Baseball Capsules: Rangers minor leaguer suspended for amphetamine
NEW YORK — Texas Rangers minor league pitcher Danny Gutierrez has been suspended for the first 50 games next season following a positive test for an amphetamine under baseball’s minor league drug program.
A right-hander who turns 23 on March 8, Gutierrez told the Rangers the positive test was caused by his failure to obtain a therapeutic use exemption for Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Gutierrez was 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA in four starts and four relief appearances last season for Class-A Wilmington, spending part of the season on the disabled list while recovering from an injured elbow. He was traded from Kansas City to Texas on Sept. 3 for catcher Manny Pina and left fielder Tim Smith.
"I sincerely apologize to the Texas Rangers organization, Major League Baseball, and to my family," Gutierrez said in a statement issued by the team. "I understand that it was my responsibility to obtain a TUE, even though the drug was prescribed by a doctor, and that I have let down myself and many others with my failure to do so."
Gutierrez made one appearance last season for Double-A Frisco, then was selected among the Rising Stars of the Arizona Fall League.
"We’re disappointed. While it appears this may have been the result of taking a legal drug, it demonstrates poor judgment that Danny didn’t let us know he needed a TUE, and that violates MLB’s program," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said in a statement.
"It’s a setback, as he appeared ready for a strong year beginning in Frisco’s rotation. With hard work, that’s still possible. To his credit, Danny has communicated with us through this process and apologized to the organization. He’s also agreed to help educate his teammates so that they benefit from the situation."
Seven players have been suspended this year under the minor league program.
Eleven of 12 positives for banned stimulants among 3,722 tests under the major league program last year were for Adderall. If Gutierrez had been on the 40-man roster and subject to the major league program, an initial positive test for a stimulant would have made him subject only to additional testing rather than a suspension.
Gutierrez will be allowed to participate in spring training.
"I greatly appreciate the support of the Texas Rangers front office and I am determined to serve as a better role model in the future," Gutierrez said.
Nationa League
Glavine rejoins Braves as assistant to Schuerholz
ATLANTA — Tom Glavine made his retirement official on Thursday when he returned to the Atlanta Braves in a loosely defined new role.
Glavine was hired as special assistant to Braves president John Schuerholz, and the two stood together before reporters for the first time since Glavine’s unexpected release last summer.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner was bitter when the Braves let him go, but he said Thursday that any anger at Schuerholz and general manager Frank Wren has dissipated.
"I’m happy and comfortable with where we are as far as that is all concerned," Glavine said. "I talked with Frank, so that is all behind us. If I didn’t feel I could work with Frank or work with John, I wouldn’t be here."
Schuerholz said giving Glavine a management role was not about making amends.
"The motivation was here’s a Hall of Famer, a guy who has contributed so much to this organization to help us gain the stature that we now enjoy," Schuerholz said. "Once he made known that he was interested in doing something in baseball after playing, it seemed so obvious to us and to me that he ought to do it with the Braves, so we began talking."
Glavine was 305-203 with a 3.54 ERA from 1987-08, winning 20 games or more five times in 17 seasons with the Braves and spending five years with the New York Mets. He was a 10-time All-Star, won the NL Cy Young Award with Atlanta in 1991 and 1998 and helped the Braves win the 1995 World Series.
The 43-year-old former pitcher will work with Schuerholz on baseball and business projects, and he will occasionally assist Wren and manager Bobby Cox. Glavine also plans to work about once a week on the team’s radio and TV crews.
Glavine said his emphasis was protect time with his family, including his five children, while also allowing him the flexibility to sample different jobs with the Braves. He expects to be in uniform during spring training in the major league and minor league camps.
"I know I want to at least get my foot in the door with the game of baseball on the business side of it as opposed to being a player," Glavine said. "Quite honestly, I’m not sure what I want to do.
"There are a lot of things which interest me, broadcasting being one of them, so this opportunity that we’ve come up with gives me a tremendous amount of flexibility to experience a number of things within the organization — broadcasting, maybe some on-field stuff minor league wise, a little bit of player development type things and certainly major league front office stuff."
Glavine said his goal is "that hopefully sometime relatively soon I can figure out if there’s one aspect of it I really enjoy and can focus on that in the future."
Because he hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2008, Glavine will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in the same year that former teammate Greg Maddux becomes eligible.
"If you’re fortunate enough to go in the Hall of Fame, it’s a special day," Glavine said. "If you’re lucky enough to go into the Hall of Fame with a friend and teammate at the same time, that’s even more fun. Certainly Greg and John (Smoltz) and I will forever be linked together, and if I’m fortunate to go in on the first go with Greg, that just adds to it."
Glavine was released last June after making three minor league rehab appearances. The Braves were not convinced Glavine’s arm was healthy, and Glavine said Thursday he continues to have soreness that will require rotator cuff surgery.
