spring training

The recovery of Dodgers pitcher Jason Schmidt is progressing, but it’s still unclear if the right-hander will be ready to join the rest of his teammates at the beginning of spring training next month.

Schmidt has been playing catch -- making about 110 pitches per day -- but didn’t start throwing off a mound until last week.

“As far as his rehab has gone, he has not any setbacks at this point," Dodgers’ head trainer Stan Conte said during a workout Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. “He’s thrown off the mound but it’s not a bullpen, starting last week. We still have a significant amount of stuff we have to do to get him competitive.”

Schmidt was acquired by the Dodgers before the 2007 season but appeared in only six games before being shelved by surgery to his right shoulder. The Dodgers have taken a conservative approach in his recovery and are pleased with the progress he has made so far.

Conte will visit Schmidt in Arizona the week before pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training. Rather than make a decision based on the reporting date, Conte wants the condition of Schmidt’s shoulder to be the determining factor.

“The key is if he can get up to the next level each time, and each time that we’ve moved his rehab up to the next level, he has,” Conte said. “We won’t really know what he’s going to do in the first day of spring training until about a week before. The main thing is that he keeps making progress and is 100 percent for the season.”

Right-handed relief pitcher Yhency Brazoban opted to sign a contract with the Dodgers rather than take the team to arbitration.

Brazoban returned from Tommy John surgery in the middle of last season but went back on the disabled list after appearing in four games. Surgery to his right shoulder ended his season.
His new one-year contract is worth $540,000.

Gil Meche didn't need an exhaustive video session to identify what went wrong in the first two innings of his start on Monday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
A short clip on the late television news confirmed what Meche already knew.

"I just flipped through the television and could see what I was doing wrong after just two pitches," Meche said. "I wasn't keeping my front shoulder still. ... I was jerking it out of the way. The next thing you know everything is flat."

That brought about the first of two visits to the mound by pitching coach Rafael Chaves, who set Meche straight.

The result? After throwing 52 pitches in the first two innings, Meche sailed through the next five innings, needing just 60 pitches.

Meche's mechanical adjustment helped him win for the first time since April 6, although the right-hander has pitched well in his last four starts. During that stretch, Meche hasn't yielded more than three runs in any of those starts.

"There were a couple of times where he was flying open so fast and so quick and was falling across the mound," Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said. "Chavy [Chaves] made two trips and he was golden after that."

As much as Meche (2-2, 4.58 ERA) tries to keep a clear head, he knows that, mechanically, he has to be sound. There are several checkpoints to make sure his delivery is smooth and his pitches are effective.

Really, it's a lot to think about.

"You work on mechanics, but you try not to overload it and think too much about it," Meche said. "That's why we have pitching coaches or Jo [catcher Kenji Johjima] to come out there and tell me what they see. It's a matter of trying to be consistent."

Snelling sighting: Oft-injured Australian outfielder Chris Snelling was working a crossword puzzle in the Mariners clubhouse three hours before the game on Tuesday.

Snelling, who has been at the Mariners' Spring Training facility in Arizona working his way back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, was in Seattle to meet with team doctors to see what his next course of action is.

"He's here to get evaluated by the doctor and figure out where he's going next on his rehab [assignment]," Hargrove said of Snelling, who took batting practice before the game.

Snelling will start a Minor League rehabilitation assignment on Wednesday at Triple-A Tacoma.

Snelling torn the ACL in his left knee for the second time in his career in August while playing for the Mariners. He missed the 2004 season after he broke the hamate bone in his right hand.

Snelling has a career .214 batting average in 56 Major League at-bats in 2002 and last season, a year in which he hit .276 in 15 games.

Guardado not content: Deposed closer Eddie Guardado tossed a scoreless inning in Seattle's victory over Tampa Bay on Monday, his second scoreless frame since he was removed as the team's closer on May 4.

And while Guardado is happy with the way he's pitched -- he struck out two of the three hitters he faced on Monday -- the left-hander said being a setup man is different than closing.

