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MLB Capsules: Rangers' Hamilton confirms alcohol relapse
ARLINGTON (AP) — Josh Hamilton shed no tears and used no prepared statement as he apologized and shared few details about his relapse with alcohol. Still, it was clear he was upset by what he had done.
The Texas Rangers slugger and recovering drug addict said he had "three or four" drinks during dinner at a Dallas restaurant and bar Monday and continued drinking later that night.
"Things happened that me, personally, I'm not proud of after I drank, and they are personal and are being handled as that," he said Friday during a news conference called specifically to address the incident. "Knowing this was going to get out in social media, Twitter, people get excited. There was no pictures taken of me having a beer with somebody or anything like that, but I did take pictures with people."
Hamilton didn't elaborate or give any real indication about what those things were.
Hamilton was suspended for more than three years for drug and alcohol use while in the Tampa Bay organization. The former No. 1 overall draft pick missed the entire 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons, but has become one of the best players in baseball on a team that has won the last two American League pennants. He was the AL MVP in 2010.
The 30-year-old Hamilton said his latest actions "hurt a lot of people very close to me." He closed his eyes at one point and seemed to force a smile another time. He didn't take questions during his 12-minute appearance.
Without being specific, Hamilton said he had a "weak moment" that stemmed from "personal reasons" involving a family member. He said he walked to a restaurant to have dinner and ended up "ordering a drink, and probably had three or four drinks."
Hamilton said he did not take any drugs, and had no thoughts of doing so. He said he has been tested for drugs twice since Monday, part of his normal mandated routine.
This is Hamilton's second known alcohol-related relapse in three years. Both came during the offseason, and this one has put on hold talks with the Rangers about a contract extension.
After his public apology earlier in the day, Hamilton appeared as scheduled Friday night at a Christian men's rally in Katy, Texas, near Houston. He again didn't take any questions and spoke only to the congregation.
"I could hide in shame, and not show up tonight and be withdrawn, but I didn't want to do that," Hamilton told the group while reiterating his Christian faith. "I'm doing what I had to do today. I am fessing up. I am going to be a man about it; I am fessing up. People are going to call me a hypocrite, but I am a sinful man."
In January 2009, he drank to excess in a bar in Tempe, Ariz. He apologized for that a few months later when a dozen or so pictures were posted online showing Hamilton taking shots off the bar, and dancing and hugging several young women. He said then that he had been sober since October 2005.
Hamilton and general manager Jon Daniels said the outfielder will meet soon with Major League Baseball doctors and counselors in New York for an evaluation in his continued recovery.
"My life in general is based on making the right choices, everything as far as my recovery, as far as my baseball goes, it's all based around my relationship with the Lord," Hamilton said earlier at Rangers Ballpark. "And I look at it like that, you all know how hard I play on the field and I give it everything I absolutely have. When I don't do that off the field, I leave myself open for a weak moment."
After having a few drinks with dinner, Hamilton called Ian Kinsler to come hang out with him.
Hamilton said Kinsler didn't know he had been drinking, and that he never had a drink in front of his teammate, even when they left before the restaurant closed and went to another place nearby for 25-30 minutes. Then Kinsler drove him back to where he was staying not far away.
Though Hamilton told Kinsler he was not going anywhere else, Hamilton said he later returned to the place they had left and had more drinks.
Daniels, who was out of town and spoke on a later conference call, was asked if he was concerned that the incident was more than just Hamilton having a few drinks. The GM referred to Hamilton saying that alcohol had led the outfielder to some things he wasn't proud of.
"I don't know. I wasn't there," Daniels said. "That's how Josh wants to address those things right now."
In Twitter posts Friday, Hamilton's wife, Katie, wrote: "Truly appreciate all the encouraging & supportive tweets we've been getting. God is Faithful and forgives- so thankful that you all are ... Showing us such love and encouragement during this time."
When the Rangers acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2007, they were aware of Hamilton's off-the-field problems. He is tested for drug use three times a week and has had an accountability partner to support him in his recovery — though that job is now vacant.
Assistant hitting coach Johnny Narron's primary role was to support the former No. 1 overall draft pick, but Narron left the Rangers in November for Milwaukee.
