Barry Bonds was a no-show at HoHoKam Park on Monday, yet there was no need for a public hug with Sammy Sosa.
Turned out they'd already patched up any feud -- perceived or real -- at a chance meeting for food, rather than on the field.
"This is not good for baseball. I want to put that behind me," Sosa said before his Chicago Cubs played the Bonds-less San Francisco Giants. "I don't think this is a big issue."
Sosa claimed he had not spoken to Bonds since their playful back-and-forth turned personal last week.
"I haven't talked to him. No, no, no, we haven't met," Sosa insisted. "Nothing happening here, fellows. Everything is under control."
That's because the sluggers apparently hashed out things Saturday night when they happened to run into each other at Barcelona, a popular restaurant in nearby Scottsdale.
"They talked about five minutes. It looked very cordial," said David McCormick, a restaurant manager who said he witnessed the discussion.
"No family feuds here, no security calls that I heard," he said. "I think it went well."
Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, confirmed the weekend meeting.
"It's over, as far as I'm concerned," Katz said yesterday. "It's a non-issue."
No telling why Sosa denied speaking to Bonds. Perhaps it was food for thought after what occurred recently, when a private conversation between the stars on the field became public domain. Suddenly, they were no longer joking about Bonds' record of 73 home runs and whether Sosa would break it.
"I thought he was a good person, but now I have to believe the negative things said about him by his teammates are true," Sosa barbed last week.
"I think it's childish, to be honest with you," Bonds said at the time.
ROUNDUP
TRIBE'S WRIGHT AILING:
Indians pitcher
Jaret Wright
, coming back from two operations on his right shoulder the last two years, will not pitch for three to five days because of tendinitis. Wright felt some stiffness in his shoulder after pitching one inning on Saturday against Philadelphia. He was examined Sunday by Dr.
Mark Shickendantz,
who recommended the right-hander take a few days off.
BOHANON UNDERGOES SURGERY:
Reds pitcher
Brian Bohanon
had arthroscopic surgery yesterday to repair a fractured bone spur in his left elbow. The Reds' team physician, Dr.
Timothy Kremchek,
operated on Bohanon for one hour at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. Bohanon was to return to training camp today and could begin throwing in two weeks, according to Kremchek.
SCHMIDT MISSES START: Giants pitcher
Jason Schmidt
was scratched from his first start of spring training yesterday because of tightness in his right groin.
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