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THE DAY AFTER
Bonds confident he'll send national media home soon
John Shea, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, August 6, 2007

(08-06) 04:00 PDT San Diego -- He feels it. He anticipates it. Now all he needs is for someone to throw a pitch for him to hit it.

Barry Bonds rediscovered his stroke in extended rounds of batting practice early Saturday, and it showed when he hit his 755th home run in the second inning off Clay Hensley, who on Sunday was optioned to the minors - not, the Padres say, because he served up the pitch to Bonds.

Now the trick for Bonds is to maintain the stroke so that he can hit No. 756 in front of the one fan base that almost universally supports him. The Giants open a seven-game homestand tonight against Washington, and lefty John Lannan, who never has faced Bonds, will make his third big-league start.

"If I keep my mechanics right, you guys won't be around long," Bonds said Sunday to a massive group of reporters, mostly national scribes who'll remain on the beat until Bonds hits one more homer to break Henry Aaron's record.

Bonds sat out Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Padres, resting after appearing in nine straight games and giving himself time to catch his breath after the big 7-5-5.

He said he received lots of congratulatory calls from friends, family and associates, including Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, who hit his 500th homer off Kansas City's Kyle Davies hours before Bonds went deep off Hensley.

Aaron did not call.

If Bonds feeds off Saturday's BP as much as he thinks he might, it could be a productive week. The Giants play four against Washington and three against Pittsburgh.

"My batting practice was like spring training 2001, when I couldn't miss hitting it out," said Bonds, who hit 73 homers that year, eclipsing Mark McGwire's season record.

"When I'm swinging the way I was in batting practice, I can tell. There are things that if you make a mistake, you're going to lose. I've been there before, 22 years. I know exactly what I'm capable of doing. I know if I get into position to do things, you're in trouble."

Take note, Mr. Lannan.

Lannan is known mostly as the guy who was ejected from his major-league debut after plunking Philadelphia's Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Utley has a broken right hand, hurting the Phillies' playoff hopes.

"I heard of him," Bonds said of Lannan, "but I don't know him."

Hensley was more familiar to Bonds. He's a former Giants farmhand who had faced Bonds in 11 at-bats before Saturday. Sunday, the Padres, short on relievers, called up Mike Thompson from Triple-A Portland. Hensley got sent down.

"He did?" Bonds said. "That sucks."

Hensley and Bonds spoke briefly in the tunnel outside the clubhouses late Saturday, and Bonds sent him an autographed bat. During the conversation, they agreed the pitch would have been called a ball if Bonds hadn't swung.

"Obviously, it's a huge deal for the media and fans and everybody. But to me, it's just another home run," Hensley said. "We're trying to win a ballgame, first and foremost. It's a big accomplishment. Congrats to Barry. But it's not something I'm going to watch over and over on TV."

Hensley didn't answer a question about whether he felt the record would be tainted, but the pitcher did address his 15-game suspension in the minors for testing positive for steroids: "You make mistakes when you're younger. I made a mistake. I served my penalty. That's all I really want to say about it."

Bonds didn't have much time after the 13-inning game to throw a party.

"Sat down at the hotel for a minute, took my kid up to bed," he said. "I've got an 8-year-old, guys. There's nothing I could do. I don't have a nanny."

If it was a quiet night Saturday, it's expected to be rowdy tonight when the new all-time co-leader in homers is greeted by Giants fans.

Commissioner Bud Selig, who was in San Diego over the weekend, is expected to miss the next couple of games. Major League Baseball will be represented by Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive vice president of baseball operations.

Mays is expected to be in the house. According to a club spokesman, Mays attempted to fly to San Diego Sunday morning, just in case Bonds pinch hit and broke the record, but a plane malfunction kept him home.

Though Bonds is on the verge of becoming the career homers king, he reflected on tying and passing Mays' 660 in April 2004, saying, "Nothing's bigger than my godfather. That's family. Nothing's bigger than family."

What about breaking the record in San Francisco?

"I'd love to do a lot of things, but a lot of good fortunes have to come with that," Bonds said. "There's no pressure on me to do it right away. But I want to do the things I've done to keep my mechanics right."

E-mail John Shea at jshea@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Love him or hate him, the single season HR record and now this among others put him all the way up there with the gods of the game.