Bonds on return: Maybe next season, maybe by midseason

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coming off knee surgery and caught up in baseball's steroid scandal, Barry Bonds said he may not play at all this season -- despite standing on the doorstep of the sport's most hallowed record.

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The San Francisco Giants slugger also said he was physically and mentally "done," and blamed the media for at least part of his troubles.

"I'm tired of my kids crying. You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally did," Bonds told reporters Tuesday, shortly after returning to training camp. "You finally brought me and my family down. ... So now go pick a different person."

Bonds, whose 703 career homers are 11 short of Babe Ruth's total and 52 behind Hank Aaron's record, was back in camp following last week's arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.

Sitting at a picnic table outside the Giants' clubhouse with his 15-year-old son, Nikolai, at his side, Bonds said, "My son and I are just going to enjoy our lives. You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got me."

Bonds said he was tired and disappointed following a winter in which he was accused of steroid use, his grand jury testimony was leaked and he had two knee operations.

Manager Felipe Alou said he plans to speak with Bonds on Wednesday.

"It's not a rosy situation for the guy," Alou said Tuesday night after the Giants' 5-3 victory over San Diego. "I want to make sure that's what he said, and then I can comment on it.

Barry Bonds began spring training with a defiant diatribe against the media. (Getty Images)

"It's tough to have surgery two weeks before the season starts. That's not what anybody wants."

Leaning his head on a crutch and repeatedly saying he was tired, Bonds spoke after a 1½-hour session with Giants trainer Stan Conte.

"Right now I'm just going to try to rehab myself to get back to, I don't know, hopefully next season, hopefully the middle of the season," Bonds said. "I don't know. Right now I'm just going to take things slow.

"I'm 40 years old, not 20, 30."

Bonds, who set the single-season record with 73 home runs in 2001, underwent a similar operation on the same knee Jan. 31, but had a setback after workouts in camp earlier this month.