High & Inside: NL Notes

The man most responsible for San Francisco's abnormal love of Barry Bonds announced yesterday that he's stepping down as managing partner of the Giants, according to the Associated Press. Peter Magowan, who bought the franchise in 1993, will retire at the end of the season. He was instrumental in bringing Bonds from Pittsburgh that same year and was among the most public owners in the game. Quick, name the Phillies' owners.

From all indications, Billy Wagner never ducks the media after a tough loss. Well,

almost

. We bring this information to light because the New York Mets closer called out some of his teammates after they failed to answer for a frustrating 1-0 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Wagner questioned the accountability of teammates who were not present for postgame interviews. "You should be talking to the guys over there," he snapped to reporters in the clubhouse, motioning toward the empty lockers of Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and, especially, Carlos Delgado, according to the New York Times. "Oh, they're not there. Big shock," the outspoken Wagner said. (Beltran had in fact spoken to the media before leaving.) Almost three years ago, when he was still a Phillie, Wagner did some ducking himself after the final game of the season. The Phils beat the Nationals, 9-3, in Washington but finished a game behind Houston for a wild-card berth. Wagner's contract was up, and the uncertainty over his future was a pressing issue. But the flamethrower was absent when reporters searched the visitors' locker room at RFK Stadium. High & Inside ran out to the parking lot, and just as we arrived Wagner was pulling out in his white BMW. He didn't have to worry about criticizing teammates. Wagner signed with the Mets a month later.

With a quarter of the season in the books, it is time to marvel at the magnificence of the National League's best pitcher, Brandon Webb. The Arizona Diamondbacks righthander has won each of his nine starts this season, the most since Andy Hawkins won his first 10 in 1985 with the Padres, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Webb is 9-0 with a 2.56 ERA and is on pace to become the first 25-plus-game winner since Bob Welch won 27 for Oakland in 1990. While it's still too early to predict such a milestone - Webb has never won more than 18 games in a season - the 2006 Cy Young Award winner has become an ace in the truest sense of the word.

The St. Louis Cardinals put closer Jason Isringhausen on the 15-day disabled list because of a cut on his pitching hand. . . . First baseman Dmitri Young was activated from the 15-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals. . . . The Atlanta Braves sent lefthanded pitcher Chuck James to the minors and recalled reliever Phil Stockman. . . . The Milwaukee Brewers recalled pitcher Zach Jackson and sent reliever Mitch Stetter back to the minors.