Bonds and Legal Case Coming to Life

The smile and the sentiment were genuine. Bonds is facing one of his most difficult weeks yet regarding legal matters, but he has looked uncommonly relaxed and confident — even though he could wind up with a federal indictment when a grand jury considering charges of income-tax evasion and perjury meets here Thursday.

When asked Sunday what he anticipated this week, Bonds told reporters: “Nothing. Not even worried about it.”

Laura Enos, Bonds’s personal lawyer, said in a telephone interview Monday that she remained “cautiously hopeful” that the grand jury would not return an indictment, though Bonds’s legal team is preparing a defense just in case.

Bonds — who turned 42 last Wednesday — looks healthier than he has all season. While certainly not hitting and running the way he did in his prime, Bonds is carrying himself more like the five-tool player he used to be than the aging, immobile slugger who struggled to change directions in a rundown two months ago.

Bonds said that the right knee that required three operations last year felt stronger than it did earlier this season, and that the pain from bone chips in his left elbow had subsided. The Giants’ four-day All-Star Game break appeared to invigorate him, and Bonds felt good enough for an extending hitting session with the team’s batting coach, Joe Lefebvre, in the indoor cages over the weekend.

Bonds even stole bases Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Bonds chided Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard for playing behind him Friday. On Saturday, Howard held him on, but Bonds stole anyway. He had one steal before the All-Star Game and had not stolen bases in consecutive games since 2003.

“Barry’s always had the green light, even when he was in the hospital,” Giants Manager Felipe Alou said. “They’re not going to play behind him anymore.”

And Bonds appeared happy and ebullient after Sunday’s game, even though the Giants lost to the Phillies, 6-2, and played poorly for the second consecutive day. Bonds hit his first home run of the second half (No. 721 of his career), against Brett Myers, had another bid for a homer pulled down at the wall by left fielder Pat Burrell, and yanked a long foul into McCovey Cove against closer Tom Gordon in the ninth.

“I’m just hacking, swinging, and hoping it falls in,” Bonds said.

The fact that Bonds has healthier legs, Alou said, “gives him a shot at being in better baseball shape.”

“His good knee was barking at him early,” Alou said, “but that’s better now. Because he’s able to move in the outfield and play more often, he’s getting himself in much better shape. That’s what we’re seeing now.”

Though Bonds may feel better, that has not yet translated into consistent production. He went 2 for 9 in the three-game series with the Phillies, and he will need to improve significantly on his numbers so far — a .247 average, 13 home runs and 40 runs batted in — to avoid his least-productive full season as a Giant.

Going into Monday night’s game with Milwaukee, Bonds still led the team in hitting with runners in scoring position over all (.409) and with two outs (.444). Most clubs still respect him; 31 of his 77 walks were intentional. But Philadelphia’s Bobby Abreu, not Bonds, leads the National League in total walks.

“He’s been more aggressive, therefore he’s been swinging at bad pitches,” Alou said. “I haven’t asked him, but what I see is a guy going out and attacking pitches that are out of the strike zone — the same guy that we see stealing bases, too. So there has been a change of some sort.”

On Sunday, Bonds said, “I feel great.” What happens in three days when the grand jury meets, possibly for the final time, could change that.

“It’s not on anybody’s mind,” second baseman Ray Durham said. “He has his legal team taking care of it. Right now, Barry’s job is to play baseball, and that’s what he’s doing.”

Alou said, “He feels at peace with himself.”