Kent and Bonds have become Giants' odd couple

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dusty Baker, a movie buff and clubhouse psychiatrist, compares Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent to two men handcuffed together, hating one another but needing each other.

"The one guy throws the other guy off the cliff, he realizes, 'Oh, man, if he goes, I go, too,"' the San Francisco Giants manager said, recalling the characters played by Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis in the 1958 film, "The Defiant Ones." "They end up being cool and partners at the end."

For Bonds and Kent, their tempestuous six-year relationship has led them to their first World Series.

Championship teams are built around continuity on the field, not chemistry in the clubhouse. Ballplayers don't have to love each other. They don't even have to like each other. They can avoid one another, as so many do, by donning headphones and withdrawing into their own worlds. Or they can go at each other's throats from time to time, as Bonds and Kent did earlier this year and several times in the past.

"That thing this summer was not between us," Bonds said. "That was something I had to step in and settle."

At a game in San Diego in June, Bonds pressed his meaty hand on Kent's chest close to his throat and shoved him up against the dugout wall to stop him from shouting at third baseman David Bell and Baker over a play in the field.

Less than 10 minutes later, Bonds and Kent high-fived each other as Bonds crossed the plate after a three-run homer.

"We get along fine most of the time," Bonds said. "Everyone thinks we hate each other. That's a bunch of garbage. It's blown up way too much."

Kent agrees, saying they have "a working relationship" that is successful. They grew up differently and live differently, Bonds in the California suburbs, Kent on a Texas ranch in the offseason, but they share a love of motorcycles and speed. They're both intense, stubborn and proud.

"We've both played well and now we have a chance to become champions," Kent said.

Kent's contract is up at the end of the season, and this week may be his last in a Giants uniform. Personal feelings aside, Bonds is the last person who wants to see him go.

"If they don't sign him back, they better find somebody else who's just as good or better," Bonds said as he sat by his locker preparing for Game 3. "I'm not going backward. I don't want to be around while they build a team again. I had enough of that."

Giants president Peter Magowan didn't sound encouraging when asked Monday about the chances of re-signing Kent.

"I'd say it's a high priority," he said, "but I'm not saying it's a high likelihood of success."

Magowan spoke about the importance of maintaining continuity on a club. He rattled off the names of players who spent nearly their whole careers with the Dodgers and Giants when he was growing up in the 1950s. He talked about how kids fall in love with baseball by rooting for stars who stay with the home team and how teams get stronger when players know each other better.

Yet, in the next breath, Magowan said it all comes down to fitting within the budget.

In any other year, on any other team, the 34-year-old Kent might reasonably expect a little consideration for a second National League MVP to go with the one he won in 2000.

And that's exactly what he will get. Little consideration.

His numbers are impressive -- .313 batting average, 37 homers, 108 RBI, 102 runs scored -- just not quite as dazzling as those of Bonds -- .370, 46 homers, 110 RBI, 117 runs. When the MVP award is handed out, it probably will have Bonds' name on it for the fifth time.

Kent's blessing and curse has been to be Bonds' teammate for the past six seasons. Everyone talks about Bonds, yet Kent is just the fourth player in Giants history to post 100-RBI seasons six straight years, joining Hall of Famers Willie Mays (1959-66), Mel Ott (1929-36) and Bill Terry (1927-36).

Kent's 253 career homers and RBI total of 1,007 have placed him in the company of the top second basemen in history, and his three 30-homer seasons equals perhaps the best, Rogers Hornsby.

Bonds called Kent "one of our leaders on our team" and believes they need each other to get back the World Series again.

"If one's not doing it, the other wants to do it," Bonds said. "If one's doing it, the other one wants to do better. I think that's outstanding. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson had Kareem. There's always got to be somebody to help that other person become a better player or challenge themselves.

"Jeff Kent challenges me a lot in how I perform and I try to challenge him as much as I can for his performance. I think we complement each other very, very well."

Steve Wilstein is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press.