By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Barry Bonds finally came into the media room Thursday after Game 5 of the World Series. Among the gems he offered were:

"I'm like the surfer dude. I just want to surf. I don't want to own the shop."

"I really don't like to talk about it. I'd rather talk with my play."

"I won't be able to say what it means until it's over."

There you go. Not exactly deep insight into the greatest player of his generation.

Though Bonds won't reflect on this postseason, it's safe to say his performance has removed the only cloud over a career that is one of the greatest of all time.

Bonds' presence, as much as his performance, was the key to San Francisco winning three of the first five games in the World Series against Anaheim.

Before this postseason, the one knock on Bonds was he never performed well in October.

In 27 postseason games coming into this season, Bonds hit .206 with one home run and six RBI in 27 games.

This postseason, entering Saturday's Game 6, Bonds was hitting .350 with seven home runs, 17 runs scored and 15 RBI in 15 playoff games. He had reached base in 16 of 23 plate appearances. That's a .696 on-base percentage. He had three home runs and five RBI and was hitting .500, despite the Angels' reluctance to challenge him.

"It really makes the rest of us look bad," said teammate Shawon Dunston. "It's really hard. He's making it look too easy. We don't like to tell him that. We like to tell him, `You really ain't that good.' He just looks at us like we're crazy. He's really awesome.

"All of us are just good players. He's a star, a Hall of Famer."

Bonds, 38, is coming off two of the best years in baseball history. He won his first batting title this year by hitting .370. He set records for on-base percentage (.582), walks (198) and intentional walks (68). His 12th walk of the Series in Saturday's game set a World Series record.

In 2001, he broke the single-season home run record with 73.

That's why his postseason, as good as it has been, is no shock to those around Bonds.

"I don't shake my head and say, `How'd he do that,'" his manager, Dusty Baker, said. "He's done it about a hundred thousand times."