Bonds Show Isn't Short on Drama

PHILADELPHIA, June 1 -- The Summer of Barry has arrived, and it's going to be a long, hot one. At one point, back in the cool, early days of May, it seemed as if the Summer of Barry would be short and mild, as its focal point, Barry Bonds, set a fast pace on his march toward Hank Aaron's record, which might have fallen next week had that pace continued. Perhaps it was inevitable that it could not. Perhaps it was even by design.

Because look what has happened: Bonds, the San Francisco Giants' polarizing left fielder, has only one homer in the Giants' past 19 games, after going 1 for 2 with a double and two walks Friday night against the Philadelphia Phillies. His homer total is stuck in the mid-740s -- 746, to be precise -- while Aaron's record 755 still sits there in the distance, guarded by the dwindling few who still believe there is hope of keeping it out of Bonds's clutches.

"I like to string things out," Bonds said with a goofy grin when asked about his diminished home run pace. "I'm drama, dawg. I'm drama. C'mon, if I didn't string you guys along, you'd have nothing to talk about."

Presumably, Bonds was kidding when he said that, during an eight-minute question-and-answer session with reporters in the Giants' dugout before Friday night's game. Bonds was in a rare, playful mood that had the media pack cracking up at some of his one-liners, and rolling its collective eyes at others.

And yet, joking or not, Bonds hit upon something true: The Summer of Barry is only going to get longer and hotter. If you can't stand the heat, and you wish the whole thing would just go away, by all means stay inside. But whatever you do, don't turn on your television.

If someone wanted to turn this entire baseball season into the Summer of Barry, he or she would begin by putting the Aaron record -- which is merely the most important mark, arguably, in all of sports -- out in front of him, 21 homers away, at season's start. Then, after a tantalizing flourish of homers in the season's first four weeks (nine, to be exact), the homers would slow to a trickle, stretching out the record-breaking march to maximize well, the drama, dawg.

Then, Major League Baseball would want to schedule the All-Star Game at Bonds's home stadium, San Francisco's AT&T Park -- the date of which, July 10, coincides nicely with the more leisurely home run pace Bonds is now on. Next, you would want to ensure Bonds is elected to the National League's starting lineup -- which seems likely, since he ranked second among outfielders in this week's first balloting update. Having Bonds in the lineup would ensure the entire all-star week celebration would have Bonds as its focal point.

It also would help if the Summer of Barry also were the Summer of Steroids -- since the two intersect somewhere on the horizon -- with hysteria over the steroids issue, and Bonds as its enduring symbol, at an all-time high.

Everywhere but in San Francisco, Bonds is baseball's greatest villain, and on Friday night the Philadelphia fans did their part to uphold their city's tradition of inhospitality toward visiting players. Bonds was booed during the reciting of the starting lineups, booed when he moved into the on-deck circle and booed during each of his four plate appearances before departing for a pinch runner in the fifth inning.

For once, though, Bonds seemed comfortable with the notion that this summer would be all about him. Perhaps it was the symbolic importance of the voting update -- showing that, no matter what the media report, and no matter what the pollsters say, the fans still love him (or at least hate him enough to want to see him in the All-Star Game). Or perhaps it was an escape from New York -- where the Giants lost two of three games to the Mets earlier this week and where Bonds was roundly jeered whenever the ball came near him -- that had him in such a playful mood.

Asked if it was difficult to "tune out" the media attention this year, Bonds answered: "Why do I need to tune you in? There's no reason to tune you in. None. Zero."

After chiding reporters for forming opinions of him without taking the time to get to know him, one voice from the pack asked, "If we wanted to get to you know you, would you let us?" To which Bonds replied, "Sure, at your house."

As has become his custom this season, Bonds recorded the question-and-answer session on a digital recorder, holding up the first question until he had properly clicked it on. Asked what is the purpose of the recorder, Bonds adopted a Bill Cosby tone. "So I can post you on my Web site," he said, "and if you write anything crazy, it's going to be on there, sir."

As has also become his custom, Bonds deflected questions about Aaron's record and about the crowd's treatment of him on the road. "As long as they all show up, I don't really care," he said in regard to the latter. "As long as it's sold out, and we put on a good show."

Bonds acknowledged that he is in the midst of a slump, and made a vague reference to some soreness when he wakes up, but otherwise gave no further hints as to the origin of his latest home run drought -- save for the "drama, dawg" explanation, which might not have been a joke after all.

And as the session broke up, and the sea of reporters parted to allow him through, Bonds cocked his head slightly and said by way of goodbye: "Be good. Have a nice life."