SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – As ornery as Barry Bonds has been all spring, he still is baseball’s most enthralling story. Everybody in the sports world is wondering just when he will be back in the batter’s box to resume his quest for the career home run record.

The Giants’ exasperating answer is that they have no idea. Bonds’ shocking response is perhaps he’ll be back by midseason, or not until next year.

Manager Felipe Alou knows better.

“My feeling is that Barry Bonds, way above everything else, is a heck of a baseball player and is going to be healthy,” said Alou, whose team is still favored to win the NL West even after Bonds had another setback with his surgically repaired right knee.

“My gut feeling is he’s going to be with us sooner than later. I believe that bat is going to be with us.”

The seven-time NL MVP is recovering from three knee operations in 5 months, two on his troublesome right knee in a seven-week span. Stressed out by the steroids scandal swirling around him, his health has him further on edge.

“I’m going to have to work a lot harder this year than I ever have,” Bonds said. “I mean, at 40, I go to the gym, I work out, but unfortunately it’s not staying as long sometimes. It’s like my legs don’t feel as strong. I feel strong for two or three days, but it’s starting to go away faster.”

Bonds might have caused his latest operation by pushing himself too hard to get back in a hurry – the same relentless determination that has brought him such success in 19 major league seasons.

He has 703 homers, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755). When Bonds comes back, many expect he’ll pass Ruth in little more than a month.

“Right away, definitely,” Arizona outfielder Jose Cruz Jr., Bonds’ teammate in 2003, said of how quickly the slugger will regain his swing. “He’s gifted.”

When he returns, Bonds expects boos just about everywhere on the road as he resumes his chase of Ruth and Aaron with accusations of steroid use surrounding his every move.

But with baseball’s biggest draw banged up, it certainly will be strange not to see No. 25 – shedding his protective body armor after yet another walk – on the highlight reels for a while. The Giants sell out most games at SBC Park, but interest could dwindle with Bonds on the sidelines if the club doesn’t win right away with its new cast of veterans: Moises Alou, Armando Benitez, Mike Matheny and Omar Vizquel.

Bonds’ teammates are prepared to play without him for however long it takes for the slugger to recover.

“We’ve got to,” center fielder Marquis Grissom said. “We’ve got to use that as a positive and go out there and continue to get better as a team. I think we’ll prevail. We have enough to get it done. Being a veteran team, we expect to get it done.”

Bonds, constantly tired and testy this spring, hasn’t been around his teammates and has spent more time in the training room than on the field as he enters his 20th major league season.

The Giants’ preparations for honoring their superstar’s milestones are on hold.

“When Barry Bonds breaks Babe Ruth’s and Hank Aaron’s records, I think it’s going to be great for the game, regardless of the public perception of Barry Bonds,” said Oakland outfielder Eric Byrnes. “There’s something wrong if you can’t appreciate what he’s done as a baseball player.”

Bonds, who turns 41 in July, had 45 homers and 101 RBIs last season and also walked 232 times. He demonstrated his durability, playing in 147 games after playing only 130 in 2003, when he dealt with the death of his father, Bobby, and rarely was in the lineup for day games that followed night games.

Felipe Alou hopes that with San Francisco’s upgraded lineup, Bonds will draw fewer walks this season – because opposing managers will be more concerned with who is batting behind him. Alou’s son, Moises, is in Bonds’ cleanup spot for now. Moises Alou will move to fifth in the order once Bonds returns. He hit a career-high 39 homers with 106 RBIs last season for the Chicago Cubs.

Bonds arrived in spring camp Feb. 22 angry and combative, calling reporters “liars,” and then blamed the media again for his problems in an outburst March 22, saying “I’m tired of my kids crying.”

Bonds said earlier this spring he won’t allow the constant scrutiny surrounding his achievements to bring him down.

“That’s part of the game,” he said. “That’s part of sports. It always has been. My dad told me before he passed away, The biggest problem with you, Barry, is that every great athlete who has gone on for great records, everyone knows their story. … Nobody knows you and they are (angry).”‘

He first had surgery on his right knee Jan. 31, then underwent another operation March 17.

Bonds later said he was physically and mentally “done,” then headed back to the Bay Area to rehab his knee at SBC Park – also a much-needed mental break.

“This is a different team with the new guys and without Barry Bonds,” Felipe Alou said. “We’re trying to keep this thing in a good situation until Barry gets back.”

AP-ES-03-31-05 1208EST