Computer Monkey:  Bonds

(04-26) 04:00 PDT Los Angeles --
This is where Barry Bonds hears the loudest boos, where the chants of
"STER-OIDS!" echo loudest and where he most loves to answer the catcalls by
sending baseballs over the wall.

Bonds hit his 64th home run against Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Only
San Diego (86) has allowed more. It was his 29th at Dodger Stadium, a three-run
laser to center field against left-hander Randy Wolf in the first inning of a
6-4 Giants victory.

A team that started 2-7 and had San Franciscans wondering if it might lose
100 games has won seven in a row for the first time since 2004 and can complete
a revenge road sweep against the Dodgers tonight behind Russ Ortiz.

Bonds' 741st home run left him 14 shy of Hank Aaron's all-time record and
puts him on pace to hit his 755th in San Francisco on a date of his choice, the
way he usually arranges these things.

Bonds reached a pair of milestones with Wednesday's homer. It gave him
1,389 RBIs as a Giant to establish a San Francisco record formerly held by
Willie McCovey. Also, his 2,165th run moved him into a tie with Pete Rose for
fifth place all-time.

After the game, Bonds performed a re-enactment of German troops busting
through the Maginot Line as he shot past reporters standing by his locker. But
manager Bruce Bochy deftly described his feelings watching Bonds give the
Giants a 4-0 lead four batters into the game after Randy Winn, Todd Linden and
Rich Aurilia singled to produce a run.

"You like him up there," Bochy said. "He's an impact player. I can't say
any more than what I've already said about him. He's so dangerous. I enjoy
watching him."

Said Wolf, "I think he got it off the end of the bat, but he's so strong
he can hit that out. He can change the pace of the game, and he did."

Bonds offered an interesting take on the power of negative thinking when
he addressed reporters Tuesday.

"I don't worry about things when things are going bad because it's already
there anyway," he said. "I panic when I'm going good because I'm trying to
figure out how long that's going to last. That's an old (saying) of my dad.
Don't panic when it's bad because it's already bad. You can only make it worse.
Panic when it's going good because it can only last for a day, it can last for
two weeks or whatever.

"Whenever you're doing good, that's when I'm worried."

If so, Bonds' must be eating his fingernails to the nubs because he has
started the season hot. He is batting .346 and has seven homers in 52 at-bats.

Pedro Feliz hit an equally important home run to the opposite field in the
sixth inning. It gave the Giants a 5-4 lead after the Dodgers scored twice in
the first and twice in the fourth against winning pitcher Noah Lowry to tie the
game.

The Giants added an insurance run in the eighth against Jonathan Broxton,
the first he has allowed in 17 outings dating to September. Bonds broke his bat
on an 0-2 pitch and singled, Dave Roberts pinch-ran and stole second and Ray
Durham delivered the run-scoring single.

"I'll tell you what. We're doing everything right," Lowry said. "We're
playing defense, hitting, stealing bags, getting base hits, scoring runs.
Everybody is going into their roles and taking care of whatever they have to
take care of, and we're winning games."

That includes a suddenly impenetrable bullpen that has not allowed a run
in its last 15 innings. Vinnie Chulk pitched for the first time in eight days
and retired Nomar Garciaparra to end the seventh and Jeff Kent to open the
eighth. Jack Taschner and Brad Hennessey finished the inning and Armando
Benitez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save of the series, his fourth in
the team's last five games and sixth overall.

As for the defense, Bochy reserved special praise for Aurilia, who moved
to short so a struggling Omar Vizquel could take a game off. Aurilia made
several nice plays, none better than fielding Andre Ethier's sharp grounder in
the fourth and throwing to third to start a rundown that resulted in Russell
Martin being tagged out.

"I can't say enough about the job Richie did at short," Bochy said. "It's
not easy moving around (the infield). He's adjusting well."

E-mail Henry Schulman at hschulman@sfchronicle.com (Related) .

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

Printable Version (Related) Email This Article (Related)