San Jose, Calif. ? When Barry Bonds shoved Jeff Kent in the dugout Tuesday, that cinched it. It’s time for Kent to shove off, for his good and the team’s.

It’s time for San Francisco general Manager Brian Sabean to start shopping Kent, while he’s still hitting over .300 and other GMs still vaguely remember him as the 2000 MVP. It’s time to trade Kent, preferably for a cleanup hitter who strikes fear more often than he strikes out. The growing pressure to protect No. 3 hitter Bonds has worn on Kent, making him no more threatening to rival pitchers than Barney Fife.

It’s time to let another team worry about re-signing Kent, who’s in the final year of his contract.

Kent needs a fresh start, and Bonds definitely deserves to have the clubhouse air freshened. Everything about Bonds rubs Kent the wrong way his posing after launching home runs, his failure to run out some pop flies and groundouts, the arm guard he’s allowed to wear while batting and the above-the-team schedule he’s allowed to keep. This is a classic culture clash: Kent owns a ranch in South Texas; Bonds is the Peninsula-bred son of former All-Star Bobby Bonds and godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays.

But some of Kent’s contempt is fueled by jealousy. He can’t seem to accept that he isn’t half the hitter Bonds is that Bond’s menacing presence made possible Kent’s MVP award. Kent saw lots of hittable pitches two years ago, and he cashed in on them.

Now Kent can’t accept that without Bonds, Kent’s Giants would be the last-place Padres.

Kent must go. Kent confirmed this with his shrugging excuse for going at it with Bonds at in the Qualcomm Stadium dugout. Kent said he and Bonds have had skirmishes “a half dozen times” without a TV camera catching them.

This incident was precipitated by a disagreement between Kent and third baseman David Bell. Bell thought Kent should have covered second. Kent thought Bell should have thrown to first on a slowly hit grounder. Bonds defended Bell. Kent said something to Bonds, who shoved Kent so hard he bounced off the back wall of the dugout. Teammates prevented punches.

Fans sitting near the dugout said they heard Kent yell: “I want off this team!”

No argument here. With the National League West begging to be won and the Giants blowing a lead and a game to Padres the cancerous Kent must be eliminated from the clubhouse. Look no further than the A’s. On May 30, G.M. Billy Beane got rid of all things Giambi Jason’s brother Jeremy and Jason’s little buddy Frank Menechino. No more reminders of Jason. No more excuses.

Since then, the A’s are 22-6. Trading Kent could be just the psychological jump start the Giants need. Removing the Kent-Bonds tension could allow this team to heave a collective sigh, and start focusing on winning.

Kent is mentally gone. He has steadily soured on Pacific Bell Park, which is tough on right-handed hitters. And Giants management soured on Kent, who broke his wrist during spring training while popping wheelies on his motorcycle, then lied about it. Some of Kent’s fans, who long considered him the “Good Guy” to Bonds’ “Bad Guy,” surely had their eyes opened by their hero’s blatant disregard for the truth.

Kent does lead the Giants in one offensive category hypocrisy. Insiders say Kent can be every bit the moody clubhouse loner that Bonds can be. So Kent’s criticism of Bonds last August in Sports Illustrated, which badly damaged Bonds national reputation, was like the pot calling the kettle aloof.

Kent recently took some sarcastic shots at Bonds’ arm guard on the KNBR radio show Kent does. Lots of players would agree with Kent, but Kent is the teammate who hits behind Bonds. Kent doesn’t protect Bonds on or off the field.

With Bonds on pace to shatter the walks record he set last season, Kent has found himself in game-breaking situations with men in scoring position. The better the opportunity, the worse Kent has been. He has been able to pad his average by getting lots of hits that don’t matter. But in the clutch, Kent has been a liability. As if this pressure isn’t enough, Kent is also the team’s union representative. Answering labor-management and Kent-Bonds questions will soon turn Kent into a basketcase.

Trade Kent soon, before the shoves become punches.