PITTSBURGH -- Barry Bonds spent a portion of Monday morning driving around Pittsburgh, marveling at the changes hes seen in the city since baseballs career home run king bolted for San Francisco more than two decades ago. He drove by his old apartment in the western suburbs and the reconfigured North Shore, where Three Rivers Stadium has been replaced by sparkling PNC Park. The makeover hasnt been limited to the scenery. After 21 years, it appears the old wounds surrounding Bonds abrupt departure have started to heal, too. Bonds drew a mixture of boos and cheers while presenting current Pittsburgh centre fielder Andrew McCutchen with the 2013 NL MVP award. Bonds was the previous Pirates player to win the honour, earning the second of his record seven career MVP trophies in 1992. Standing next to McCutchen, Bonds waved to the packed house and seemed at ease in his first public appearance in conjunction with the team where he starred from 1986-92 before leaving for San Francisco via free agency. "It feels good to be back where it all started," Bonds said. "We had some great times here." Bonds then sat in the stands and watched as the Pirates opened against the Chicago Cubs. Bonds won the 1990 and 1992 MVP awards while playing for the Pirates from 1986-92 and led the team to three straight NL East titles. Each playoff trip, however, fell short of the World Series, most notably a Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Braves in the 1992 NL championship series that ended when Bonds throw from left field failed to stop Atlantas Sid Bream from scoring the series-clinching run. He left for San Francisco and a then-record six-year, $43-million deal two months later, where Bonds eventually broke Hank Aarons record for career home runs, finishing with 762 before leaving after the 2007 season. Bonds declined to draw any comparisons between himself and McCutchen, who easily won the MVP award last season a year after finishing third in the voting. "Hes got the formula now," Bonds said. "Once you do it once, I expect you to do it again." Bonds was joined by a familiar face as the Pirates put the finishing touches on a breakout 2013 when they won 94 games and made it to the NL division series. Former manager Jim Leyland presented current skipper Clint Hurdle with his NL Manager of the Year Award and credited Hurdle for helping turn the franchise around. After spending years watching his former club serve as a laughingstock, Leyland is confident the Pirates are back. "Theyre the real deal now," Leyland said. "They should be here for a long time." And while he steered clear of the politics surrounding Bonds place in baseball history, Leyland left no doubt about whether Bonds should be in the Hall of Fame. Bonds fell well short of the 75 per cent threshold required for induction during his second year of eligibility, with many voters saying they wouldnt put him in because of the steroids cloud. "In my opinion, Barry Bonds is a Hall of Fame player," said Leyland, who managed the Pirates from 1986-96 and is now retired. "Theres no doubt about it." Cheap Taylor Gabriel Jersey . Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. Cheap Mitchell Trubisky Jersey . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. http://www.cheapbearsjerseyselite.com/?t...y-massie-jersey. -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Cheap John Timu Jersey . Nainggolan scored his first Italian league goal at Bologna, in October 2010, and he also opened his Roma account there following his January move from Cagliari. The Belgium midfielder volleyed home Miralem Pjanics cross from close range eight minutes from time. Cheap Bilal Nichols Jersey . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said.Lucas Leiva says Liverpool can win the Premier League title this season, but admits there is plenty of work still to do. Jurgen Klopps men have spent the international break sitting top of the table, one point ahead of Chelsea and two ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price They rounded off their rise to the summit with a 6-1 thrashing of Watford at the start of the month, with Lucas starting at centre-back in place of the ill Dejan Lovren. The victory at Anfield saw Liverpool extend their unbeaten run to 12 games, and Lucas believes the Reds can win the Premier League title, but he is not counting on lifting the trophy just yet after previous experiences. Yes I think we can with the title. We have had very good results and playing against some very hard teams and weve showed that if we perform the way we are at this moment, we believe we can win the title, he told Soccer Saturday. Lucas believes Liverpool can win the Premier League title this season But it is a very early stage. I have been top of the league in other years at this stage around Christmas time and ended up not winning so we have to go game by game and it is a long season.There are times that we will be struggling as every team does and we will have to be able to cope with that, still collect as many points as we can and see where it will take us by May. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed Adam Lallana has had a scan on a groin injury and is not sure if he will be fit to play former club Southampton Of course we know where we are at this moment but it is something we dont really talk too much about. It is great to be there but there are still a lot of games to be played and we want to end up there.Watford was a very good result and performance. Ive been involved in other good games that we probably didnt win 6-1 but 2-1 or 3-1. I remember a few games last year as well where we had a very good performance. Watch highlights from Liverpools 6-1 win against Watford The momentum is very good, the performances have been very good so we still have a lot to improve. Thats positive because if we can be top of the league and still have a lot to improve, then thats a good sign of what we are trying to do everyday in training.Lucas is now in his 10th season with Liverpool, having joined the club in July 2007, and thinks the current side is one of the best he has been involved in while he believes his work ethic has kept him at Anfield for so long. Premier League questions Will the Reds maintain their impressive start on the South Coast? I think it is a very strong squad.dddddddddddd. It is almost hard to compare because the teams are different, the mangers are different, he added.I can see this team now doesnt rely on only one player. Thats what has been the big factor for me. Having been in and around for many years and watching players, I think this team is becoming a very strong team, it doesnt rely on one or two players. Lucas has played under five managers in his 10 years at Anfield, including current boss Jurgen Klopp We had individual players who are doing very well at this moment but goals are coming from everywhere and results have been good so thats probably the point I would make about this team but it is very hard to say. It is probably one of the best, yes. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says the club must create an atmosphere in which none of their star players, like Philippe Coutinho, want to leave. I think of all the critics I have, I probably have something good to offer here. Liverpool is a club where I love playing, I enjoy every minute. I know it wont be forever, so I just try to give my best all the time.Thats why Ive probably been here, playing under five mangers and thats how I have been doing over the last 10 years. There have been moments that have been very hard, very down and frustrating but you have to keep working and try to help as much as you can and thats what I try to do. Southampton manager Claude Puel believes Liverpool are one of the contenders for the Premier League this season. Next up for Lucas and Liverpool is a trip to Southampton on Saturday afternoon, where the title credentials of Klopps side will once again be put to the test. Lucas has made six appearances for Liverpool so far this season Every away game, you say these kind of games are difficult but you have to get the three points like it was against Crystal Palace and all the teams so its another hard one, Lucas said.Southampton always have very good teams and good players, some of the players are here with us now which shows how strong they can be. They probably havent had the results they wanted in the last few games but they are a very good side and it will be another big test for us.If we can get through that, it will be another sign that we are ready to challenge for everything.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Coutinhos future at Liverpool Liverpool wait on Lallana scan Mersons predictions Premier League questions Cheap Diamondbacks JerseysCheap Braves JerseysCheap Orioles JerseysCheap Red Sox JerseysCheap Cubs JerseysCheap White Sox JerseysCheap Reds JerseysCheap Indians JerseysCheap Rockies JerseysCheap Tigers JerseysCheap Astros JerseysCheap Royals JerseysCheap Angels JerseysCheap Dodgers JerseysCheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '