Sutcliffe Signs Off; Van Slyke Signs On With Baltimore
Rick Sutcliffe, apparently unwanted at 38, retired Friday with a Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award to show for 16 seasons in major league baseball.
The right-hander, whose career record was 171-139, made the announcement via fax from the office of his agent, Barry Axelrod. Sutcliffe pitched last season for the St. Louis Cardinals, going 6-4 with a 6.42 ERA.
Sutcliffe did not attend a players union camp at Homestead, Fla., for free agents hoping to attract new teams.
Van Slyke switches leagues
Andy Van Slyke had to take a sizable pay cut in order to extend his baseball career. The veteran outfielder signed a one-year deal with Baltimore that calls for a base salary of $550,000 and up to $250,000 in performance incentives.
Van Slyke, 34, had a $3.65 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season.
Gonzalez sidelined
Texas Rangers outfielder Juan Gonzalez, who will miss up to three weeks because of a herniated disc in his lower back, was reexamined by the team’s spine consultant in Dallas. Gonzalez will receive a second epidural injection Tuesday and will continue twice-a-day therapy treatments.
Strawberry’s list?
In an attempt to avoid a jail sentence for his tax evasion conviction, Darryl Strawberry is offering to name former Mets teammates who allegedly failed to report income from promotional appearances, the New York Daily News reported.
The News said Strawberry wants to trade information about Dwight Gooden and Howard Johnson for a civil penalty instead of a three-month jail sentence.
Clemens heads home
Roger Clemens will leave spring training so he can return to Boston for tests on his sore right shoulder, he said after cutting short another warmup session.
“I said if I felt any kind of cramping I’d shut it down and that’s basically what happened,” he said.
Manager Kevin Kennedy declined to comment on Clemens’ situation, saying he needed to discuss it first with general manager Dan Duquette.
M’s outslug Padres
Marc Newfield hit a three-run homer, capping a five-run rally in the eighth inning that lifted the Seattle Mariners over the San Diego Padres 13-12 at Peoria, Ariz.
Excluding replacement exhibitions, the Mariners are 10-0 against San Diego since the teams began sharing the Peoria training facility last year.
Mike Blowers was stiff and ailing Friday, suffering from a slight case of whiplash he picked up playing the outfield a night earlier.
Subbing for Jay Buhner in right field Thursday, Blowers dove for a fly ball against San Francisco and strained his neck. His availability is day-to-day, the Mariners said.
As expected, M’s pitcher Greg Hibbard was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Recovering from major shoulder surgery, the team hopes he will be pitching in the big leagues again after the All-Star break.
Randy Johnson will make his final spring appearance today against the Giants.