The Rangers announced last month that Hamilton's father-in-law had been hired as a staff special assistant to be the accountability partner, but Michael Dean Chadwick has since decided against accepting that position because of "family considerations."
Daniels said the team was close to hiring someone for the job, a process that was already in the final stages before the latest incident. He said an announcement could come next week.
But Daniels said such a person likely wouldn't have been with Hamilton during the offseason when he was home with his family, as was the case this week.
Hamilton can become a free agent after this season and had been talking to the Rangers about a contract extension.
"It would be nice if it was talking about a contract but we'll put that on the back burner for a while," Hamilton said before walking out of the room. Daniels concurred that he had agreed with Hamilton's agent, Mike Moye, that contract talks would be put on hold. Daniels said there was no timetable for resuming them.
While Daniels said Hamilton's relapse created a number of emotions, including disappointment, the GM said the overriding concern was for Hamilton and his family. Hamilton and his wife have four daughters, the youngest born last summer.
''For everybody who I have hurt, for everybody — fans, kids, people who have addictions and look up to me — I apologize to you," he said. "When you're doing this, you don't mean to hurt anybody. You only think you're hurting yourself. But as I know, you're hurting a lot of people."
Other AL Capsules
Rays beat Jeff Niemann in salary arbitration
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays defeated pitcher Jeff Niemann in salary arbitration Friday, improving clubs to 2-0 in decisions this year.
Niemann will earn $2.75 million instead of his request for $3.2 million, arbitrators James Oldham, Howard Edelman and Mark Irvings decided after hearing arguments a day earlier.
Tampa Bay improved to 6-0 in arbitration.
Niemann was 11-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 23 starts last season, when he didn't pitch between May 4 and June 20 because of a strained back. He made $903,000.
In the first decision of the year, Washington pitcher John Lannan lost Thursday and will make $5 million rather than his request for $5.7 million.
Miami Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez asked a panel for a raise from $3.7 million to $8 million Friday, with the team arguing for $6.9 million. Sanchez, who is eligible for free agency after this season, was 8-9 with a 3.67 ERA in 32 starts last year, when he struck out 202 in 196 1-3 innings.
The three cases argued already matched last year's total, which tied a record low. Nineteen players remain scheduled for hearings, which run through Feb. 17.
Two right-handed pitchers settled on one-year contracts just before the scheduled start of hearings Friday. The Chicago Cubs and Matt Garza agreed at $9.5 million, and the Milwaukee Brewers and Shaun Marcum agreed to $7,725,000.
Indians add 1B Kotchman
CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians have officially added first baseman Casey Kotchman to their ever-changing roster. Cleveland finalized its $3 million, one-year deal with Kotchman on Friday, a day after reaching the agreement.
Kotchman, who batted a career-high .306 last season for Tampa Bay, likely will be Cleveland's starting first basemen. The left-handed hitter also is an exceptional fielder, which will help Cleveland's sinker-balling pitching staff.
The Indians set their sights on Kotchman after they were unable to sign Carlos Pena and Derrek Lee. Kotchman, 28, has a career .998 fielding percentage, the highest for a first basemen with at least 700 games.
Indians general manager Chris Antonetti has spent the offseason re-shaping the team. He has added six players from outside the organization to the 40-man roster.
1B Johnson joins Chicago White Sox
CHICAGO (AP) — First baseman Dan Johnson, whose dramatic home run on the final night of the regular season helped Tampa Bay reach last year's playoffs, has agreed to a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.
Johnson hit a tying, two-out, two-strike homer off Cory Wade in the ninth inning of regular-season finale against the Yankees, and Evan Longoria's 12th-inning homer won the game and the AL wild-card berth.
Johnson is a .235 hitter with 53 homers and 188 RBIs in six major league seasons with Oakland and the Rays. He batted .119 with two homers for the Rays last year and was the International League MVP in 2010. In 2005 he batted .275 with 15 homers for the Athletics, who drafted him in 2001.
Yanks' Chamberlain throws off half-mound
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain has started throwing off a half-mound as part of a rehabilitation program after elbow ligament replacement surgery.
