BEIJING -
Jennie Finch's voice is raspy on the day after her final Olympic softball game. One in which she didn't pitch and her team lost.
Mike Candrea, who also coached Finch at the University of Arizona, said he went with left-handers Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman in the final two games because Japan has seven lefties in its lineup.
During the 60-game pre-Olympic tour, innings were equally divided between the three pitchers. In the Olympics, Abbott threw 24 innings, Osterman 20 and Finch 11 in only three appearances.
Tougher than that for the 27-year-old was to see five of her retiring teammates leave their cleats at home plate, going out with a defeat and the first non-gold medal in U.S. Olympic history.
Still the face of the team because of her media popularity, Finch of Tucson talked about her future and that of the sport, out of the Olympics until 2016 at the soonest.
Q: Your 2-year-old will be 10 before softball could return. That sort of puts the gap in perspective.
A: No doubt about it. You look at Caitlin (Lowe) and Monica (Abbott) and Andrea Duran, these young girls who could play in 2012 and 2016. Then even greater than that is young girls all across the world that will be affected by this. Who knows if they'll be funding for programs in South American and Asia and Europe for this sport. Where will be end up? We don't know.
Q: If softball is reinstated by the International Olympic Committee next year for 2016, will that keep funding going?
A: I hope. That's the mission, that's the goal. 1996 is what truly put our sport on the map then it exploded from there. It just kept getting bigger and better. That was never imagined that I'd play professional softball to make a living. Fifteen years ago that wasn't even possible. Hopefully it will continue Funding is a big part of it and sponsorship. If it is back in for 2016, I think you'll see that funding and support.
Q: Six American women's teams (soccer, basketball, water polo, volleyball, gymnastics, softball) are assured of at least a silver medal. Why is that?
A: People don't have to go out and manage real jobs and play. We can focus and play the game we love and not have to worry about that. The team sports have finally gotten the funding that is needed and the coaching. The USOC has been phenomenal as far as giving us everything we could possibly imagine on the technical side of it.
Q: What's next for you?
A: Being home and being a mom and a wife and enjoying some family time.
Q: Are you disappointed that you didn't pitch in the last couple of games?
A: As a pitcher, you always want the ball in your hand. I'm a competitor, but at the same time I'm right behind coach 110 percent and right behind Cat and Monica. No matter who is out there, I have complete faith they'll get the job done.
Q: What do you make as pro softball players on the average?
A: Maybe $5,000 a summer. Thankfully most of the national team members have outside sponsorships as far as endorsement deals. The USOC has been huge as far as giving us the funding to be committed 110 percent 12 months out of the year. And our governing body (USA Softball) as far as really fighting for us.
Q: So does the USOC funding go away with softball out of the Olympics?
A: It'll be interesting. I think a lot of us will be forced with the reality of I need to get a real job. We're out of college now.
Q: You have such a high visibility. Will you be able to maintain that and does it matter to you?
A: For the young girls out there, it matters to me. For me individually, no. I play this game for my teammates and for my country. It doesn't really matter to me, but I think it does matter to the future of the sport. All of us will be doing everything we can to prove the vote won't ruin our sport. It's too great not to go on and be successful.
Q: You've been away from your son (Ace) for three weeks?
A: A month.
Q: How hard is that?
A: It's been hard, but you fight that emotion. The China game, I didn't start and I guess he went up to the TV screen and was like, 'Mommy, no pitch.' My mother-in-law said, 'No she's not pitching today.' He turned to her and said, 'Mommy no pitch, mommy come home.' It tugs at your heart. You look at your teammates, and they're there to pick you up. I love what I do, and I know it is only for a short time. I'm just grateful for my family support because without them there is no way I would be in Beijing.
Q: How long do you think you'll continue playing?
A: I want to expand my family so we'll see. I can't really put a time limit on it, but I think there is more pitching in this arm to do. I still have that competitive fire in me.
Q: Were you emotional when the players brought their cleats out?
A: Very much so. That was in the forefront of my mind with the vote and the loss. Some of the greatest players that have ever played this game are hanging up their cleats. (Crystl) Bustos is my roommate since 2002. She's going to be missed. And I can't say enough about Bergy (Laura Berg). Every single day of her life, she's given a lot to this game. These girls are our sisters. We've trained together for 7-8 years. It's a sad day for the sport. Selfishly I'm going to miss them. For the sport in general it's a bummer.
Q: It was especially costly not to score in the first inning with the bases loaded in the gold medal game.
A: With this team, usually we put runs on the board. Japan was just the better team. They took advantage of opportunities. We had our shot, we just didn't get the ball to fall in the right spot. But we gave it our all, and we tip our hats to Japan because they fought hard. What a gutsy performance by (Yukiko) Ueno on the mound. It was the best softball this world's ever seen the last two days, and that was our mission coming in here.
Nayara Figueira
Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia celebrates after winning the women's 10,000m final of the athletics competition in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on Friday. Photo/REUTERS
