|
Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Tuesday, August 1, 2000
O's dump Clark, Surhoff at trade deadline
By BEN WALKER
AP Baseball Writer
B.J. Surhoff, Will Clark and Al Martin, welcome to the pennant race. All three joined first-place teams Monday, part of 11 deals that
came before the afternoon trading deadline.
Rondell White, Tom Goodwin, Steve Trachsel, Todd
Hollandsworth and Henry Rodriguez also moved. In all, more than 100 players
changed places in the last month — Detroit was the only club that did not make
a trade.
"It was a very volatile market," New York Yankees general
manager Brian Cashman said.
From now on, all trades require putting players through
waivers, often a tricky proposition.
Atlanta boosted its outfield by getting Surhoff from Baltimore and
St. Louis got Will Clark from the Orioles to fill in for injured Mark McGwire.
But several players mentioned prominently in trade talks —
Juan Gonzalez, John Wetteland, Jeromy Burnitz and Rico Brogna —
stayed put.
Brogna had heard, and hoped, he was heading to the Boston Red
Sox. When the Philadelphia first baseman found out he wasn't moving,
he nearly left the Phillies before their game at San Diego.
"I thought very seriously about calling the bellman and telling him
to come get my luggage and then flying home," Brogna said.
The AL East-leading New York Yankees, linked to most
every available star, did nothing Monday.
Then again, the two-time World Series champions had already
traded for David Justice, Denny Neagle, Glenallen Hill and Jose Vizcaino in
the last month.
"It's not easy trying to line up matches with people, whether
it's payroll, talent or a whole lot of other issues," Cashman said. "Some
big names got floated out there. I'm comfortable with the team we have."
Gonzalez, who turned down a trade to the Yankees in June, was
pursued by Seattle.
"We were optimistic," Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said.
"It was a decision that was made by the Tigers. The ball was in their court."
After missing out on the two-time MVP, the Mariners acquired
another outfielder, getting Martin from San Diego for first
baseman-outfielder John Mabry and a minor league pitcher.
The Orioles were in the middle of two big trades, sending Clark
and cash to St. Louis for third base prospect Jose Leon and
moving Surhoff to Atlanta in a five-player deal.
Minus McGwire, the NL Central-leading Cardinals felt compelled
to add a bat at first base.
McGwire went on the disabled list July 6 with pain in his right knee,
and there's no telling when he'll return. In his absence, St. Louis is 8-13.
"There's some uncertainty about Mark," Cardinals manager Tony
La Russa said. "We think he's got a chance to come back, but in
the meantime Will Clark's a winning-type of veteran. He should help us."
Clark was hitting .301 with nine homers and 28 RBIs in 79 games
with Baltimore. McGwire is batting .303 with 30 home runs and 69 RBIs in
only 221 at-bats.
"I knew that our front office was really trying and that they
were catching some heat back home because some guys were
going other places," La Russa said.
The Cardinals filled another need, too. With catcher Eli Marrero
likely out until September with an injured left thumb, they got Carlos
Hernandez from San Diego for Heathcliff Slocumb. During the weekend,
St. Louis acquired Jason Christiansen and Mike Timlin for the
bullpen, making Slocumb expendable.
The NL East-leading Braves, hoping for a return to the
World Series, got Surhoff and reliever Gabe Molina from the Orioles for
outfielder Trenidad Hubbard and two minor leaguers.
Surhoff is batting .293 with 27 doubles, 13 homers and 57 RBIs.
He owns the longest consecutive games streak in the majors at 427.
"We felt like improving the offense of our ballclub, especially
in the outfield, was something we needed to do," Braves
general manager John Schuerholz said.
Surhoff, also coveted by the Yankees, joined the Orioles for
the 1996 season. Tears welled up in his eyes as he talked about the trade.
"I just wouldn't have expected it to happen the way it happened,"
he said. "It's not that I don't want to play in Atlanta. I'm sure I'm
going into a great situation and I know it's going to work out. I just thought
I was going to be here."
In other trades:
— the Chicago Cubs made two deals involving outfielders. They
got White from Montreal for pitcher Scott Downs, then traded Rodriguez
to Florida for two prospects.
— Los Angeles sent Hollandsworth to Colorado
for Goodwin, who has 39 stolen bases, in an exchange of outfielders.
— Toronto tried to bolster their staff by getting Trachsel and
Mark Guthrie from Tampa Bay for a prospect and a player to be named.
"The deal we made today was a classic July 31st deal," Devil
Rays GM Chuck LaMar said. "We were looking to get better for the
future, and Toronto was looking for major league help now."
Players that slip through waivers and move before Aug. 31 are
eligible for postseason play with their new teams. Last year, Rod Beck,
Harold Baines and Lenny Harris switched clubs in August.
Volleyball, football sign-ups underway
PECOS, Aug. 1, 2000 -- The Reeves County Community Sports and Recreation
Department is currently enrolling children for its fall volleyball league.
Boys and girls entering grades 3 through 6 are eligible to participate in
the league, with a registration fee of $10 per player. The deadline to sign-up
is Friday, Sept. 1. For further information, call the RCCRD office at 447-9776.
The RCCRD office is also where parents can sign up their children from
the Pecos Eagle Pee Wee football program. Registration deadline there is
Aug. 18, with a draft of players set for the following day.
The program is also open to those entering grades 3 through 6, and has
a registration fee of $20 per player. Teams will be divided into two divisions,
for Grades 3-4 and 5-6. Workouts will be held for three weeks following the
player draft, with the first games scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Pecos
High School practice field.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
|