Chamberlain threw at the Yankees' minor league complex in Florida on Friday. The right-hander said the session on the 5-inch mound, which New York pitching coach Larry Rothschild and team vice president Billy Connors watched, went well.
Chamberlain went 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 27 relief appearances last season before surgery on June 16. He is expected to rejoin the Yankees at some point this 2012 season.
Other NL Capsules
Lincecum returns as Giants ace, with options
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tim Lincecum showed up at AT&T Park on Friday with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his cap and signature shaggy hair, hiding his appearance.
Typical Timmy. For the first time since signing a new contract that will keep him in San Francisco through the 2013 season, the Giants ace revealed his reasoning behind a shorter deal. He cautioned fans not to worry about his possible pending free agency — both sides are keeping discussions open on a longer contract.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner said he'd "love to be a Giant my whole career." He just wants to keep his options open because he has "never been a guy who could make a plan four years from now."
"It's like when someone's like, 'What are you going to be doing? You want to hang out like a month from now when I'm down there?' I'm like, 'I don't know. Just call me when you're down here and I'll see what I'm doing,'" Lincecum said, speaking ahead of Saturday's annual Giants FanFest. "That's the way I've always been. My friends know me that way. My family knows me that way. This is just no different."
Let the countdown begin.
The Giants would love to buy out those first few years of free agency for Lincecum and keep "The Franchise" and "The Freak" as the face of the city's beloved team for the long haul. The front office knows that if Lincecum stays healthy and anywhere close to the success of his recent seasons, San Francisco might not be able to compete with teams such as the Yankees and Red Sox on long-term deals that could pay Lincecum upward of $25 million to $30 million annually.
Lincecum and the Giants completed a $40.2 million, two-year deal last week to avoid arbitration. The contract includes a series of bonuses for awards and milestones and also holds Lincecum to certain agreements, such as purchasing 25 tickets for each home game for charity.
San Francisco still hopes to lock up Lincecum — not to mention strong starter Matt Cain — with a long-term deal.
"It's something that may not happen before the season or even before next offseason, but yes, that is our goal," Giants Vice President Bobby Evans said in a text message.
While the baseball world promises to pay attention to every detail of Lincecum's future, he's focused only on returning to his Cy Young form and taking the 2010 World Series champions back to the fall classic.
Lincecum dropped from an astonishing 197 pounds to 175 this offseason, getting closer to his lanky frame from the 2010 season — where he said he finished at about 157 pounds — and most of his career. The trick? He stopped eating all those hamburgers. He often ordered three double-doubles — with fries and a shake — at a famous California-based fast food restaurant.
"I think I kind of went overboard trying to put on the weight last year," he said.
Lincecum loafed for the first half of the winter in the Seattle area, minus a quick nine-day reprieve on Hawaii's shores. One day, he said, he finally had enough — so he and his friend and roommate started eating healthier and recorded daily weigh-ins on a white board.
Then he went to work.
He tried a new approach, swimming most days in a butterfly stroke — "More like the frog," he joked — to slim down. He said the lack of a longer contract also motivates him to stay at his peak.
"You don't just sit back on your (butt) and be like, 'It's fine, I have that security, so I don't have to worry about getting better next year,'" he said. "I don't want to ever have to do that."
Lincecum has been an All-Star in each of the past four seasons.
He finished 13-14 despite a 2.74 ERA last year, the first losing record of his career. The Giants scored no runs while he was in the game in seven of 33 starts, had one run six times and two runs five times, according to STATS LLC.
Lincecum said the lack of run support has no bearing on his future — if anything, he actually prefers pitching in tight games. The 27-year-old right-hander, the winning pitcher in the Game 5 World Series clincher at Texas in 2010, and Cain consider the camaraderie with teammates in San Francisco paramount.
"There's such a confidence that you can have from a sense of companionship with the other four guys, knowing that maybe not all the pressure is put on you to be the top guy to go out there and win," said Cain, who could become a free agent at the end of the season. "I really do believe in that."
Compensation does matter.
