Notes: Bonds feeling close to ready

03/16/2006
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- There's bad news for pitchers coming out of the Giants camp.
Barry Bonds is feeling good despite sore hamstrings due to heavy leg workouts, there's no swelling in his thrice-repaired right knee, and as for his batting eye, that .777 average, three homers and six RBIs say it all.
Bonds, who didn't travel to Surprise for Thursday's game against the Texas Rangers, won't evaluate his overall physical condition during the spring, saying he's only trying to get in shape for the regular season, but when asked if could play nine innings now, the answer was yes.
With a caveat.
"I'm able to play a nine-inning game now," said Bonds after a round of batting practice at Scottsdale Stadium. "You saw it in the World [Baseball] Classic, we're capable of playing nine. Do you want to? No, not when you can take advantage of the rest period."
Every day is different in Arizona, says Bonds, who turns 42 on July 12 and feels the effects after 20 professional seasons.
"Some days you feel you're ready to go and the next morning you wake up and all of a sudden your swing has left you, your back's all tight and you're just grateful to have extra days [off]."
The left fielder said he feels comfortable in the cleanup spot, and expects Moises Alou to bat fifth, with Steve Finley powering the third hole, switching with Ray Durham.
Although manager Felipe Alou fears Bonds will be routinely walked this season -- the slugger was walked 230 times in 2004, 120 intentionally -- the player isn't concerned.
He's certainly used to the four-finger waggle.
"I don't really care; I gotta run the bases more," said Bonds, whose theory is he's really not the focus of the passes. "The [walks] are based on how the team does, it's never based on how I do. It's the guy behind you, or what I'm doing in front of him, or the guy ahead of me. That's baseball. That's just common sense."
Correia's big day: Lost in the fifth-starter competition -- supposedly between Brad Hennessey and Jamey Wright -- is 25-year-old right-hander Kevin Correia, who had a sensational outing in the Giants' 4-3 loss to Texas in Surprise on Thursday.
Correia allowed a game-opening double to David Dellucci, then retired the next 12 batters in a four-frame shutout, recording two strikeouts.
"I'm trying to get quicker outs this year," said Correia. "Today I got ahead of a lot of guys and forced them to swing at some pitches. It went as good as it could have."
Correia mixed in a fastball, a change and a two-speed slider that had hitters guessing.
What's the difference between Correia of 2005 with a so-so 2-5 record and 4.63 ERA? For one thing, it's a no-pressure attitude.
"I'm at a point where I'm not looking around at other guys and trying to figure out where I fit in on the team," said Correia. "I took it upon myself to just pitch as good as I can and not worry about what everybody else is doing."
Correia admits he was comparing himself to others and putting an extra burden on his efforts. No more.
"I just focus on what I need to do," he said.
Felipe Alou said Correia threw hard.
"He had a good slider late in the outing, which is very encouraging," he said. "When he's on the mound, I always expect something good to happen because of the arm he has. He has been erratic, wild and inconsistent -- it's a matter of him doing what he did today."
Minor League pitcher Merkin Valdez yielded three runs against Texas, including a two-run homer by Kevin Mench. Valdez had been unscored upon in 3 1/3 relief innings before Thursday, but Alou says Valdez's arm is strong and he's throwing electric stuff.
Hot hitters: Second baseman Kevin Frandsen went 3-for-4 with an RBI single vs. the Rangers, raising his spring average to .314, while Lance Niekro is batting .433 and 10-year pro Abraham Nunez is hitting a surprising .393.
"Frandsen's a fighter," said Alou. "He struck out his first at-bat, then had three hits. We like to see that."
Vizquel joins squad: Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel returned to Scottsdale Stadium on Thursday after his Venezuelan team was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic, and he was happy with the experience.
"It was a pleasure for me to be around the best players in Venezuela," he said. "I felt really emotional, like a kid, being with Davey Concepcion and Luis Salazar, who have always been the biggest heroes to me."
Vizquel hit .300 with two doubles, an RBI and five walks over six tournament games, sporting a .440 on-base percentage.
"Overall, it was one of the best experiences of my life," said Vizquel. "We felt Venezuela was one of the better teams in the tournament and things didn't turn out the way we wanted to. We struggled to score runs."
Vizquel said he felt sad that other players around the world opted out of the event.
Playing the high-tempo, high-pressure games was accompanied by the dangers of injury due to diving for balls and going all-out, but he's now close to regular-season form.

Source: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/