Nothing against Gary Matthews Jr.’s home run-robbing catch, but he was wearing a glove. The defensive play of the year was made last Sunday by San Diego catcher Rob Bowen, who caught a ball barehanded to tag out Steve Finley at the end of a rundown. His glove had been knocked off his left hand earlier in a collision with the Giants’ Ray Durham.
Finley steamed around third on the play and would have scored if Bowen hadn’t stepped up to grab a hard throw from shortstop Khalil Greene in pre-1900 style to make the tag.
“He caught that ball barehanded?” Greene asked after the game. “I had no idea. I smoked that throw. He didn’t have his glove on? Where did it go?”
Bowen said he never thought about backing out of the way because he didn’t have a mitt.
“My adrenaline was going so much I just told him to throw it,” Bowen said. “I didn’t even feel it. I was just focused on getting Finley out.”
He must have 16-inch softball in his blood.
Looking ahead
Despite the clouds that never stop swirling around him, Barry Bonds said after his 42nd birthday on Monday that he wants to play again next year.
“You ride life until the wheels fall off, baby, know what I mean?” Bonds told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman. “Who’s to say when it’s time for somebody to go? Evander Holyfield, who’s a friend of mine, is getting ready to fight again. I wish he wouldn’t, but who am I to say, `Don’t fight?’ If that’s what’s in your heart, you fight.”
Bonds is at the same age that Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron retired but insisted he will know when it’s time for him to walk away.
Maybe not. Maybe Commissioner Bud Selig or a federal magistrate will have to deliver the news.
Another Twins flamethrower
Not that they need another good young pitcher, but it appears the Twins have one coming in right-hander Matt Garza, who threw a three-hit shutout against Charlotte, the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, on Tuesday.
This is a guy who was with Fresno State until the ’05 draft and started the year in Class A.
Garza’s fastball was clocked at 97 m.p.h. in the ninth inning Tuesday, when he was allowed to throw 127 pitches to get the shutout. Among those there to watch was Tom Kelly, the former Twins manager who acts as a special assistant for general manager Terry Ryan.
“I told Tom Kelly before the game, `If this kid’s on with his stuff, you’re going to see an outstanding performance,'” Rochester Red Wings manager Stan Cliburn said. “But I didn’t expect him to be that good. He was very dominating.”
After pitching well in a limited stint with the big-league club in spring training, Garza has gone 13-4 with a 2.09 ERA in 21 minor-league starts. He has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost 5-to-1.
The Twins have been exploring the market for a veteran to add depth to the rotation but might not have to do anything but make a call to Rochester.
“Well, I’m trying not to set my sights on him,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He just got moved up to Triple A. We’re hoping that he does well in Triple A, and if he continues to pitch like that, then obviously, sure, that could be something that could really help us out in August, September. . . . He has a great arm, and he’s a bulldog.”
Whispers
There was talk last weekend about conversations between the White Sox and A’s–possibly Javier Vazquez or Freddy Garcia and prospects for Barry Zito. . . . General manager Doug Melvin made a creative trade for Carlos Lee, getting three players who can help the Brewers compete in the near future (reliever Francisco Cordero and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix) rather than long-term prospects. . . . Give Cleveland credit for getting outfielder Shin-Soo Choo from Seattle for singer-first baseman Ben Broussard, who normally plays with more soul than pop. But Broussard has been killing right-handed pitchers this year, and Indians GM Mark Shapiro said a lot of teams were interested. . . . Don’t you know Frank Thomas would love to be in the playoffs while the White Sox stay home? The A’s DH entered Sunday with 23 homers and 59 RBIs–both team highs. . . . The Padres reportedly talked to the White Sox about Josh Fields before being told he was off limits. You would think it would take a lot more than reliever Scott Linebrink to make that deal. . . . Keith Foulke, out since June 12 with fluid on his elbow, could add some grit to the Red Sox bullpen in the near future. He’s considering retiring after this season because of his recurring injuries.
The last word
“I won’t be on the DL next year, unless they have the DL at the Muirfield Village Country Club.”–Reds left-hander Kent Mercker, who went on the DL for second time this season because of elbow problems.
