Bonds: 'I think I can do anything'

Updated: February 27, 2004, 10:10 AM ET
By Jerry Crasnick | ESPN Insider
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Barry Bonds is speaking figuratively, we assume, when he sits in the home dugout at Scottsdale Stadium and talks about having the requisite "big shoulders" to carry a heavy burden. Whether he's referring to BALCO investigation innuendo or the lingering pain from his father's death, only he knows for sure.

Most likely, it's a little bit of both.

Bonds, about to enter his 12th season in San Francisco, continues to dominate his franchise in a way few players can relate to or understand. He's the baddest dude in California, and that's saying something considering Shaquille O'Neal and Arnold Schwarzenegger both live and work in the state.

Unlike most superheroes, Bonds works without a sidekick. For a while Matt Williams shared some of the attention in San Francisco. Then there was Jeff Kent, who won an MVP award and made the big headlines two years ago with some ill-advised motorcycle etiquette in spring training. They're long gone now, leaving Bonds four months short of his 40th birthday and more conscious than ever of his baseball mortality.


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Jerry Crasnick | email

ESPN.com MLB Sr. Writer
  • ESPN.com senior writer
  • Author of "License to Deal"
  • Former Denver Post national baseball writer

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