"In my mind, when my playing days ended last summer, that was the end of it for me," Glavine said. "I never seriously flirted with the idea of pitching any more. I’m OK with that. Physically I wouldn’t be able to go out there and do the things I want to do anymore, so that makes it a lot easier to walk away and focus on what you want to do next."
-- Charles Odum
Meulens full speed ahead as Giants hitting coach
SAN FRANCISCO — Hensley Meulens bounced from San Francisco to Venezuela to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, then back to Arizona and the Bay Area.
He traveled nonstop this winter in an effort to make strides with San Francisco’s hitters before spring training begins. Meulens hasn’t wasted a moment since the Giants hired him as their new hitting coach in November.
He knows he can’t afford to rest if he is going to turn around the club’s offensive woes and make the Giants a playoff contender again at last.
"Bam Bam" means business.
"It was very important for me to do that to get familiarized with everybody," Meulens said during the team’s FanFest last weekend. "It’s been a grind of an offseason."
No kidding. Talk about full speed ahead.
Meulens insists he had to get started right away. He flew to where his players were so he could introduce himself, make his pitch and explain his philosophy and approach. Meeting up with them in their homeland or at winter ball showed Meulens’ pupils his commitment.
"It means everything," right fielder Nate Schierholtz said. "It shows he cares and he’s here for nothing more than to prepare us to go as far as we can go this year. He’s definitely going over the top. He flies everywhere and he’s just all over the place."
The Giants are determined to score more runs for a talented pitching staff led by two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. So, they turned their hitting fortunes over to a guy nicknamed "Bam Bam" for his once-fierce swing.
So far, his work ethic appears to be just as fierce. Meulens’ message is one of patience and being selective, not always an easy thing for some of the free-swingers in this lineup: like slugger Pablo Sandoval and Bengie Molina.
Meulens realizes he can’t change a hitter who knows nothing else but to be aggressive.
"They’re going to be what they are. That’s why they’re so good at what they do," Meulens said. "I can’t change Bengie Molina. He walked 13 times last year. I can’t ask him to walk 60 times this year because it won’t happen. It’s hard to change Pablo Sandoval. He’s a very, very aggressive guy. ...
"The thing I’m going to try to see if we can do better is be a little bit more selective on your pitch to hit before you have two strikes. That to me is going to get guys in better counts and get guys on base more. When you have more baserunners, it’s going to translate into more runs. That’s what we’re looking for."
Meulens has regularly been logging 12-hour days, according to his players. His players marvel at his energy and enthusiasm to make them better hitters — and in a hurry. There’s plenty of belief that if this club can be more productive offensively it will be in the hunt for the playoffs again this fall. San Francisco has missed the playoffs the past six seasons but was in the NL wild-card chase well into September last year.
"He’s been great with everything we’ve thrown at him this winter. With all the miles he’s put on, he’s had a full plate," manager Bruce Bochy said. "The groundwork and foundation of what he wants to do is done in the winter."
With a rotation boasting Lincecum, All-Star Matt Cain, 2002 AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez — he threw a no-hitter last July 10 — the Giants don’t worry much about their pitching staff.
Bochy believes that with Meulens in charge, San Francisco will eventually transform into a more consistent offense.
The Giants finished 88-74 last season, four games behind wild-card winner Colorado — and with 16 more victories than in 2008. But the team had the second-fewest home runs (122) in the majors and drew the fewest walks (392) in ‘09. They were 13th in the National League in runs.
"With the couple pieces that we added, it’s got to be a playoff-contending team," Meulens said. "I don’t have all the answers. I’m going to ask for ideas from all these guys who have been all over the place. We’re going to do it together. Everybody knows what my philosophy is and what I expect from them. I’m ready to go."
Meulens has drawn inspiration from former New York Yankees teammates Don Mattingly — now hitting coach for the rival Dodgers — and Roberto Kelly, the Giants’ first base coach.
He said he’s learned little things from many different people along the way that he brings to the job.
Meulens, who spent the latter part of the 2009 season with the Giants once Triple-A Fresno’s season was done, is credited with helping John Bowker win the Pacific Coast League batting title last year with a .342 average and Jesus Guzman finish fifth at .321.
Meulens also provided guidance to Eugenio Velez, who turned around his season after a slow start.
Meulens should have no trouble explaining himself, either. He speaks five languages — Papamiento, the language of his native island country of Curacao in the Caribbean, Dutch, English, Spanish and Japanese.
"There won’t be any communication problems," Bochy said.
The 42-year-old Meulens spent parts of seven season in the big leagues as an infielder and outfielder for the Yankees, Montreal and Arizona, retiring after the 1998 season. He’s a career .220 hitter with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs.
He was the Triple-A hitting instructor for the Indianapolis Indians in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization from 2005-08.
When he was about 15, Meulens was on a softball team with older players and decided to hit left-handed because "I didn’t want to mess up my right-handed swing," he said. He was a natural from the left side and everybody said he was as strong as cartoon character "Bam Bam" of the Flintstones.
