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Saying goodbye Awed by Gwynn, Henderson wants farewell tour
All these years Rickey Henderson never wanted a farewell tour. He always figured his retirement would come quietly, without much fanfare. One day he would simply walk out of a baseball clubhouse for the last time and never go back. The greatest base stealer and leadoff hitter in the game's history would take all those memories, all those records, all those superlatives back home to Oakland and, in his words, "shut it down." Next stop: Cooperstown. But now Henderson's not so sure. Watching Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn get a chance to say goodbye this summer has made him wonder. He now says he would like a farewell tour of his own. He says he intends to come back next season at age 43 for one last go-round, preferably with his hometown A's. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind going through it," Henderson said, smiling. "You put your time in, especially if you play as long as I have played and Tony has played and done so much for the game. ... It's great the way the fans have been treating Tony. Seeing it, it's a great feeling, the people showing they respect him." There are no guarantees, of course, that Henderson or anyone else will be granted a farewell tour in the future. The Ripken and Gwynn cases were special in several ways. Henderson, for instance, has played for seven different teams (A's, Yankees, Blue Jays, Angels, Padres, Mets, Mariners), which makes him the quintessential modern ballplayer. "I think if I hadn't seen it with Tony, I probably wouldn't even think about it or care too much about it," Henderson said of the farewell tour. But seeing it going that way, I think every ballplayer that has done a lot for the game, when they leave the game, they should enjoy that treatment." Henderson needs 23 more hits for the magical 3,000 plateau. "Feels like about 123," he said. "I told Tony, it seems like those last 25-30 hits take forever." And he needs 17 more runs to pass Ty Cobb on the all-time list. Both milestones conceivably could fall before this season ends, but Rickey wants to play one more year "regardless." He wants that chance to say goodbye.
Bochy: Pair of aces give D'backs upper handEverybody loves the unbalanced schedule, but there are a few flaws. The Diamondbacks and Giants, for instance, won't play each other again after Sept. 6. Barring a one-game playoff or postseason showdown, that is.Meanwhile, Padres manager Bruce Bochy had an interesting take on the NL West race. While crediting the Dodgers and manager Jim Tracy for hanging around this long, Bochy sees the wild West as a clear two-team race, with Arizona holding the upper hand in more places than just the standings. The reason? Two reasons, actually: Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. "If I had to bet my house on it? I would say Diamondbacks [win]," Bochy said. "Those two front-line guys are unbelievable, the years they're having. ... I think there's a little more pressure on the Diamondbacks, with those two front-line starters, to get there. But if they get there, I think they should definitely be the favorite in the playoffs." Johnson and Schilling are a combined 36-12 and appear to be locks for twin 20-win seasons. The D'backs are 43-14 when the Twin Towers start and 33-41 the rest of the time. "The Giants are not going to go away," Bochy said. "It's going to go down to the last week, but if the Diamondbacks can't get there with those two guns, that's not a good year. I'd like to have those two for one year. I'd take my chances." The one year Bochy had two big guns of his own -- Kevin Brown and Andy Ashby in 1998 -- he took the Padres to the World Series.
Beckett's future is nowFears of an impending work stoppage this winter will keep many teams from adding top prospects to the 40-man roster this winter, but the Marlins had no such concerns with Josh Beckett.The 21-year-old right-hander from suburban Houston already was on the 40-man roster after signing a four-year, $7 million deal in August 1999. Now Beckett, one of the most ballyhooed pitching prospects in minor league history, will make his big league debut as a September recall, most likely early next week against the Cubs in South Florida. Sammy, meet Josh. Josh, Sammy. Beckett's numbers in his second professional season are staggering. Heading into his final start Wednesday night for Class AA Portland, Beckett was 13-1 with a 1.61 ERA in 25 outings (24 starts) this season. In 134 combined innings at Portland and Class A Brevard County, he had allowed 78 hits, 34 walks while striking out 196. His 5.8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, in the words of Marlins catcher Charles Johnson, is "pretty crazy." That's 13.2 strikeouts per nine innings against 2.3 walks. Beckett has wowed scouts all year with his mid-90s fastball, big-breaking curveball and advanced changeup. Marlins GM Dave Dombrowski rated Beckett the most anticipated September call-up he has been a part of in nearly a quarter century in the industry. Back in the early '80s, White Sox slugger Ron Kittle created a similar stir after bashing 50 homers in the minors, but Dombrowski says Beckett is far more advanced as a prospect. The club will continue to be extra cautious with Beckett, keeping him on a pitch count of 90-100. Shoulder tendinitis forced him to the disabled list for two separate stints in 2000, his first professional season. "The thing that really impressed me ... was that he's such a mature pitcher," said one scout who attended Beckett's combined no-hitter on Aug. 14. "He is not afraid of contact. He strikes out batters, but he's out there being very efficient, getting outs and not nibbling and trying to strike out everyone he faces. Then he always can reach back for more and blow somebody away when he needs to. ... Injury is the only thing that can stop this guy." Mike Berardino covers the baseball beat for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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