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Baseball notebook: Martinez plans return

Pedro Martinez’s next stint may be with the Cubs or Rays. (File Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press
Pedro Martinez’s next stint may be with the Cubs or Rays. (File Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Pedro Martinez could be back on a major league mound soon.

The right-hander said on Wednesday that he has had talks with the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays and hopes to sign a contract in the near future.

Martinez, 37, has been training in his native Dominican Republic in hopes of returning to the majors. His four-year deal with the New York Mets ended after last season.

“Chicago and Tampa Bay are the two teams that have shown the most interest and we are negotiating with them, although I’ve told my agent not to call me until it’s a done deal,” Martinez said.

Martinez has a 214-99 record with an ERA of 2.91 in 17 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and the Mets.

Hall receives sentence

Former major league outfielder Mel Hall was sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted in Fort Worth, Texas, of raping a 12-year-old girl he coached on an elite basketball team.

Hall was convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of indecency with a child.

Hall, 48, looked skyward and swayed back and forth as the verdict was read.

Jurors reached the verdict on the punishment after about an hour of deliberating. Hall must serve about 22 1/2 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

Clearing the bases

A congressional committee will look into former baseball slugger Sammy Sosa’s denial that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs in light of a report that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003. The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Democratic Rep. Edolphus Towns of New York, says that the committee takes seriously suggestions that a witness had been misleading. … St. Louis manager Tony La Russa will join Dodgers manager Joe Torre as an N.L. coach for next month’s All-Star game in St. Louis. … Toronto plans to place ace Roy Halladay (strained right groin) on the disabled list today. … Houston placed left-hander Mike Hampton on the 15-day D.L. with a left groin strain.