Gary Peterson in the Contra Costa Times advances his own theory for Barry Bonds withdrawing from the World Baseball Classic:

Here's a real one: Is it because Bonds, "deep into my offseason workouts" according to his Web site, is something less than satisfied with the way his body is responding to the whip?

After last season, Bonds said he wanted to lose about 20 pounds before the 2006 season. This, he said, would take weight off his knees and help him maximize and extend his athletic twilight years. Yet -- and how unscientific is this? -- film clips from his golf outing seemed to indicate that Bonds has not made many inroads on the weight-loss thing.

It was about this time last year that Bonds began ramping up for the 2005 season, only to encounter a problem with his right knee. Admit it -- aren't you curious to see how his body reacts to the ramp-up process this year? Aren't we all curious to see how it goes for him this spring?

He's probably curious, too. Or maybe he is deep enough into his workouts to know he's in no shape to take on the world.