Bonds, Sosa brush aside talks of fued

MESA, Ariz. -- 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, fellas."

"Everything is under control," he said.

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."

Which is how all sides seem to want it.

"They made something out of nothing," Sosa said.

Said his agent, Adam Katz: "It's over, as far as I'm concerned. 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.

This time, they appear to be keeping the conversation among themselves.

There had been speculation Bonds would make the 20-minute trip from the Giants' complex in Scottsdale to see Sosa.

Instead, after playing three straight games, Bonds stayed back in camp -- as top players often do in spring training.

Sosa said he did not think Bonds tried to avoid him.

"Every superstar, they give a day off," Sosa said. "I wish he would be here so we can play the game."

Giants manager Dusty Baker said the buzz about a Bonds-Sosa feud had nothing to do with his decision to leave Bonds behind.

"It was a regular day off for him," Baker said. "I don't know anything about what happened between Barry and Sammy."

Red Sox hire manager

Boston has a new manager in Grady Little, who knows enough about the turbulent history of the Red Sox to admit his warm welcome won't last if he doesn't win.

Little, bench coach in Boston from 1997-99 and at Cleveland since then, was hired Monday as the team's third manager in a week and fourth in seven months.

"We were well aware of the mini-melodramas that took place at the end of the season," new team president Larry Lucchino said. "We think Grady has the right temperament for this franchise right now."

Boston's makeover began Feb. 27 when John Henry and his partners bought the team. The next day, they fired general manager Dan Duquette, whose aloof style alienated players. Five days later, they dumped manager Joe Kerrigan, who took over last Aug. 16 when Duquette fired Jimy Williams.

-- From wire reports