Bonds’ Slump Is a Drag on Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — Another afternoon slipped by, another 40,000 people sat down, and by the time the evening breeze brought the seagulls to scavenge AT&T; Park’s bleachers, Barry Bonds had made no progress on Babe Ruth.

Hitless in four plate appearances, still at Ruth’s door, Bonds had packed his gear after eight innings. He was in the clubhouse after being replaced in left field for the ninth inning, presumably watching when his teammates went out on their four-run ninth inning to beat the Dodgers.

For the moment, the pressing concern for the Giants is less Bonds’ failure to catch Ruth, but the impact it has on their offense. Bonds’ slump and Moises Alou’s sprained ankle have left the Giants with middle-of-the-order issues, and they had lost nine times in 13 games before Danys Baez took the ball in the ninth.

Hoping to get Bonds thinking like a hitter again, Manager Felipe Alou wrote him into the third spot for the first time in three years, and hit Steve Finley fourth and Pedro Feliz fifth.

The immediate impact on Bonds was nominal. He struck out, lined to left field and walked against starter Aaron Sele and grounded to first base against reliever Takashi Saito.

He is hitless in his last 13 at-bats, one for 17 since home run No. 713 and is batting .222 this season. His career average has fallen just below .300, to .2993.

In his fourth season as Giants manager, Alou said he and Bonds had their first comprehensive conversation about hitting Saturday morning. Alou arose assuming Bonds, limping on an arthritic right knee, would not play against the Dodgers. When Alou arrived at the ballpark, however, Bonds was preparing for the game.

Despite Alou’s desire to provide him ample rest, Bonds has played five consecutive games for only the second time this season, and is expected to play today. Bonds preferred to tie and pass Ruth at home, where the fans are generally supportive. After today’s game, the Giants play their next six in Houston and Oakland.

“What I’d like to see is Barry going back to the hitter he is, not just a long-ball hitter,” Alou said. “Barry is too good of a hitter to be one for 14 right now.”

Bonds then had three more fruitless at-bats.

Alou would not address the possibility that Bonds has slumped because of the burden of steroid accusations, along with his proximity to Ruth. Bonds hasn’t spoken to reporters since Tuesday.

“He’s not out there trying to hit home runs,” Finley said. “He’s concentrating on hitting the ball hard. Pretty soon, they’re going to start getting out of the ballpark.”