"It's not the same," Guardado said. "It's a sick feeling to me because I do care. It's my job to close. But I've got to do my job to help this team win. These guys depend on me."

Hargrove thinks Guardado's two scoreless innings will go a long way in repairing the left-hander's confidence after he blew three save opportunities and lost two games.

"I think it's a matter of Eddie getting his confidence back," Hargrove said. "It's a matter of him settling in. We all want for him to be the closer. I firmly believe that we'll move back in that direction. But for right now we aren't."

J.J. Putz has picked up two saves in the last three days since taking over for Guardado.

Mariners log: Jeremy Reed started Monday's game, marking the first time since April 30 that he's started. ... Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn is fifth in the American League in home ERA (2.15). ... The Mariners starting pitchers rank fourth in the American League in ERA (4.10). ... Jose Lopez, who leads the team with 24 RBIs, has driven in 22 of those runs with men in scoring position. His 22 RBIs with MISP are tied for first in the American League with Troy Glaus of the Blue Jays. ... Heading into Tuesday's game, the Mariners owned a 46-30 record over the Devil Rays.

On deck: Seattle sends left-hander Jamie Moyer (1-2, 3.68 ERA) to the mound to face Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir (4-2, 3.43 ERA) at 1:35 p.m. PT on Wednesday at Safeco Field in the final game of the three-game series.

Florida legislators look ready to go to bat for Major League Baseball after a record-breaking 2006 spring training season.

Hoping to stave off Arizona raids on Florida's Grapefruit League -- the professional baseball teams that train throughout the state each spring -- the Florida House voted 117-0 on Tuesday to help fix aging facilities where some of the teams train.

Among those likely to benefit is the city of Fort Lauderdale, where the Baltimore Orioles train.

"Spring training brings $450 million a year to Florida. We built the field of dreams and they came. Now we need to fund the maintenance of the facilities or they will go," said Rep. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, chairwoman of the House Tourism Committee. "Let's keep baseball in Florida."

The bill still needs to be considered by the state Senate.

The Washington Statesmen were the first to travel to Florida for an "off season" workout in 1888. Now Florida leads the nation as the spring home to 18 MLB teams in 17 venues.

Florida already provides more than $53 million in tax rebates to five municipalities so that they can upgrade or build new stadiums for the Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies' new stadium, Bright House Networks Field, opened in Clearwater in 2004.

The bill (HB 7089) would allow another five cities hosting teams with less than five years remaining on their leases to apply for a total of up to $75 million in tax rebates -- or up to $15 million apiece -- for 30 years. Those teams include the Orioles (Fort Lauderdale), Cincinnati Reds (Sarasota), Cleveland Indians (Winter Haven), Pittsburgh Pirates (Bradenton) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (St. Petersburg). The municipalities need to match the state funds.

"This is a field of green, as in money, and it's important to the economy of Florida," said Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville. Two teams -- the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers -- moved to Arizona from Florida in 2003.

"Other cities have received this in past years and we're hoping to upgrade our spring training, which has been a great tradition since the 1960s when the Yankees trained here," said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle, who traveled to Tallahassee earlier this spring to support the Senate version of the bill. "The Orioles have been a great team, a good fit for our city."

Although no plans have been finalized, it's expected that a new ballpark would be built to replace the 45-year-old Fort Lauderdale Stadium, spring home to the Orioles since 1996.

The Orioles, who operate the stadium, want to make sure there are enough surrounding practice fields to accommodate their major and minor league operations.

"We've always felt this is a great infrastructure development initiative and economic impact initiative," Orioles Executive Vice President John Angelos said.

"We're happy to know at least the members of the House of Representatives view it that way as well."

Florida spring training broke attendance records this year, attracting more than 1.6 million fans. The Orioles played 14 games with a total attendance of 80,219 -- an average of 5,730 a game.

As reigning World Series champions, the Chicago White Sox are pinning their advertising dollars on a short simple theme this year: Again.
David Stevenson, president of Two-by-Four, the team's advertising agency, told the Chicago Sun-Times the word will appear in print ads on buses, and be spoken as a closer on radio ads.