Go ahead and razz him about it, but not when standing in the batter’s box swinging away.
"I’m very serious about my work," Meulens said. "I like to have fun and joke around but when we’re talking about work, we’re serious. I’m deliberate, ‘This is how we’re going to do it."’
-- Janie McCauley
Hart becomes 1st this year to go to arbitration
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Outfielder Corey Hart has become the first player on the Milwaukee Brewers to go to arbitration in 12 years.
Hart asked a panel of arbitrators Thursday for a raise from $3.25 million to $4.8 million, and the Brewers argued for $4.15 million.
In the first case in the major leagues to go to a hearing this year, arbitrators Elizabeth Neumeier, John Sands and Sylvia Skratek are expected to issue a ruling on Friday. Eleven additional players are scheduled for hearings through next week.
Hart hit .260 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs last season.
The previous Milwaukee player to go to a hearing had been Jose Mercedes, awarded $1.05 million in 1998 by Roger Abrams, Jerome Ross and Gil Vernon rather than the team’s offer of $615,000. Mercedes had gone 7-10 with a 3.79 ERA in 23 starts and six relief appearances the previous season.
Players won two of three hearings last year, their first winning record since going 7-3 in 1996. Last year tied the record for fewest hearings in a year, set in 2005.
Owners hold a 280-207 margin in cases that have gone to hearings since arbitration began in 1974.
Still scheduled for hearings are: Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar, Washington right-hander Brian Bruney, Nationals left-hander Sean Burnett, Baltimore right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, Arizona right-hander Edwin Jackson, San Francisco right-hander Tim Lincecum, Angels catcher Jeff Mathis, Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, Florida outfielder Cody Ross, Chicago Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot and Tampa Bay outfielder B.J. Upton.
Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, has asked for a raise from $650,000 to an arbitration record $13 million. San Francisco has offered $8 million.
Mets add Mike Jacobs and Hisanori Takahashi
NEW YORK — The New York Mets agreed Thursday to minor league contracts with first baseman Mike Jacobs and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi after missing out on several free agents with higher profiles.
Jacobs, who began his major league career with the Mets in 2005, would get a $900,000, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and could earn up to $2.05 million.
Takahashi, a veteran of 10 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan’s Central League, would get a $1 million, one-year deal if put on the major league roster.
New York also agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Shawn Riggans.
The 29-year-old Jacobs, who could compete with Daniel Murphy for playing time, hit 11 homers in 100 at-bats as a rookie with the Mets in 2005, then was traded to Florida after the season in the deal that brought Carlos Delgado to New York. Jacobs hit 69 homers in three seasons with the Marlins, including 32 in 2008, then was traded to Kansas City. He slumped to a .228 average with 19 homers and 61 RBIs last year and was put on waivers in December.
Jacobs could earn $1.15 million in performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 200, 225, 250, 275, 300, and 325 plate appearances; $100,000 apiece for 350, 375, 400, 425, 450 and 475; and $250,000 for 500.
Takahashi, who turns 35 on April 2, became a free agent in November after going 10-6 with a 2.94 ERA and helped the Giants win the Japan Series. He was 14-4 with a 2.75 ERA in 2007.
Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi agreed to a $3 million, two-year contract with the Mets in December after pitching for the Central League’s Yakult Swallows.
The 29-year-old Riggans appeared in just seven games in the majors for Tampa Bay and 26 in the minors last season because of right shoulder tendinitis.
-- Ronald Blum
Elsewhere
Tigers’ Harwell to receive Vin Scully award
NEW YORK — Ernie Harwell will receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting.
The Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers will receive the award on May 5 in New York. The 92-year-old Harwell was the voice of the Tigers from 1960-02.
He said last September he has inoperable cancer, a month after surgery for an obstructed bile duct. He was honored with a tribute during a game at Comerica Park on Sept. 16.
Harwell’s 55-year career began in Atlanta in 1946. He moved two years later to the Brooklyn Dodgers. After stints with the New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles, he started his long association with the Tigers.
Harwell was voted the 1981 Ford Frick Award for major contributions to baseball by the Hall of Fame.
The Scully award is named for the longtime Dodgers broadcaster, who won the Frick Award in 1982. Scully helped form Fordham’s radio station WFUV, which is the award’s sponsor, and joined the Dodgers broadcast crew in 1950.
MLB official eying Michigan gov race
LANSING, Mich. — An official in Major League Baseball has formed a committee to explore a run for Michigan’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Robert Bowman is a former Michigan state treasurer and currently the chief executive of baseball’s online and interactive media operation. He filed the political paperwork Thursday with the Michigan secretary of state.
He works in New York City but has a summer home in Harbor Springs, in northern Michigan. He’s also president of the Michigan Education Trust.
Forming the committee allows Bowman to raise and spend money as he considers a campaign.
-- Kathy Barks Hoffman
