Old friends Bonds, Sheffield face off in playoff opener

ATLANTA -- Barry Bonds cradled the 3-week-old child in his arms, joking that he'd teach him the right way to play the game. Listen to me, he said, not your old man.

"He wouldn't even let me hold my own kid," Gary Sheffield said, grinning.

Bonds and Sheffield are old friends who will be on opposite sides when the San Francisco Giants meet the Atlanta Braves in the opening round of the NL playoffs. Game 1 in the best-of-5 series is today at Turner Field.

After the Giants arrived in Atlanta on Monday, Bonds immediately went to see Sheffield's new son, Jadon. Bonds is the child's godfather.

"That was his first chance to see him," Sheffield said. "He told him he was going to teach him to play baseball for real. Going to learn from a real baseball player, not like his old man. Told him he made me a lot of money."

Indeed, it was Bonds who inspired Sheffield to focus on long-term goals, such as reaching the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sheffield stayed at Bonds' home during the offseason, following a workout regimen laid out by his host. They would get up at 6 o'clock in the morning -- Bonds made breakfast -- to run steps at Stanford Stadium and lift weights.

But for all Bonds' accomplishments -- 73 homers in a season, 613 in his career, an unprecedented four MVP awards and probably a fifth on the way -- he is still chasing something that Sheffield already has: a World Series championship ring.

"I don't even talk about it around him," said Sheffield, a member of Florida's championship team in '97. "You don't do that with friends. I don't bring up that type of thing because I know that's the one thing he wants most, because I know where his passion is."

Bonds has been at his worst during the postseason. In three trips to the NL championship series with Pittsburgh, he batted a cumulative .191 with one homer and three RBIs. In two previous first-round appearances with the Giants, he hit a paltry .207 with no homers in 29 at-bats.

Contrast that with Bonds' numbers this season: an NL-leading .370 average, 46 homers, 110 RBIs and major league records for walks (198) and on-base percentage (.582).

"I think he's learning how to deal with it," Sheffield said. "He's not a loser. It's not that he can't come through in a big game. It's just that the ball doesn't always bounce your way."

Bonds is keenly aware of his reputation for choking in the postseason. He desperately wants to stifle his critics. He even talked about it with Sheffield during their visit Monday night.

"When you won the wild card, you didn't even seem happy," Sheffield told his friend.

"I don't care about that. I just want to win the World Series," Bonds replied.

The Giants slugger showed his prickly side Tuesday. Initially, he was scheduled to speak before the Giants worked out at Turner Field, but when asked whether he was coming to the interview room, he replied, "Never."

Bonds brushed off most interview requests, though he lightened up a little bit when asked about trash-talking with Sheffield's infant son.

"Am I a better player than he is? Am I? Am I?" Bonds quipped. "I am better!"

Sheffield had some run-ins with media and teammates during his career, but his reputation has improved noticeably during his first season with the Braves.

He said Bonds is misunderstood.

"Barry's a fun-loving guy," Sheffield said. "A lot of things he does and says, he doesn't mean. People give him a bad rap. But if you come back at him, he respects you a little bit more."

The Braves are expected to give plenty of respect to Bonds, despite his postseason failings. He has dominated Atlanta the last two seasons, batting .500 with eight homers in just 34 at-bats.

He has a .321 career average against Tom Glavine, who'll start Game 1 for the Braves, and isn't much worse (.305) against Game 2 starter Greg Maddux.

"There are other guys in the game that are great players and you try not to allow them to beat you," Glavine said. "Still, they haven't done what Barry has done. I don't know if you pitch to Barry if you have Babe Ruth hitting behind him. I really don't. He's that good of a player."

The Giants failed to get past the first round in their last two playoff appearances.

Manager Dusty Baker addressed that in a team meeting, telling his players to forget about the past. He hopes that message will get through to Bonds more than anybody.

"I noticed in those series there were a lot of fly balls, a lot of pop-ups, so perhaps he was trying to do too much," Baker said. "He may have been trying to hit a home run one every pitch."