Last year, most of the ads revolved around Sox players, with the slogan Win or die trying, but this year, actual Sox fans will share a starring role.

Photos of fans will be used and one radio ad features a 9-year-old girl recorded heckling last year.

The first TV spot will show spring training footage and the World Series celebration, and end with one word appearing: Again.

Last season the White Sox won their first World Series title in 88 years.

Al Leiter got one last out, then called it a career. The New York Yankees' left-hander retired Sunday after pitching to one batter in a 2-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. Time was called after Eduardo Perez grounded out, and Leiter handed the ball to Yankees pitching coach Ron Guidry. Alex Rodriguez patted Leiter on the head and he began a slow, teary walk off the field for the final time.

He sat in New York's dugout until the Yankees turned an inning-ending double play, then got hugs and warm wishes from his teammates.

"It feels good to be able to go out on your own terms," Leiter said in Tampa, Fla. "I love the game very much, but when you were a certain type of player for a few years, being a front-end starter, that's the way I still think I can pitch. But the body tells you no.

"It feels right. Family, kids, I'm constantly being asked when I'm coming home."

Leiter and several Yankees had just returned from the World Baseball Classic, and New York had most of its stars for the first time since the exhibition opener.

Leiter, a 40-year-old left-hander with two World Series rings, had hinted about calling it a career for some time. Perez, the son of Hall of Famer Tony Perez, was thrilled to be a small part of his retirement.

"We go way back and it was an honour to be his last hitter," Perez said. "He's a class act. The competitor, the cutter, the never-say-die attitude. That's been Al Leiter."

Earlier, Leiter, a two-time all-star who pitched a no-hitter in 1996, soaked in his last day in uniform as a major leaguer. He posed for photos with Yankees manager Joe Torre and spent about 15 minutes chatting with New York general manager Brian Cashman.

In Phoenix, Oakland's Barry Zito went six innings and threw a spring-high 87 pitches in an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs in a split-squad game.

Zito gave up three runs and six hits, and finished with three strikeouts. He'd like to get up to 100 pitches Friday night when he faces the San Diego Padres.

"I'm trying not to be too fine and guide the ball out of my hands," he said. "I have to stop worrying about where it goes and just pick up my spot and let it go. I threw a couple of bad sliders today but then I got a better feel for it.

"That's the good thing about spring; you can lose the feel and get it right back. It's about making adjustments."

At Dunedin, Fla., the Toronto Blue Jays said A.J. Burnett's MRI showed scar tissue breaking away in his right elbow.

Burnett left Toronto's 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday after throwing 18 pitches, and the Blue Jays initially feared the right-hander had a serious injury.

Burnett had Tommy John surgery three years ago.

"We got good news," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said before a 9-7 loss to the Pirates in Bradenton. "The X-rays came back good, it's probably just a little scar tissue. It's big, big news."

Burnett, who was 12-12 with a 3.44 ERA with the Marlins in 2005, was relieved that it wasn't as serious as it first appeared.

"Obviously, any setback is not good, but when the good news came that it was scar tissue, not anything with the ligaments, it was good news and I am relieved," Burnett said. "It was scary, when you break the scar tissue up it feels like you are doing the same thing all over again."

The Red Sox, who beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 in Fort Myers, Fla., agreed to a minor league contract with oft-injured outfielder Juan Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was expected to join the team for Tuesday's home game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He has 434 homers, 1,404 RBIs and a .295 batting average in 17 major league seasons.

Also, Boston icon Johnny Pesky broke a bone in his lower leg when he was hit by a line drive at a college game.

The lovable Pesky, who serves as a Red Sox instructor during spring training, sustained a non-displaced fracture of the left fibula near his ankle on Saturday while watching a game between Suffolk University of Boston and Denison of Ohio on a back field at Red Sox camp.

