Bonderman has head, wrist on straight

By Hal McCoy

Dayton Daily News

PITTSBURGH | In these days of boorish baseball behavior from Milton Bradley, Kenny Rogers and Rafael Palmeiro, it is a blast of fresh air on a humid Houston day to hear the words of 22-year-old Detroit pitcher Jeremy Bonderman.

Flashes of pins in his wrist and a career-ending injury entered Bonderman's mind last week, but only briefly, after he was struck on the wrist by a line drive.

"I thought it was broken and my career was over," he said. "I don't know how significant it would be if you had to have a pin put in your arm."

And quickly those thoughts disappeared.

"I have the luxury of playing a game," he said, remembering a friend in Iraq who was blinded by scrap from an exploding car. "That's very sad. Every time you think about something like that, that puts it in perspective what we have over here, and what they're fighting for over there."

Bonderman is going to be all right, and he would have been more than all right had his career ended, because he is a baseball player with a cranium used for more than a cap with a major-league logo on it.

Peavy loves Clemens

Speaking of respect for the game, tune in on San Diego pitcher Jake Peavy. He was nearly mournful after beating Houston's Roger Clemens, 1-0.

Peavy, 24, grew up admiring Clemens, 43, and his bedroom was stuffed with Clemens memorabilia.

"Greatest moment of my career," Peavy said of his victory over Clemens. "I am in total awe of Clemens. To be able to go pitch-for-pitch with him was a great honor. I hope he understands how much that meant to me."

He does and said, "When I go, the game is in good hands with young pitchers like Jake Peavy."

Defending Kent

Speaking of L.A.'s Milton Bradley and his charge that teammate Jeff Kent is insensitive to black players, some former teammates came to Kent's defense.

When Kent played in Houston, he was, uh, aloof, but beloved. He was relentless in his criticism of a young Lance Berkman, teaching him the nuances of the game.

Said Berkman, "To make it a race issue is ridiculous. J.K. doesn't discriminate against anybody. He ignores Latins, blacks and whites equally."

That's the kind of endorsement former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott used to receive.

Said Jose Vizcaino, a Dominican of African descent, "People think badly of Kent because he doesn't talk a lot. Like he said, 'Ask Joe Carter (a former black teammate). He's a quiet person who goes about his business. I asked the Latin players about him, and they were crazy about him. He wants to win and when he sees things aren't being done right, he'll let you know."

Kent can be abrasive. On a visit to Cincinnati, a writer approached him and said, "I'm (so-and-so) from the (so-and-so)," and Kent said, "Wow, it must be my (bleeping) lucky day."

Be prepared, Julio

Tampa Bay shortstop Julio Lugo better swing at any pitch close to the strike zone after what he said about major-league umpires, who take criticism like a 5-year-old chided in kindergarten.

When umpires didn't call an obvious balk on Cleveland pitcher Bob Wickman, Lugo said, "It's hard for me to understand why a team that struggles gets all the calls against it.

"There are a lot of teams that have superstars, and (the umpires) are intimidated by them. One of those big guys will say something and it's different than if it's one of the guys here. Why? Because the umpires say, 'Who are you? How many years have you been in the league?' Most umpires have been in the league longer than us."

Here's a guarantee. The umpires now know, for sure, who Lugo is. Swing, Julio, swing.

Hendry, Baker safe

Was this baseball's proverbial kiss of death? Despite the travails of the Chicago Cubs, club president Andy MacPhail issued a vote of confidence for General Manager Jim Hendry and manager Dusty Baker.

"I'm very content with Jim, and I know he is very content with Dusty," MacPhail said. "Hendry won't talk about it, but one of the restraints he is under is that, yeah, we have a $100 million payroll, but $13 million of it went over to Baltimore with Sammy Sosa and $17 million more has been on the DL most of the year. So 30 percent of his payroll is out the window."

Tribute to Sparky

Tony La Russa passed Sparky Anderson last week on the all-time managerial wins list (2,195) and now trails only Connie Mack and John McGraw. And he paid homage to Anderson.

"It brings attention again to a great, great man in Sparky," La Russa said. "I was treated very nice, but nobody treated me better. Sparky was the best. Everything you asked, he gave it to you.

"The only difference between me, Jim Leyland (Pittsburgh, Colorado, Florida) and Tom Kelly (Minnesota) is that I've never been in a situation, like them, where it hasn't been ideal to generate wins."

What, no flutes?

When Kansas City broke its 19-game losing streak, players drank six bottles of champagne ... out of paper cups. Well, it is a small-market team.

Contact Hal McCoy by e-mail at hmccoy@DaytonDailyNews.com