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Baseball

Baker sees Giants from new spot

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Dusty Baker walked through the back entrance at Scottsdale Stadium and strolled across the field, as he has done thousands of times.

Everywhere he looked Thursday there was something familiar. The field. The park. The people. The Giants.

The only thing different was Baker's uniform and the tangle of emotions that go with a homecoming to a place that no longer is his.

"It was nice to see them. It's fun to come back," said Baker, who manages the Cubs after 10 years with the Giants. "Yeah, it's very nice to get it out of the way. Now we can get down to work."

Though Baker's much-anticipated debut was rained out, he'll see the Giants again today in Mesa, Ariz.

Baker and Giants owner Peter Magowan had long-standing differences that even a trip to the World Series could not overcome. Less than two weeks after the World Series ended, Baker and the Giants parted ways.

ASTROS: The team agreed to terms with its top two starting pitchers, right-handers Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller. Oswalt, 25, last season had a 19-9 record and a 3.01 ERA. He was 33-12 in his first two seasons. Miller, 26, was close behind at 15-4 with a 3.28 ERA and tied the club record with a 12-game winning streak. The club also agreed to terms with right-hander Ricky Stone, 26, who set the club record for appearances last season with 78.

EXPOS: Portland mayor Vera Katz and Grand Ronde tribal chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy met to discuss financing for a ballpark to attract the team to Oregon. The tribe surprised Katz last week by offering financial support for a stadium in exchange for allowing the first casino outside of reservation land to be built in the metro area. "It's a very preliminary warmup pitch," Katz said. Both the mayor and Kennedy declined to provide details, but they said they planned to meet again soon.

MARLINS: At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Derrek Lee looks like a cleanup batter, and manager Jeff Torborg plans to try his big first baseman in the fourth spot when the season starts. That's fine with Lee, who figures batting cleanup means more prestige and more RBIs. "Fourth is the premier spot in the lineup," Lee says. "Fifth is still great, but fifth, you're getting the fourth hitter's scraps."

RANGERS: Reliever Rudy Seanez was struck above the left eye by a ball in the preseason opener against the Royals. X-rays showed no damage. Seanez was covering first in the sixth inning when he was hit by a throw from shortstop Drew Meyer trying to complete a double play as a Rangers split squad lost 6-3 at Surprise, Ariz.

RED SOX: Derek Lowe's preseason opener went well: one single in two innings, three strikeouts and no sun. Lowe, who had treatment for skin cancer in the offseason, started a 4-2 loss to the Twins at Fort Myers. "If I have all these night games, I won't have to worry about wearing sun block," he said. Lowe retired six of the seven batters he faced in his first game since surgery Dec. 31. Diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma on his nose, he had the affected area removed. Doctors said chances of a recurrence are slim.

WHITE SOX: Wallace Johnson, the team's third-base coach the past five seasons, is running for the Gary (Ind.) City Council. Johnson, who played nine seasons with the Expos and Giants, filed to run for an at-large seat.

MLB: Commissioner Bud Selig held the first meeting of his new marketing task force, called "Baseball in the 21st Century," in New York. Selig said the group will consider all aspects of baseball, such as whether the playoffs should be expanded, a move the commissioner currently opposes.

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