Bonds taunts baseball logic like no one else. He twists conventional thinking like a pretzel. In baseball, that's not easy to do. Who walks the leadoff hitter intentionally to start an extra inning? That definitely violates some sacred, unwritten baseball rule. I'm just not sure what it is.

But there were Reds manager Dave Miley and his pitching coach Don Gullett, a couple of Baseball Lifers, holding up four fingers to Danny Graves on Sunday as Bonds approached the plate.

"The possibility of one swing at any given time," was Miley's explanation.

You don't tempt Bonds, or fate or Graves' unfortunate ability lately to throw home run balls: Six in 18 innings. That was Miley's thinking. Also, this: Graves is a sinkerball pitcher. Graves walks Bonds, then throws a double-play ball. Miley looks smart.

As it was, Bonds moved to third on a double and scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly. On Friday night, Miley purposely walked Bonds with two outs in the seventh inning and nobody on base. The next guy hit a home run that won the game. And so on Sunday, for the second time in three days, Miley was second-guessed more than the president of the United States.

"The same people that are questioning walking him would have questioned not walking him if he'd hit a home run," Miley said.

Maybe. But as Graves said, "He's hitting .400. So those other six times I have a chance to get him out." Graves wasn't questioning Miley, just applying statistical logic. If you have a better chance of beating him than he does of beating you, why don't you take it? Give a gambler a 60 percent success rate, he owns the casino.

Why do you give Bonds a free pass any time but the most obvious situations?

Is Graves your best relief pitcher? Do you pay him $6 million a year to walk people intentionally? Don't you give your best a chance against their best? This wasn't the first inning, or the fourth, or even the seventh. If Bonds scores in the 10th, the Reds have only one chance to get the run back.

Miley ran another wise game Sunday. If 14 years of managing in the minors taught him anything - beyond the easiest way to sleep on a bus - it was how to manage situations. Sunday, Miley pulled a tired Todd Van Poppel after four innings and 75 pitches, trailing just 2-1. He rested Adam Dunn until the top of the ninth, when Miley inserted Dunn in a double-switch, so Dunn would bat second in the bottom of the inning. Dunn responded with a single.

Miley's moves and popularity have pushed the Reds to 16 wins in 31 tries, even as they rank 14th in the league in ERA, 13th in fielding and haven't had a win from a starting pitcher in 14 days.

Quiet and ego-less, Miley has showed he belongs.

But you pitch to Bonds leading off the 10th. Every time.

Said Graves: "Facing Bonds in the past, we have this little thing going. He knows I'm going right after him every time. We nod heads. Whatever happens, happens. If I make my pitches, I have a good chance."

Throwing four wide ones, Graves had no chance.

Barry Bonds went 0-for-the-weekend. He killed the Reds.

"(I) don't have a crystal ball, by any means," said Miley.

"I'm not second-guessing it," Graves said. "I'm sure everybody else will."

Well, yeah.

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E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com

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