At Surprise, Ariz., Kansas City Royals closer Mike MacDougal has a strained muscle in his right arm and is expected to miss at least a month. Manager Buddy Bell said he would use 21-year-old right-hander Ambiorix Burgos as the closer in MacDougal's absence.

The Royals beat a split squad of San Francisco Giants 6-3 but two other Cactus League games were rained out.

In other spring training games:

Cardinals 11, Braves 2

At Jupiter, Fla., St. Louis starter Sidney Ponson allowed two runs and four hits in five solid innings.

Pirates 9, Blue Jays 7

At Bradenton, Fla., Oliver Perez gave up a two-run homer to Shea Hillenbrand while lasting two innings in his first Pirates start this spring.

Perez pitched on two days' rest after earning the win in Mexico's 2-1 victory over the United States on Thursday in the WBC.

Tigers 5, Astros 2

At Kissimmee, Fla., Astros starter Roy Oswalt allowed six hits and two runs in six innings, his longest outing of the spring. He threw 60 of 92 pitches for strikes.

Reds 5, Phillies 4

At Sarasota, Fla., Aaron Harang threw four scoreless innings and Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion had a two-run double.

Devil Rays 6, Twins 5

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Jorge Cantu hit a two-run double in his first spring plate appearance for the Devil Rays.

Marlins 5, Mets 0

At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Florida starter Scott Olsen threw five shutout innings and Mike Jacobs hit a two-run homer.

Dodgers 9, Nationals 1

At Vero Beach, Fla., Ricky Ledee and Bill Mueller homered for the Dodgers and Derek Lowe tossed six strong innings.

Brewers 4, Giants 2

At Scottsdale, Ariz., Mike Rivera hit a two-run homer and Milwaukee's David Bush allowed two runs in five innings.

The Giants pulled Barry Bonds and Steve Finley out of the lineup early in the morning, not wanting to risk an injury to either outfielder on the slick field.

Brewers 8, White Sox 7

At Phoenix, Brady Clark and Prince Fielder each hit a two-run single in Milwaukee's five-run second inning.

Rangers 2, Cubs 0

At Mesa, Ariz., Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano struck out seven and allowed two runs in five innings.

Rockies 8, Mariners 5

At Peoria, Ariz., Jeff Baker hit a two-run single for Colorado.

Opie, not Ozzie, brought the starting lineup card to home plate for the Chicago White Sox against the Los Angeles Angels yesterday.

Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard showed up in the White Sox spring training complex sporting a Chicago uniform while taking a break from editing "The Da Vinci Code," his latest expected blockbuster film.

The former television star of "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days" - a diehard baseball fan - shagged fly balls in pregame warmups for the White Sox and then turned in the starting lineup instead of manager Ozzie Guillen.

"I have always wanted to be a fly on the wall at a major league training facility," Howard said. "I am really a (Los Angeles) Dodger fan, but more than anything I am a fan of the game. This is a great thrill for me."

Howard received an invitation from Chicago hitting coach Greg Walker, a longtime friend, to hang out with the team for pregame batting practice, eat lunch and sit in the dugout for a few innings.

"I have been able to sit in on a couple of coaches meetings," Howard said. "It was fascinating to see that on an organizational level how meticulous everyone is. It reminded me how I am in my meetings."

The trip was a quick one. Howard, who had just returned to the United States from Europe, where he was completing filming of "The Da Vinci Code," was in Los Angeles on Friday editing the film, then headed to Tucson on Saturday.

He flew back to Los Angeles last night to resume editing the film, which is scheduled for release in May.

"I have had a chance to do this kind of thing, but never in spring training," Howard said. "This is a big thrill. It is like fantasy camp for me."

Howard walked around the White Sox clubhouse like one of the guys, talking to a few of the players and getting the whole "experience."

"It is cool being around him. He hasn't signed me up to a (movie) contract yet, though," Chicago third baseman/outfielder Rob Mackowiak joked.

Howard says he is always looking for unique characters or story lines for upcoming movies, and he might not have found a better baseball clubhouse than Chicago's, which is loose after winning the World Series last season.

