Baseball

Nomo, Johnson to pitch opener

VERO BEACH -- Hideo Nomo will pitch the season opener for the Dodgers against four-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson.

Nomo won 14 of his final 15 decisions last season and didn't lose after July 16, finishing 16-6 with a 3.39 ERA. He was picked Thursday by manager Jim Tracy for the March 31 game at Arizona.

"I'm a little surprised," the 34-year-old right-hander said through an interpreter. "I didn't think I'd be in this position."

The 39-year-old Johnson was a career-best 24-5 with 334 strikeouts and a 2.32 ERA last season.

ALL-STAR GAME: Players plan to decide next week on a proposal to give the league that wins the All-Star Game home advantage in the World Series. Homefield has alternated between leagues.

ASTROS: The seven astronauts who died on Columbia will be honored before the opener April 1. Representatives of the crew's families will throw seven first pitches, and members of the astronaut program will be recognized. The Astros also will wear Columbia's STS-107 mission patch all season.

ATHLETICS: Right-hander Aaron Harang was optioned to Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League, clearing the way for left-hander John Halama to be the fifth starter.

CARDINALS: Jason Isringhausen won't pitch in a game until next week, and the closer may start the season on the disabled list. Isringhausen had offseason surgery to repair a frayed labrum.

EXPOS: Washington offered to pay 50-80 percent of the cost of a ballpark if the team moves to the nation's capital. The District of Columbia used a teleconference to present the plan to baseball's committee in Phoenix after many officials canceled travel plans. Portland, Ore., also made a presentation that said government financing would cover $300-million for a stadium.

ORIOLES: The March 28 preseason game against the Mets, planned for Camden Yards, was moved to Fort Lauderdale. Officials switched to give the grounds crew more time to get Camden Yards ready for the March 31 opener against the Indians.

MARINERS: Norm Charlton was released, and the 40-year-old left-hander was offered a job in the team's player development department. Charlton had surgery Monday to repair a torn labrum, his second major shoulder operation in 14 months. He missed last season with a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum. Charlton has pitched for Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta and Tampa Bay.

RED SOX: Manager Grady Little said the cancer report on pitching coach Tony Cloninger "was about the best we could have hoped for." The tests revealed a serious form of bladder cancer, but doctors are optimistic and he is not expected to miss much time from the team.

ROYALS: Out since March 10 with a strained muscle on his right side, OF Carlos Beltran probably will go on the disabled list.

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