risk of injury and decrease in hittable pitches he'll receive over the rest of his career, Bonds should be able to hit at least 30 homers a season through the end of his current contract, which expires after the 2006 season. He should compile 735 homers at minimum before the 2007 season, and he won't even turn 43 until June of that year. I think it's highly likely he'll return for another season beyond his current contract if he hasn't broken Aaron's record by then, even though he's said that it is not his goal to sit atop the list of career home run hitters.

We rearranged our schedule for three days around the Giants' games, determined to see Bonds hit 600, staying up to watch the west coast night games on Wednesday and Friday. Our reward came on Friday night when Bonds cranked a Kip Wells pitch over the centerfield fence at Pacific Bell Park, nearly taking out a cameraman, and causing a throng of people to mass towards the spot where the ball disappeared under the seats.

I almost didn't write this article, as Bonds seems so likely to leave this benchmark in the dust by the end of his career. However, the achievement is worth commemorating and Bonds provided added incentive yesterday by quietly setting another record. On Saturday, Bonds received his 44th, 45th, and 46th intentional walks this season to break Willie McCovey's single season record of 45 intentional walks with 46 games still remaining this year.

Meanwhile, Bonds' team continues to work towards the postseason. While they've been bothered by a few injuries, most have not sidelined vital players. Luckily, the Giants possess a fairly diversified bench that can absorb a limited number of injuries. San Francisco remains watchful over the health of Bonds' hamstrings, giving him extra days off rather than risk losing him for a long stretch.

The Giants placed Ramon E. Martinez on the disabled list at the beginning of June with a concussion. San Francisco's decision was likely based as much on the need to make room on the roster for Rich Aurilia's return from the DL as it was on Martinez's health. Aurilia was able to return quite quickly from surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow in late May and only missed the minimum 15 days. Martinez was also able to return quickly to the Giants.

San Francisco designated Tom Goodwin for assignment to clear room for Martinez's return in mid-June. Fortunately, Goodwin accepted a minor league assignment after passing through waivers, so he was available in early July to fill Marvin Benard's roster spot when the Giants placed Benard on the DL with torn cartilage in his left knee. Benard underwent surgery shortly after hitting the disabled list and likely won't be able to rejoin the team this season.

More recently the Giants placed Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Jay Witasick on the disabled list in late July due to a strained right hamstring and a bruised foot respectively. Shinjo's almost completed his rehab, so San Francisco expects to have him back this week. Witasick has also begun a rehab assignment, though the timing of his return is somewhat less certain. He may be able to rejoin the Giants late this week, but he could also need more time. Manny Aybar has replaced Witasick on the roster and performed quite well for the Giants in limited bullpen work.

San Francisco called up Tony Torcato to replace Shinjo on the roster. However Torcato was only with the major league team for three days before the Giants returned him to the minors to make room for the newly acquired Kenny Lofton. Lofton has experienced some health problems recently with his hamstring and right knee but is considered day-to-day rather than a candidate for the DL at this point.

The Giants drafted Torcato out of high school with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 1998 draft. After he signed, Torcato spent the remainder of the 1998 season at Salem-Keizer in the Short-Season Northwest League. San Francisco assigned him to A+ Bakersfield in the California League for the 1999 season. Torcato split the 2000 season between A+ and AA Shreveport in the Texas League. Last season he again played at several levels, spending time at A+, AA, and AAA Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. After playing in the 2001 Arizona Fall League, Torcato remained at AAA Fresno this season aside from his brief stint in the majors. In 423 AAA AB, he has 120 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, and 12 HR with a 28:54 BB:K and 4/10 SB% for a .284 BA, .328 OBP, and .428 SLG.

San Francisco grabbed Scott Eyre off waivers from Toronto on Thursday. The Giants have had difficulty with their left-handed relief all season due to an unexpected drop in the skills of Aaron Fultz, and the season-ending injury to Jason Christiansen. San Francisco even went so far as to demote Fultz in order to see if Troy Brohawn would be more effective. The team hopes that Eyre will be the southpaw to fix their problem. In order to clear room for Eyre on the roster, they outrighted Brohawn to AAA.

In mid-June the Giants claimed Jason Pearson off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to AAA, although he likely could have helped them with their left-handed relief in the majors. San Francisco designated Pearson for Thursday in a move I thought was to clear room on the 40-man for Eyre, but then they made the move with Brohawn, so I believe they now have only 39 players on their 40-man roster. Teams frequently have a spot or two open on the 40-man when shuffling players. However, this may indicate that the Giants are preparing to complete a waiver trade to help with their push for the playoffs. Recent rumors indicate the Giants may be looking to add a starter, a move that could push Livan Hernandez to the bullpen.