Barry Bonds on Sunday qualified a story that appeared on USA Today's Web site that he intends to retire after the 2006 season whether or not he sets the all-time home run record. "If I can play [in 2007], I'm going to play; if I can't I won't," Bonds told MLB.com in a telephone interview Sunday. "If my knee holds up, I'll keep on going. I'm playing psychological games with myself right now. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if things don't work out this season. So I go back and forth. Back and forth every day. These are the things that are going through my mind. This is what I'm struggling with." Bonds was quoted on USA Today's Web site Sunday as saying: "I'm not playing baseball anymore after this. The game [isn't] fun anymore. I'm tired of all of the [stuff] going on. I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me." Bonds said he thought he was having a personal conversation with the USA Today reporter involved and was just trying to portray the state of his own mind on that particular day. He said he has been fitted with a knee brace to protect his thrice surgically repaired right knee and is beginning to feel secure as the Giants begin preparing for the 2006 season. Bonds heads into the season with 708 home runs, six behind Babe Ruth's 714 and 47 in arrears of Hank Aaron's all-time leading 755. "The brace feels great, it's awesome," said Bonds, who will turn 42 on July 24. "Right now, I feel like I can play for another five years, another 10 years. It's given me a new lease on life. That's how I'm feeling today. I'm ready to get going."