Bonds swap?

Midseason trade talk has started in earnest, and one of the names that has come up is Barry Bonds. The theory has been put forth that the Giants, who are mired in last place in the NL West, will ship Bonds out of San Francisco shortly after he breaks the career home run record, which should occur within the next month or so.

Certainly, the Giants could use some prospects in exchange for Barry. They've been trying to win with a lineup that features the likes of Omar Vizquel, age 40; Ryan Klesko, 36; Ray Durham, Dave Roberts and Rich Aurilia, all 35; Randy Winn, 33; and Bengie Molina and Pedro Feliz, both 32. That approaching obviously isn't working. Just ask Matt Cain (2-7 despite a 3.15 ERA).

Bonds leads the team in home runs and, of course, leads everyone in drawing bases on balls. But he'll turn 43 on July 24, and his contract calls for him to be paid more than $19 million this season. Then there's the talk about a possible indictment hanging over his head, along with the fact that he's being booed mightily by fans in every ballpark he plays besides his home AT&T Park. What other team is going to take on all that baggage?

Then again, historical precedent exists for Bonds moving. The top three career home run hitters prior to Barry's insinuating himself among them - Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays - all has this in common: They ended their major-league careers in the cities where they began them, but for different teams.

• Ruth: Boston Red Sox, 1914-19; Boston Braves, 1935. The Braves of that year, incidentally, were the worst National League team of the 20th century in terms of winning percentage, even poorer than the 1962 Mets.

• Mays: New York Giants, 1951-52 and 1954-57; New York Mets, 1972-73. Willie ended his career on a high note, sort of, by playing in the 1973 World Series, although at age 42 his skills had diminished to the point where it was painful to watch him. I'd rather have seen him in his prime, certainly.

• Aaron: Milwaukee Braves, 1954-65; Milwaukee Brewers, 1975-76. Atlanta at least waited until the end of the season in which he broke Ruth's record to send him packing. Then-Brewers owner Bud Selig was happy to take Aaron aboard at age 41 to draw more fans to see a struggling franchise.

Bonds, of course, began his career in Pittsburgh, back when the Pirates actually drafted some useful players; they were savvy enough to grab Barry with the sixth overall pick in 1985. A case can be made that the Pirates are a "different" team today compared to when Bonds left after '92. Back then, management actually made an attempt to put a competitive team on the field.

But the odds of Bonds returning to the Steel City are about as remote as those of Commissioner Selig suddenly enjoying the inevitability of Barry setting the home run record.

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Trivia question 41: Despite the 1935 Boston Braves' horrible performance, the team managed to have two future Hall of Fame players, and the manager also was eventually enshrined. Besides Ruth, who were the other two to make it to Cooperstown? Answer at bottom right