Barry Bonds, winner of four MVP awards, believes he has a good chance to win No. 5. He believes Curt Schilling, who may also receive strong consideration for the MVP, should not be a candidate.

	Bonds

Schilling is 22-5 with 282 strikeouts for the first-place Diamondbacks. But Bonds believes Schilling -- and other pitchers -- should not be eligible for the MVP.

"No, never," Bonds told MLB.com. "What does Schilling do after today? What does he do tomorrow? It don't matter. They've got to win. That position player plays 100-something games. Schilling may pitch 30 or 40, if he stays healthy.

"I think it's embarrassing to everyday players. It's an insult. They have their award, and then everybody gets to fight for it in the playoffs or World Series. A pitcher can be MVP in the playoffs."

After hitting a record 73 homers last season, Bonds is having another incredible season. After Friday night's victory over the Diamondbacks, Bonds was hitting an NL-best .364 with 41 homers and a .572 on-base percentage. Bonds also has drawn a MLB-record 54 intentional walks for the playoff-contending Giants.

Bonds says either Oakland's Miguel Tejada or Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees are deserving of the honor in the American League this season.

Bonds says that Alex Rodriguez of the Rangers is also a worthy AL candidate but is hurt by the fact that he does not play for a contending team. Rodriguez has incredible numbers (.314, 50 HR, 124 RBI), but the Rangers will finish fourth and last in the American League West. Tejada and Soriano are both extremely productive players on teams that are winning their divisions, even though their numbers don't match those of Rodriguez.

"I feel sorry for Alex Rodriguez, because to me, he's probably the best player over there in the American League, and he may not get it because of those two players right now and what they're doing," Bonds told MLB.com, adding that he believes a player in last place can still win the award if his numbers are deserving. "Alex has competition with these two guys right now. These two guys are playing hella (good) baseball ... and they've made some big strides in their team's success."