Lincecum acknowledged some of the salaries for top free agents are "semi-ridiculous." He also noted that previous players paved the way for those bloated contracts — including Barry Zito, whose $126 million contract signed in 2007 will saddle San Francisco for another two years — and is only following benchmarks set by others.
That still doesn't stop fans across the Bay Area from peppering the pitcher with questions about his future.
"It's tough to give them the perfect answer to that," he said. "People at this level want to get what they feel like they deserve. I'm not the person who set that line. There have been plenty of people who have set that arbitration line. I'm just working off of it.
"That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to leave," he added. "I don't know what's going to happen three years from now. I don't know how I'm going to feel or what's going to happen. A lot of things can happen in a year's time. Given that, the options-open thing is the biggest thing for me.
"It says nothing about not wanting to be here."
-- Antonio Gonzalez
Dodgers ask court to disallow out Stow claim
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge on Friday to disallow claims against the team filed by Bryan Stow, the San Francisco Giants fan nearly beaten to death outside Dodger Stadium last spring.
Stow and his family sued the Dodgers in California state court, then filed the claim with the federal court in July, weeks after owner Frank McCourt put the team in bankruptcy.
"The Stow claim is, when stripped to its core, based on the faulty premise that a landowner is an insurer of the safety of persons on its property," the Dodgers said in a 37-page motion filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross.
Stow sustained a severe brain injury when he was attacked after the Dodgers' home opener against the Giants on March 31. He was hospitalized until October, then moved to a rehabilitation facility.
Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood were charged in the attack, which police described as the culmination of a string of confrontations they had with randomly selected Giants fans at the stadium.
McCourt is in the process of selling the team by April 30.
"The only good thing is, he's out," said Stow's lawyer, Thomas Girardi. "Seldom in history has an owner of a team been more hated, despised, than he is for his despicable conduct. So this is just perfect. You wouldn't expect anything else."
The Dodgers said there were 442 security personnel in the ballpark and parking lots that day, including police. The team said that was an increase from 398 for the 2010 opener and 308 for the first home game in 2009.
"Stow cannot prove any link between the additional security related steps that Stow contends the debtors should have taken and his injuries," the Dodgers said in a statement. "Stow cannot show that anything about the security personnel staffing on opening day caused his injuries and, furthermore, the security staffing at the game greatly exceeded all requirements of California state law."
In addition, the Dodgers said the team "had no knowledge of any inappropriate conduct by Stow's assailants prior to the time that Stow sustained his injuries and, as a matter of law, are not liable for failure to anticipate criminal acts of third parties."
Girardi said the Dodgers had submitted sworn statements in the case that contained lies.
"The last thing anybody would expect from a statement from the current bankrupt owner would be something about integrity, something about fairness, something about how do I correct the problem I caused?" Girardi said. "But steady as she goes with him, the same guy who siphoned off $189 million bucks of the Dodger organization and then put the team in bankruptcy, who got rid of security, who has more incidents of harm than any other team in baseball. Now this guy coming forward and saying forget about it."
Marlins' Reyes has televised haircut
SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — Along with a new uniform, Jose Reyes has a new, close-cropped look. The All-Star shortstop had his dreadlocks trimmed during a nationally televised haircut Friday on the MLB Network.
"A little bit lighter. It's going to take me a couple of days to get used to it," Reyes said.
He left the New York Mets in December for a $106 million, six-year contract with the Miami Marlins. Reyes' new team has a rule prohibiting hair below the helmet line.
"It's going to be a little bit emotional because I spent three years with this hair. But at the same time, I understand this rule of my new team," Reyes said before the snipping started. "I'm a team player, so I have to cut it off."
A man who would identify himself only as Jordan from Jordan's Barber Shop in the Bronx performed the haircut at the MLB Network studios. Network spokeswoman Lorraine Fisher said the trim will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida, which planned to auction the hair on eBay.
"One thing that I do, I wash my hair once a month," Reyes said. "Every time I went to shower, I put a plastic bag on my hair, and David Wright (is) always making fun of me because of that. I don't get my hair wet."
Other players who have had to cut their hair to comply with team rules include Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon when they joined the New York Yankees.
