NOTEBOOK | Baseball news

New wounds: Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel and Philadelphia closer Jose Mesa had lockers next to each other in Cleveland, but they couldn't be farther apart these days. In Vizquel's book, he rips Mesa for blowing a 2-1 lead in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series against the Marlins. Vizquel wrote he could see in Mesa's eyes that he wasn't going to get the job done. The Marlins tied the score off Mesa, then won the game in the 11th inning against Charles Nagy. When the Phillies played at Cleveland last week, the two were reunited. Mesa greeted Vizquel with a pitch in the shoulder blade. They started screaming at each other, but Vizquel didn't charge the mound.
AL vs. NL: Barry Bonds says he holds nothing against New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, who hit Bonds when they faced each other at Yankee Stadium last weekend, but Giants manager Dusty Baker had a different opinion. "You can be bold in this American League and get away with it," Baker said. "It's different in our league, where pitchers have to hit. Not to take anything away from Roger. But in the National League, he might be ... what's his nickname? The Rocket? In our league, he might be Roger the Dodger." Before the series, Clemens playfully said he would "knock Bonds' elbow pad off," prompting an investigation by Bob Watson, baseball's vice president of discipline. Bonds said he didn't think Clemens hit him intentionally.