ESPN MLB

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants' clubhouse isn't any more spacious than it was last year. It just appears that way.

The media maze is gone.

Players can sit at their lockers and watch one of six clubhouse televisions without being blocked by a conga line of reporters. They can go through their mail without the threat of someone peeking over their shoulder. They can get up and go to the bathroom without eight "excuse mes," six "pardon mes" and four "sorry about thats."

"Not a lot of people in here," infielder Rich Aurilia said.

In the post-Barry Bonds era, that's the most visible difference for the Giants. The cameras aren't pointing at them. The reporters aren't crowding around them. The circus that followed and accompanied Bonds has left them.

It was a year ago -- Aug. 7, 2007 -- that Washington Nationals left-hander Mike Bacsik threw a 3-2 pitch to Bonds, who hit the ball an estimated 435 feet to complete a journey that was both praised (the most cherished record in sports) and disputed (the face of the steroid era).

Bonds dethroned Hank Aaron as the all-time home run king, and the Giants were 8-6 losers, typical in an otherwise lost season. Bonds' teammates celebrated two things: the 756th homer and the national media's imminent departure.

"If you were to go back in a time machine, you wouldn't just see a larger number of people but a different level of expectation," outfielder Randy Winn said. "There was a buzz: 'Is he going to hit one today?' 'He hasn't hit one in x number of days. Could be today.' When someone approaches arguably the greatest career mark in all of sports, that's all expected."

As everyone on-site knew, the focus was more on Bonds' chase than on winning games. In the offseason leading up to the 2007 season, management had given Bonds another contract to break the record in orange and black. So it was Bonds' team for one more year as ideas of a youth movement were put on hold.

Nowadays, the youth movement is in full swing, and it's more about 25 guys than about one. The Giants are no better in the standings -- 48-65 compared with 48-63 on Aug. 7 of last year -- but at least there's hope on the horizon.

In Bonds' absence, perhaps the most encouraging development involves the guy who replaced him. In some ways, left fielder Fred Lewis is the anti-Bonds. He runs fast, hustles and takes chances.

In Wednesday's 3-2 win over Atlanta, Lewis tripled, doubled and threw out a runner at the plate. He was thrown out at home himself after trying to tag up and score on a medium-deep fly ball to Jeff Francoeur, who owns one of the best arms among big league right fielders.

Last year's Giants played station to station and waited for Bonds to hit a three-run homer. This year's Giants lack pop and are trying to be aggressive on the bases and force opponents to make mistakes. Running on Francoeur would have been a no-no last year. This year, Lewis was lauded and applauded.

"What you want is what you see, a guy taking advantage of opportunity given him," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He can hit, hit with power and steal bases, and he's going to get better defensively. He's not getting caught into, 'I'm replacing Barry Bonds.' He's Freddy Lewis, and he's being the player that he is."

Bonds hit 28 home runs last year. So far this year, the Giants have 63, fewest in the majors.

Lewis homered Tuesday to snap the Giants' 12-game homerless streak, the second-longest in their San Francisco history.

Aaron Rowand homered Wednesday, making the Giants the final team in 2008 to have a player reach double-digit homers.

"You lose a star player, especially with Barry's dominant personality, it's going to be different," Bochy said. "First of all, it's quieter without all the media. The guys' personalities have come out. They're opening up, and you see more of what they're like. It wasn't like that last year because of their respect for Barry. It was pretty much his clubhouse.

"On the field, you have to change the brand of ball you play, and we've done that. We get more geared toward pitching and defense and became more of a running team. You have to find a way to create runs. It takes time when you go through a transition like that."

Opponents visiting San Francisco also don't mind No. 25's absence from the lineup.

"Your stomach doesn't churn when you come to the ballpark," said Braves manager Bobby Cox, who used to find himself wondering, "'What are you going to do? Walk him? Pitch to him?' … You'd have to think for the other managers, it was the same. He was that dominant."

In addition to Lewis, the Giants are relying on flashy middle infielders Emmanuel Burriss and Ivan Ochoa and converted first baseman John Bowker, all of whom have made their big league debuts this year. The rotation features Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, both 24, and Jonathan Sanchez, 25, all of whom rank in the National League's top 10 in strikeouts.

"The focus is more about trying to play winning baseball," reliever Tyler Walker said. "When you don't do well, it's more glaring because there's no longer the greatest hitter in the world you're talking about every day."

Attendance is down, and so is the Bonds signage, which filled the Giants' park last year and included huge cloth murals that hung from the light towers, the "Road to History" artwork on the left-field wall and Bonds' career home run counter. You have to squint or go outside the stadium to see any reminder of Bonds.

In the clubhouse, Cain has joined Barry Zito along the wall of four lockers that once belonged to Bonds and his entourage.

The Giants' 2008 slogan is "All out all season," and the ad campaign refers to every Giant as a "gamer." It's an obvious effort by the team to turn the page on Bonds, who, in his later years, wasn't known for being a gamer or going all out.

"I guess the relationship ran its course," said outfielder Dave Roberts, who remains in contact with Bonds. "He was very good for this city and organization, and the city and organization were very good for him. But I guess it was good to part ways. Barry's doing well with his family, staying out of the limelight for the most part, and the team's going in a different direction."

So are the national media.

John Shea is the national baseball writer for the San Francisco Chronicle.