PHILADELPHIA -- On the weekend of his godfather's 75th birthday, Barry Bonds was in a somber and reflective mood on Sunday. Now just a homer shy of Babe Ruth's magic No. 714, Bonds' thoughts turned to family.

His mother, Pat, had surprised him and was in town on Sunday as the Giants concluded a three-game series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park with a 9-5 defeat. So it shouldn't be a total loss, Bonds hit his 713th career homer and fifth of the still young season. His father, Bobby, of course, wasn't there, and that's who Barry said he misses the most.

"My mom is different than my dad," Bonds told MLB.com, reflecting on the former Giants star, who passed away from cancer on Aug. 23, 2003. "My dad would've have told me a few things. He wouldn't have held back. I really miss my father. He really knew me. He would have given me some advice on how to deal with this whole thing."

This whole thing right now is the long chase to get past Ruth amidst the pressure of baseball's investigation into its steroid era and a grand jury hearing testimony to determine whether Bonds told the truth about the matter three years ago.

Bonds said that there are other personal things bothering him that have nothing to do those issues. On Monday, when the team returns to San Francisco to open an eight-game homestand with a makeup game against the Astros, Bonds must attend a previously scheduled custody hearing regarding his son, Nikolai, who is now in his care.

"I've just got too much stuff going on that I don't want to get into," Bonds said. "It's having an effect on me going out and playing, no doubt. But it's not the off-the-field things you're thinking of. That's been going on since 2003. If I was going to be concerned about that, it would've been affecting me since then."

On the field, Bonds has hit five homers this season. Including Sunday's 450-foot blast off Jon Lieber, Bonds was 3-for-13 on the just concluded five-game trip. Heading into Monday night's game, he's nestled at 713, a homer shy of Ruth and 42 behind Hank Aaron's all-time leading 755.

At a juncture in his career when his baseball senses should be most acute, Bonds said he has been having trouble focusing on the job at hand.

"I'm not enjoying it," he said. "I'm not sad or upset. It's nothing like that. It's hard to explain right now. My father's gone, my kids are not here. I've never played baseball by myself before. But I'll get through it."

Bobby Bonds, the former Giants star, who, like his son is a member of the 300-homer, 300-stolen base club, was always there for hitting tips and timely advice, particularly as Barry matured as a player. Then suddenly he was gone at 57 years old.

Willie Mays, his godfather, turned 75 on Saturday and because of his age and various ailments, rarely travels with the team. The Giants have scheduled a pregame celebration honoring Mays' birthday before Friday night's game against the Dodgers at AT&T Park.

Mays was there in 2004 when Bonds opened the season by hitting homers No. 659, 660 and 661 to pass the Say Hey Kid into third-place on the all-time list.

This weekend's birthday stirred some emotions in Bonds, who said he began thinking about his godfather and his father. His mother came into town Saturday and he said the two had a long heart-to-heart talk during which Bonds did most of the listening.

"I've been thinking about a lot of things," Bonds said. "It just hit me that my dad is not here to see this [passing Ruth]. I guess I didn't feel it as much when I passed 660 because it was still so close to his death. But right now, I'm feeling it. My dad just knew things about me. He knew what I was doing. He knew what I was made of. I'll handle it. I will. That's all."

It's been that kind of week. Bonds was conked in the head by a foul tip while standing behind the batting cage before Wednesday night's game at Milwaukee and hasn't been the same at the plate since.

For the second time in his career, his head was too close to the netting and he paid the price, on this occasion a welt in the middle of his forehead and a two-day headache. Bonds was fortunate he was watching when the ball tipped off the bat of Giants rookie Kevin Frandsen and clipped him right on the bill of his cap.

He was examined twice and played in that night's game, going 0-for-4.

The first time it happened, Bonds said he was still with the Pirates when Jay Bell tipped the ball back into his right eye. Bonds wasn't paying attention that time. He was talking with basketball analyst Dick Vitale.

"The next thing I knew, the doctor was looking at me," Bonds said. "I missed a few games. That's why I have this bump on my eye."

Bonds didn't play on Thursday afternoon at Miller Park, but he took a monster batting session on Friday night in Philly, hitting 15 of 31 pitches into the far reaches of the two-year-old ballpark. He then went 0-for-3.

"That was great, but I did nothing in the game," Bonds said.

His hitless string went to 0-for-9 (with two walks) before he hit a high pop off left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes on Saturday that drifted into a seam in the defensive shift he's been seeing during virtually every plate appearance and dropped into short left field.

Rhodes told SportsLine.com after the game that he thought Bonds was struggling.

"He's got a lot of pressure," the veteran left-hander said. "The way I look at it, I think he's trying too hard. He's swinging too hard. It's not like he was last year. Last year, he was crushing balls out over the plate, crushing balls in. Now, pitches right over the middle he's popping up or grounding out."

Bonds, who missed all but 14 games last season after having three surgeries on his right knee and hit only five homers, denied that he's feeling any pressure. He began to come out of his funk at the plate on Sunday when he went 2-for-3 with the homer, a single and an intentional walk, his 14th of the season. He said that the media crunch, which materialized after he hit homer No. 712 off the Padres' Scott Linebrink on Tuesday, has been somewhat of an annoyance.

"That's why I've been going into the back room with my headset on trying to tune it all out," he said.

But with the shadow of the Great Bambino now hovering over him, Bonds said he's in no mood to deal with any distractions.

"I'm trying to get back into my space," he said. "I'm just trying to refocus things. I'm under the looking glass everywhere I go."