There are no guarantees Barry Bonds will come off the disabled for Thursday night's game against the Cubs because he and the team want to ensure he is able to perform all baseball-related tasks with no adverse effects on his right knee. Dr. Lewis Yocum examined Bonds' knee Tuesday morning and saw no problems after Bonds' long workout Monday, Sabean said. Yocum will re-examine the knee this morning. The Giants were hoping to arrange a simulated game for Bonds this afternoon, but they couldn't get the field because the Dodgers are taking their team photo. "You've got to get this guy closer to game action, fast-twitch action," Sabean said. "Anything he's doing right now is under quote-unquote control. It's not as if he's being presented into the game. Until he does that and Dr. Yocum sees how the knee responds, you can't go to the next step." In other words, there is no chance Bonds will rejoin the team as a pinch-hitter before he proves he is ready to play an all-around game. In fact, Sabean said, it is possible Bonds' first appearance in a game could be as the starting left fielder. Manager Felipe Alou, who watched Bonds' workout Tuesday, agreed with Sabean that patience is in order. "Once we activate him, there is going to be temptation to play him, by me," Alou said. "We've waited a long time. If we wait another one, two or three days, that will be OK." Bonds' workout Tuesday was more rigorous than Monday's. He chased flyballs in the outfield hit by third-base coach Gene Glynn, hit for 20 minutes against hard-throwing batting practice pitcher John Yandle and did some light running on the bases. Alou spent a few minutes talking with Bonds in his office and later said, "We discussed some possibilities."