Slugger steamed by Magowan's recent comments

	Is this the last we'll see of potential free agent Barry Bonds in a Giants uniform? AP

Controversial Giants superstar Barry Bonds was deeply upset to hear club owner Peter Magowan recently characterize him as a complementary player and "not the centerpiece of the puzzle.'' As a result, Bonds may be more seriously than ever considering options other than the Giants.

Negotiations were expected to begin shortly after the regular season, and assuming they still do start soon, they will begin with tension.

"For the last 14 years Barry has performed hard and supremely well for the San Francisco Giants organization, and those comments from Peter Magowan were hurtful and showed a total lack of recognition for the most dedicated and productive employee in the history of the franchise," Bonds' longtime agent Jeff Borris told SI.com. "These comments were a little bit below the belt. I was surprised they'd fire a bullet like that our way."

Magowan responded to Borris' comments, saying, "We certainly meant no disrespect to Barry Bonds. He has been a great player for the Giants and a huge part of the success of our franchise. I think everyone knows I've been the one who's been about the most in his corner, through all the ups and downs. But I think we have to look at the facts now. We've had two straight seasons under .500 and our team got too old. We're going to go in a new direction. That doesn't mean we don't have interest in signing Barry Bonds, nor does it mean we'll have all this sorted out quickly."

Borris said they didn't want to engage in any verbal jousting with Magowan, but they also can't completely disregard Magowan's previous remarks. Since 1992 the Giants have used Bonds' home-run power and drawing power to drive the organization, although people who've dealt with Magowan's people say they started to notice "cracks'' in their strong support for Bonds, particularly earlier this year, when the baggage was for maybe the first time outweighing the production. That was before Bonds made a major second-half turnaround, batting .292 with a 1.026 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) after the All-Star break and pulling within 22 home runs of breaking Hank Aaron's alltime record.

Despite Bonds' big comeback, Magowan made clear he isn't interested in signing anyone for "marketing'' reasons in his Oct. 3 interview in the San Jose Mercury News. That remark hit Bonds hard, and Borris believes the insinuation wrongly suggests Bonds' main role has been as a marketing tool -- though he has been that, too. The San Francisco native is still considered a hometown hero (at least there, he is).

"This is a guy for whom a statue should be erected and a street named after him,'' Borris said in response to the suggestion Bonds is a complementary player now. "'That would be more befitting a player of his stature."

Borris said Bonds has an understanding that this is often how the business of baseball works. But he's one player who may be too proud to return before taking what he considers a "bad'' deal.

The first sign Bonds did not relish Magowan's remarks came when he told an MLB.com reporter, "I saw where Peter Magowan said some nasty things. He wants me to take a pay cut. Well, that's OK. I don't have to play baseball anymore, brother. I'll be glad to stay home. I'm free. I feel very free."