BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Bonds-Strawberry Battle Continues

When told Darryl Strawberry had called him “a joke” for making mildly critical comments about the Dodger organization, Barry Bonds lashed back Friday.

“If Darryl Strawberry wants to take it personally, he can kiss my. . . .,” Bonds told Paul Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “And I’ll stand by that. If he thinks I was ripping the Dodgers, he was an idiot.”

Bonds added: “One, Strawberry should not even have gotten in the situation. Two, I didn’t say anything that ripped the Dodger organization.”

Bonds, however, confirmed his remarks about the Dodgers lacking direction.

“(The media) asked me, ‘Do you want to go to L.A?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know because I don’t know what their direction is anymore,’ ” Bonds said, adding that the Dodger veterans are not supported enough by the younger players.

Fred Claire, Dodger vice president, would have preferred that Strawberry and Bonds kept quiet.

“As far as a player talking about where he wants to play . . . those discussions are better held until after the season,” Claire said. “By the same token, I would not talk about any player who is eligible for free agency in terms of coming to our ballclub. And there is that added incentive of a $250,000 fine for tampering.”

“If (Bonds) didn’t mean it in that direction, then I can respect him more for that,” Strawberry said.

After throwing out only two of 12 runners attempting to steal in June, Carlos Hernandez credits a return to his side-armed throwing motion for helping him catch four of the last 14.

“During spring training, (Dodger coaches) wanted me to start throwing over the top, but I could never get comfortable with that,” Hernandez said. “In the last couple of weeks, I have gone back to old way, and it has worked. They said I don’t have to change again.”

Hernandez has thrown out 11 of 39 runners this season or 28%, and Mike Scioscia has thrown out 14 of 75, for 18%.

Kyle Abbott (0-11) will trade places with Mike Williams (1-1) in the Phillie rotation this weekend. Abbott will start tonight against Ramon Martinez, and Williams will start Sunday against Bob Ojeda.