Congratulations to Barry Bonds for tying Mark McGwire's single-season home run mark and to Rickey Henderson for passing Ty Cobb's all-time runs scored record Thursday. Both players have proven they are two of Major League Baseball's greatest players.

A tip of the hat goes to Astros rookie Wilfredo Rodriguez for doing what an athlete is supposed to do -- compete. He competed against Bonds and lost, serving up home run No. 70 in the ninth inning. But there is no disgrace: 58 pitchers have lost to Bonds on 69 other occasions this season.

(Larry) Dierker managed scared the entire series, the pitchers pitched scared, and in the end the team played scared. And the Astros got swept in their own ballpark. I know most of the Astros players; they all wanted to compete, but they weren't allowed to compete. Dierker made a travesty of the game.

Before Rodriguez pitched to Bonds, every other pitcher had failed to challenge Bonds, beginning with San Diego's Brian Tollberg on Sunday. After the game Tollberg said he didn't want to give up Bonds' 70th home run ball. So he proceeded to bounce balls in the dirt and throw pitches well off the plate.

A team takes its cue from the manager. But I don't blame Padres manager Bruce Bochy for Tollberg's actions, since Tollberg said he wouldn't pitch to Bonds. In addition, the Padres have challenged Bonds all season, allowing more home runs (11) to him than any other team.

Houston's Larry Dierker, however, deserves all the blame for the Astros' approach to Bonds because Dierker managed scared the entire series, the pitchers pitched scared, and in the end the team played scared. And the Astros got swept in their own ballpark. I know most of the Astros players; they all wanted to compete, but they weren't allowed to compete.

Dierker made a travesty of the game. He did the wrong thing for his team, for the Houston fans and for baseball. In the three games, the Astros hit Bonds with a pitch once and walked him eight times -- and, believe me, all of them were intentional. The Giants scored 13 of their 25 runs in the series following a Bonds walk.

With the Astros down 8-1 in the sixth inning Thursday, Dierker had Bonds walked with one out and a runner on second. A team never wants to put more runners on base with a four- or five-run deficit because more runs could score. But Dierker went against conventional logic.

A few times in the series, when Bonds was up with runners on base, Dierker sent pitching coach Burt Hooten to the mound to tell the pitcher to not throw Bonds a fastball. Then after Hooten returned to the dugout, Bonds never got one pitch to hit.

The only time after an at-bat that I've seen Bonds get upset and frustrated all season came Wednesday night. With the Giants only leading 4-3 in the fifth inning, Dierker walked Bonds with runners on first and second and two outs. Bonds tore off his elbow padding before the fourth ball had been thrown and threw both the padding and his bat toward the dugout. He normally drops the bat and the padding. At that point, Bonds knew it was personal.

Dierker's singular goal was to keep Bonds from 70 home runs, not to beat the Giants and win the NL Central title. By continuing to follow his botched plan, the Astros lost three games and fell a game behind the Cardinals for the division lead.

In 1998, I admired the decision of former Expos manager Felipe Alou to pitch to Mark McGwire on the final three days of the season. At the time Alou said he would not taint the game by trying to stop one man from achieving a record. If McGwire were able to do it, Alou said, more power to him.

I have been an Astros fan since I began my major-league career in Houston in 1963. But the way Dierker handled the Bonds situation, I am not an Astros fan for their final three regular-season games.

One of baseball's weaknesses is that an opposing team can take a superstar out of the game. Hockey changed its rules to give its superstars more room on the ice. In basketball and football, teams can always give their superstar the ball. In baseball, teams can do what the Astros did -- throw the ball out of the zone and walk him. However, by trying to take Bonds out of the game, Dierker ended up taking his own team out of the game.

I have been an Astros fan since I began my major-league career in Houston in 1963. But the way Dierker handled the Bonds situation, I am not an Astros fan for their final three regular-season games.

Over the Giants' final three games, I expect the Dodgers to do the opposite and pitch to Bonds. L.A. manager Jim Tracy told me he learned a lot about managing while serving as a bench coach for Alou in Montreal. Therefore, I think Tracy will play the game. He will allow game circumstances to dictate how his pitchers will pitch to Bonds. Unlike Dierker, he won't actively try to keep Bonds from hitting No. 71.

With so few pitches to hit this season, Bonds is the most focused hitter I have ever seen. He stands at the plate, taking ball after ball. As soon as he gets a strike, he hits it. Pete Rose focused pretty well at the plate, but not as well as Bonds.

Bonds has never hurt the Giants by swinging at bad pitches to further his cause. He has taken walks to help them win, as he did against Houston. The way he has played, Bonds is the National League MVP and is on his way to completing the greatest individual season in my lifetime.

Babe Ruth is the only other major-league hitter to slug over .800, and he did it twice -- in 1920 (.847) and 1921 (.846). While Ruth hit for a higher average and drove in more runs in those seasons, Bonds may outslug Ruth and will finish with more walks and home runs.

This has been one of baseball's best seasons, one marked by outstanding individual accomplishments -- from Alex Rodriguez to Sammy Sosa to Luis Gonzalez to Bret Boone. But Bonds, with or without 71 home runs, has far surpassed them all.

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is a baseball analyst for ESPN.