A baseball movie is not out of the question for the former actor and superstar director, who won an Academy Award for "A Beautiful Mind," and whose other directing credits include "Splash," "Apollo 13," "Cinderella Man" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

"I have thought about it, but it is really an amazingly difficult sport to film," he said. "The fact is I always wanted to film a baseball movie.

"The fact that there have been some really good ones - it somewhat loses its luster for me. It has already been done well. I need to find something else.

"Part of me is excited with raising the sport internationally. One of the problems has been that baseball movies are expensive to make, and nobody outside of the United States, South America and Japan wants to see a baseball movie. As the game becomes more internationally, there is a better chance of (me) doing it."

Seeing the White Sox firsthand might give him some ideas, because there are players from a half a dozen countries in their clubhouse.

The come-from-nowhere success the White Sox had a year ago also would make it appealing. Howard just wanted to take a look as a longtime baseball fan.

"I missed the whole last baseball season because I was in Europe doing 'The Da Vinci Code,' " he said.

"Tom Hanks (who is in the film), and I, who are big fans, we kept reading about this miracle season these guys were having. I can't wait to tell him that I actually got to hang out with these guys."

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee won't play for the United States in Thursday's World Baseball Classic game against Mexico because of a sore left shoulder.

Lee, last season's National League batting champion, bruised his shoulder Sunday diving for a foul pop fly in a 4-3 victory over Japan in Anaheim, Calif.
The Cubs sent Lee to Dr. Lewis Yocum, a specialist in Los Angeles, who performed an MRI and arthrogram Tuesday. Cubs team trainer Mark O'Neal said Wednesday that Lee has the same injury that kept him out of three games in July last year.

"He has some wear and tear in his left shoulder. He obviously irritated it again on that dive the other night against Japan," O'Neal said.

There is no immediate need for Lee to have surgery, and he'll be ready to play for the Cubs once the United States is finished playing in the WBC, O'Neal said.

Also at Cubs camp, right-hander Mark Prior was set to visit Yocum on Wednesday for tests on his right shoulder after cutting short his throwing session Tuesday, complaining of pain in the back of the shoulder.

Prior has yet to pitch in a spring training game. The Cubs have kept him on a slow pace in an effort to avoid the elbow problems that have limited Prior to one spring training appearance the previous two years, and he started 2004 and 2005 on the disabled list.

It is only spring training, and these are just practice games -- but Barry Bonds doesn't seem to be wasting any time finding his home run swing.

Bonds hit another home run today, his third in just nine live at-bats so far.

Despite the stellar pre-season performance, a cloud continues to hang over the head of the San Francisco Giants slugger.

An upcoming book by two San Francisco Chronicle journalists is due out next week and is said to go into detail about Bonds alleged use of steroids.

Closer Eric Gagne left the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring training camp to go home for personal reasons, manager Grady Little said Thursday.

"He told us he'll be back by Sunday," Little said before the Dodgers opened their exhibition schedule against the Atlanta Braves. "He'll throw on the side Monday and pitch in a game Wednesday. He feels great."
Gagne was limited to 14 games last year because of injuries, and underwent season-ending surgery June 24 to repair a sprained ligament in his pitching elbow.

The 30-year-old right-hander saved 152 games from 2002-04 including a big-league record 84 straight. He was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and eight saves last year.

Barry Bonds was back in the batting cage, taking some cuts and providing few answers about his future. Chipper Jones showed up at spring training with something else on his mind: gaining weight.After arriving in camp Wednesday, Bonds said he might not decide until next winter whether to play in 2007 and made it clear he wants to remain with the San Francisco Giants if he does extend his career.

"San Francisco is my home. That's the love of my life right there," Bonds said. "The fans there, the people there, everything about it is just great for me. Thinking that there could be a possibility, just hypothetically, to go somewhere else and DH or something like that, I really don't want to think about that at this time right now. I know I can swing a bat. I take a lot of pride to be on that field and stay in this uniform."

