Bonds may have last laugh on SoCal boo birds

These fans may not be the friendliest Barry Bonds has ever encountered -- but they'd really be upset if the Giants slugger had taken the night off. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

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LOS ANGELES -- Dave Roberts is a nice guy, one of the nicest in baseball. Articulate, thoughtful, a veritable whirlwind when it comes to being charitable, the Giants' centerfielder is always worth a listen.

The other day, back home in San Francisco, Roberts was pleading with the fans of Los Angeles to give Barry Bonds a break, imploring them not to boo Bonds at Dodger Stadium this week. Bonds' chasedown of Hank Aaron's home run record, he explained, is historic. He's one of the greatest players ever. Maybe the greatest. He deserves the utmost respect and admiration for what he's done. Please don't boo, Roberts was saying. And he said it with an honestly straight face, too.

"To me," Roberts said, "it'd be disappointing [if] fans decided to go that route."

Well, Dodgers' fans heard that, and this is what they had to say Tuesday night to Mr. Nice Guy Dave Roberts -- who, by the way, was a wildly popular player once for the Blue Crew.

"Thbbbbbbttttttttttttt!"

So when Bonds walked into the on-deck circle ... and when he stepped to the plate ... and when he slowly made his way out to left field ... and when he backed up to handle a line drive instead of coming in and trying for a catch ... and anytime he touched the ball or came within hailing distance of the crowd at Dodger Stadium (which is to say anytime, anywhere within the vicinity of Chavez Ravine) on Tuesday, the L.A. fans let him have it. These were nice, long, rolling boos, too, not the cursory razzes that Milwaukee fans sent Bonds' way last weekend. There were even some "Barry Sucks" chants thrown about, and a few well-placed signs with the assorted asterisk or two.

Bonds responded -- or didn't -- with a couple of walks, one of them intentional, a check-swing strikeout and a high popup that fell for an error in the seventh inning on his only full swing of the night, leaving him stuck at home run No. 754, still one short of tying Aaron's record. And that was that, until the next time Bonds meets up with the Dodgers and their fans.

As it turns out, that's now the biggest question on this stuttering step toward home run history. When's the next time Bonds and his L.A. haters meet? How many chances will Bonds bashers get this week to give him the treatment?

The answer, simply, is this: If this Giants' road trip goes as many suspect it will, fans won't get as many opportunities to be heard as they might like.

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