Barry Bonds homers in Cinergy Field last August off Reds starter Scott Winchester. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Ken Griffey Jr. isn't easily impressed by other players. Even his own gaudy numbers don't move him. But what Barry Bonds did last year and continues to do this year has caught Griffey's attention.

        “There are certain times when you're locked in, and everybody leaves you alone,” the Reds outfielder said. “But to be locked in for six months ... That's impressive.”

        Bonds and the San Francisco Giants come to Cinergy Field today (7:10 p.m.) for the first of a three-game series. It is San Francisco's only trip here. That's not great news for Bonds because Riverfront/Cinergy is one of the places he hits best. Bonds has 31 homers here, the most for any opposing player.

        Bonds and Griffey have been linked since Griffey broke into the majors in 1989. The similarities were obvious: Both are sons of major-leaguers, both combine speed and power, and both are Gold Glove-caliber outfielders.

        That's what they are, not who they are.

BONDS HOMERS HERE
No.	Date	Pitcher
34	8/18/87	Bill Gullickson
35	8/18/87	Rob Murphy
36	8/19/87	Tom Browning
37	8/20/87	Ted Power
52	5/28/88	Tom Browning
70	5/15/89	Tom Browning
82	8/25/89	Tim Birtsas
83	8/26/89	Rob Robinson
108	8/18/90	Chris Hammond
129	7/11/91	Randy Myers
130	7/12/91	Jack Armstrong
131	7/14/91	Kip Gross
194	6/15/93	Bobby Ayala
195	6/16/93	Rob Dibble
238	6/22/94	Erik Hanson
239	6/23/94	Johnny Ruffin
273	7/03/95	Xavier Hernandez
274	7/06/95	Jeff Brantley
329	9/08/96	Dave Burba
340	5/14/97	Mike Remlinger
362	8/02/97	Brett Tomko
386	5/25/98	Pete Harnisch
387	5/27/98	Eddie Priest
412	4/06/99	Jason Bere
424	7/30/99	Denny Neagle
425	7/30/99	Denny Neagle
426	7/31/99	Ron Villone
427	7/31/99	Ron Villone
451	4/18/00	Ron Villone
542	8/07/01	Danny Graves
543	8/09/01	Scott Winchester

        “We have different personality types,” Griffey said. “The most common thing we have as far as personality is, we want to go out and play. We want to help our teams win at all cost.”

        Right now, with Bonds coming off his record 73-homer year, he is generally considered the best player in the game. Griffey, coming off an injury-marred year and on the disabled list with a bad knee, is no longer at the top of the list. Griffey was the player of the decade in the 1990s. He was on the All-Century Team; Bonds wasn't.

        Griffey has hit all the big homer milestones (350, 400, 450) at an earlier age than Bonds — and everyone else in baseball history, for that matter. Bonds is No.1 on the active home run list with 575; Griffey is second with 461.

        Griffey and Bonds are friends. They talk on the phone occasionally and visit each other about once a year. Griffey lives in Orlando during the offseason; Bonds lives in Los Altos Hills, Calif. Griffey says he doesn't concern himself with whether people consider him or Bonds the better player.

        “There are certain things you can't worry about,” he said. “I can't worry about the guy behind me or ahead of me. It's like hitting. I worry about the pitcher. I don't worry about the catcher and umpire. They can't do anything until the pitcher throws the ball.”

        Griffey and Bonds are both left-handed hitters, but Griffey said he doesn't learn from watching Bonds.

        “We have different styles,” he said. “He spins on some pitches. I swing at pitches he doesn't. He swings at pitches I don't.”

        Griffey said he and Bonds rarely talk about baseball.

        “He spends about four days a year taking his kids to Disney World,” said Griffey. “He comes over and eats twice, three times at the house. I go get them, bring them over. It's reverse-opposite. When I'm in town, he'll pick me up and we'll go eat.”

        If baseball isn't the topic of conversation, what is?

        “His kids are older than mine. I ask him questions,” said Griffey, whose children are 8 and 6. “I think all parents are prouder of what their kids do than what they do.

        “I don't really look at things about myself. I don't get excited about what I do. I was always taught: Don't get too high on yourself or too low. But if my son (Trey) does something, I'll come and give him a high-five. A couple of weeks ago, he had a kid (pitcher) drop down lefty, and he hit a little single to left field. He got to first base, I tapped him on the helmet. He turned around and winked at me.

        “Barry's the same.”

        Bonds is 37, five years older than Griffey. There is a possibility Bonds will break Henry Aaron's all-time home run record of 755, then Griffey will break Bonds' record. Griffey would rather have a root canal than talk about such things. But it's clear he would have to play effectively into his late 30s, like Bonds, to have a shot at the record.

        But Griffey said he doesn't factor in age when he looks at what Bonds is doing.

        “Look at Nolan Ryan,” Griffey said of the Hall of Fame pitcher who retired when he was 46. “Nobody looked at Nolan Ryan's age when he was pitching. They just knew Nolan Ryan, The Express.”

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