Those listening to Joe Castellano and Mike Schmidt’s XM broadcast of yesterday’s South Africa/USA WBC encounter were blessed with a visit from Barry Bonds during the 3rd and 4th innings. While most persons coping with Public Enemy No. 1 status might consider keeping as low a profile as possible, Bonds was bright and breezy during this radio chat, though to be sure, none of the questions compared to the “when did you stop beating your girlfriend while using steroids” variety he’d get from the press.
A peculiar report surfaced that Bonds was interested in joining Team USA for the second round in Anaheim. That’s according to ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe, who said he heard it from Bonds.
Bonds told The Chronicle it’s bogus.
“What’s that?” Bonds said. “That’s not me. You know that. It’s not my thing. Those guys (Team USA players) have been there all along. I would never do that. I haven’t talked to them.
“If they ask me, that’s something different. But that’s not my style.”
He mingled with Team USA players and posed for pictures. At one point, he grabbed an assistant’s camera and snapped shots of Willie Mays, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and three generations of Griffeys — Ken Jr., his dad and his son. Then he returned the camera and jumped into the shot himself.
Seconds before the first pitch, he visited the Team USA dugout.
“He came in, shook hands and wished us luck,” said Giants teammate Randy Winn, on loan to Team USA.
What about Bonds joining the WBC?
“He hasn’t played a game in left field yet,” Winn said. “I don’t think he’d really be ready, and I don’t think the Giants’ medical staff would allow it.”
One Giants source had his own opinion: “Sutcliffe’s a name-dropper. You don’t want to believe 75 percent of what he says.”