The 41-year-old Bonds missed most of last season following three knee operations. He needs 48 homers to break Hank Aaron's record of 755.

"I see a guy with a quick bat. I don't see the end here," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "I compare the guy with Hank Aaron, who could hit a fastball to the end."

Bonds took part in a nearly complete workout with the Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz., stretching with his teammates, throwing, shagging flies and hitting in the batting cage before taking three rounds of batting practice against Jason Schmidt and Noah Lowry.

"Last year, I saw him favoring his knees," Alou said. "I didn't see him favoring the knee today. I didn't see it when he was batting. When he was swinging the bat, it was OK with me."

Bonds gave contradicting interviews this week about whether he wanted to play past this year, the final season of his $90 million, five-year contract.

"I've played a long time," he said. "I've had a lot of fun doing it. We'll tackle that bridge when it happens. I'll sit back and talk with my family and take a long, long vacation and see how I feel. I could do that and get in the wintertime and say, `That's enough,' and somewhere in January wake up and say, `That's not enough.'"

In Kissimmee, Fla., Jones was missing something when he reported to spring training — nearly 20 pounds. He said his weight dropped from 228 to 210 while he had stomach flu.

"If I turn sideways, I disappear until I stick my tongue out," he joked.

Jones' belt, which fit last season, was hanging loosely when he got dressed before the Atlanta Braves' first full-squad workout.

"I'm looking to put back on seven or eight pounds," he said.

The 6-foot-4 Jones is listed at 210 pounds, but he has tried to improve his endurance by playing at a heavier weight in recent years.

Otherwise, Jones said he feels good. Injuries limited him to 358 at-bats in only 109 games last season, career lows.

In Port St. Lucie, Fla., Carlos Delgado reported for his first season with the New York Mets, hit a bunch of homers in batting practice and predicted the team would do well this year.

"I think everybody plays better when they're a little more relaxed and when they're not under pressure," the slugger said. "If everyone does the best they can, they should realize this is a good enough lineup to win. This ballclub is good enough that no one should have to do anything extra."

In Tampa, Fla., New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner predicted his team's five-year World Series drought will end this October.

"We're going to win it this year," he said. "We're going after it."

The Boss walked into the manager's office while Joe Torre was talking with reporters, sat down on a sofa and listened to the rest of Torre's daily media session.

"I can't do much to teach him anything, but I'm just there so he knows he's got my support," Steinbrenner said later.

In Dunedin, Fla., Toronto said center fielder Vernon Wells probably will miss the first round of the World Baseball Classic because of a left leg injury. Wells, who won his second straight Gold Glove last season, is among 30 players on the U.S. roster for the tournament, scheduled for March 3-20.

"He tweaked his quad a couple of days ago lifting," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Wednesday. "He'll have to take it easy for a week, two weeks. He still has plenty of time to get ready."

In Surprise, Ariz., Texas Rangers outfielder David Dellucci decided not to play for the Italian national team.

"I'm not going," he said. "I'm 100 percent Italian and my family makes a trip there once a year. That made it a tough decision. This year we've made a lot of additions here and there is a lot of excitement about the direction we're headed. I just want to be here from the beginning."

In Mesa, Ariz., the Cubs said right-hander Mark Prior could be pitching off a mound by the end of the week. Prior has had elbow problems during the past two spring trainings.

"I think we're going to a pretty extensive throwing program Friday and see how he reacts on Saturday, and go from there," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "There's a good chance he'll get on the mound Sunday, but if he feels real good, we might venture that on Friday. But we'll see."

Right-handers Kerry Wood and Wade Miller played catch, throwing about 120 feet.

"It's been impressive to where they are up to now," Rothschild said. "They're throwing the ball with pretty good force behind it. It's not so much what they can do today, but can they feel like they can do it again tomorrow? That's the basis we pretty much use to go forward."

Chicago is optimistic Prior can start in one of the first exhibition games in early March. The Cubs hope Wood can be ready to pitch in big league games in April and that Miller can be available by May.