Bonds starts rehab w/out crutches

As his rehabilitation sessions for his surgically repaired right knee continue in San Francisco, Barry Bonds no longer needs the aid of crutches.

Bonds is working out daily at SBC Park, mostly on range of motion exercises. While this is positive news for the Giants, Bonds still has no timetable in place to start baseball activities.

Bonds returned to the Bay Area on Thursday to continue rehabbing his knee because the Giants believe SBC Park is better suited for him than the team's Arizona spring complex.

Last Tuesday, the seven-time NL MVP said he might miss half or all of this season while recovering from surgery, though the Giants are hoping he'll come back sooner.

"Anybody who thinks Barry Bonds is going to quit doesn't know Barry Bonds. There's no way," trainer Stan Conte said last week. "When somebody has a second surgery, it's a little discouraging. And that's called being a human being."

He has had two operations on his right knee in the last two months and also had surgery on his left knee in October.

Bonds, at the center of the steroids scandal, said earlier this spring it was frustrating not to be with his teammates and on their schedule. At the time of his announcement that he would miss at least a portion of the season, he blamed media scrutiny for his problems.

Bonds is third on the career home run list with 703, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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