Garza, Cubs agree to $9.5 million, one-year deal
CHICAGO (AP) — Right-hander Matt Garza has agreed to a $9.5 million, one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, just before the scheduled start of a salary arbitration hearing in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Friday's agreement was $725,000 below the midpoint between the $12.5 million the pitcher had asked for in arbitration last month and $7.95 million the Cubs had offered.
Garza was acquired from Tampa Bay in January 2011 and went 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA in his first season with the Cubs, when he made $5.95 million. He had a team-high 197 strikeouts in 198 innings.
The 28-year-old Garza is 52-54 with a 3.83 ERA in 152 career games over six seasons.
He can earn an additional $150,000 in performance bonuses based on innings: $50,000 for 210 and $100,000 for 220.
Cox to return to dugout for Braves exhibition
ATLANTA (AP) — Bobby Cox is returning to the dugout — but only for one exhibition.
The former Braves manager will be back in uniform to manage the organization's top prospects against the current major leaguers on April 3. The game will be played at the home of the Braves' Triple-A Gwinnett team near Atlanta.
Atlanta planned the exhibition as a bridge between spring training and the regular-season opener on April 5. The game will be played instead of an exhibition against an AL opponent at Turner Field.
Cox retired as manager after the 2010 season with 2,504 regular-season wins, fourth behind Connie Mack, John McGraw and Tony La Russa. His No. 6 was retired by the Braves.
Dodgers sign reliever Coffey to one-year deal
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to terms with right-handed reliever Todd Coffey on a $1.3 million, one-year contract with a club option for 2013.
The deal, announced Friday, will pay Coffey $1 million this season. The Dodgers hold a $2.5 million option for next season with a $300,000 buyout. Coffey was 5-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 69 games with Washington last season.
He is 24-18 with 11 saves and a 4.08 ERA in seven major league seasons, including stints with Cincinnati, Milwaukee and the Nationals.
Marcum, Brewers settle at $7,725,000
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pitcher Shaun Marcum and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a one-year contract worth $7,725,000, just ahead of the scheduled start of their salary arbitration hearing.
Friday's deal was at the midpoint between the $8.7 million and $6.75 million figures filed by the sides when they exchanged proposed arbitration salaries last month.
Marcum made $4.05 million last year, when he went 13-7 with a 3.54 ERA. He is eligible for free agency after this season. Reliever Jose Veras is the last Milwaukee player in arbitration.
Sanchez, Marlins complete arbitration hearing
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pitcher Anibal Sanchez and the Miami Marlins have completed their salary arbitration hearing. The right-hander asked a three-person panel Friday for a raise from $3.7 million to $8 million, and the Marlins argued he should be paid $6.9 million.
A decision by arbitrators Elizabeth Neumeier, James Oldham and Gil Vernon is expected Saturday. Sanchez, who is eligible for free agency after this season, was 8-9 with a 3.67 ERA in 32 starts last year, when he struck out 202 in 196 1/3 innings.
Belisle, Rockies add 2013 and $4.35 million
DENVER (AP) — Reliever Matt Belisle and the Colorado Rockies have agreed to a two-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2014 and adds an additional $4.35 million.
The right-hander had agreed last February to a deal that pays him $3,775,000 this year and allows him to earn an additional $225,000 in bonuses based on games finished. Friday's agreement adds a $4.1 million salary for 2013 and a $4.25 million option for 2014 with a $250,000 buyout. The 31-year-old was 10-4 with a 3.25 ERA last year with 58 strikeouts and 14 walks in 72 innings.
Elsewhere
Battling brain cancer, Carter makes opener
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Even as he battles an aggressive form of brain cancer, Hall of Famer Gary Carter wouldn't miss opening day for the college baseball team he coaches.
Carter shook hands with each player on the Palm Beach Atlantic University team and watched about three innings of the game Thursday night. The Palm Beach Post reports the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Carter's daughter Kimmy Bloemers says her father wanted to be there for his players. They responded with a 3-2 victory over Lynn University.
The 57-year-old Carter was joined at the game by fellow ex-major leaguers Tommy Hutton and Jeff Reardon. Carter was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2003. He played 19 seasons, most with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets.
