Bonds’ clay pigeon had his own shadowy history

Test messages from press row . . .

How ironic that Clay Hensley, the pitcher who gave up Barry Bonds’ record-tying home run Saturday, was one of four San Diego Padres farmhands suspended for 15 games in 2005 for violating baseball’s minor league steroids policy. . . .

Like him or not, baseball fans are drawn to Bonds. . . .

The San Francisco Giants, last in the National League West since early June, played in front of their 28th consecutive sellout crowd Monday night -- and 17 of those games were played outside San Francisco. . . .

For all their “not-in-our-house” blather, Dodgers fans surely would have preferred a 5-1 homestand that included a milestone home run by Bonds over a 1-5 homestand that included no home runs by Bonds, which is what they got. . . .

A rash of injures has caught up to Grady Little’s slumping team, which is 45-48 since its 13-5 start and closer to fourth place than to first. . . .

Tom Glavine, baseball’s 23rd 300-game winner, might be the last for a while. . . .

Randy Johnson, who will turn 44 next month and recently had back surgery, has won 284 games, but among active pitchers not already in the 300 club, none has won as many as 250. . . .

The 500-homer club, with 22 members, still is slightly more exclusive than the 300-win club, but Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez already have joined this year, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez are expected in before season’s end and Gary Sheffield probably will reach the milestone next year. . . .

The Boston Red Sox are in town this week to play the Angels, which only serves as another bitter reminder to Lakers fans that Kevin Garnett threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park last week instead of at Dodger Stadium. . . .

Mike Dunleavy, who has long dismissed the notion as preposterous, must now be muttering to himself, “Maybe the Clippers are cursed.”. . .

Nobody questions Elton Brand’s value, but the last time he was sidelined for an extended period -- he sat out 13 games in the 2003-04 season because of a broken right foot -- the Clippers were 6-7, a .462 winning percentage, while in games he played that season they were 22-47, a .319 winning percentage. . . .

Even Rams fans, however grudgingly, could appreciate the artistry of the San Francisco 49ers teams coached by the late Bill Walsh. . . .

After an 0-4 start, Walsh’s teams were 11-5 against the Rams. . . .

Lorena Ochoa, who won the Women’s British Open on Sunday at St. Andrews, could not have picked a better place to win her first major championship. . . .

The first Mexican -- male or female -- to win a major, Ochoa has won 10 of 42 tournaments over the last 1 1/2 years, finished out of the top 10 only eight times and averaged a per-tournament score of eight under par. . . .

BTW, Lee Trevino, nicknamed “Supermex” and winner of six major titles, was born in Dallas to parents of Mexican descent. . . .

Dario Franchitti caught more air than Shaun White on Sunday. . . .

Wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall in Malibu this summer as Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings prepares for his 25th NHL season with an eclectic group of regular workout partners that includes John McEnroe, big-wave surfing legend Laird Hamilton, 75-year-old Bally Total Fitness founder Don Wildman and Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim- my C.?. . .

Timmy C., who also uses the stage name Tim Bob but whose real name is Tim Commerford, was a defensive end at Irvine University High. . . .

Surfing lessons with Hamilton and fellow waterman Dave Kalama were auctioned for a combined $23,000 Saturday at the Malibu premiere of the documentary “Path to Purpose,” which chronicles the duo’s 500-mile cycling-and-paddling trek across the Hawaiian Islands to raise funds for a film about autism awareness. . . .

Former NBA All-Star Brad Daugherty might seem an unusual fit as a NASCAR television commentator, but consider this: While playing at North Carolina and with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the North Carolina-bred 7-footer wore No. 43 in tribute to his favorite sportsman, stock-car racing legend Richard Petty. . . .

Is David Beckham still around?

jerome.crowe@latimes.com