By Compiled from Times wires
Published July 25, 2003
NEW YORK - Alfonso Soriano doesn't think Pedro Martinez hit him intentionally earlier this month, and Soriano's mother agrees with her son.
"Pedro said he likes me," the Yankees second baseman said Thursday. "My mom, she knows it's not on purpose."
Martinez, who faces the Yankees' David Wells tonight in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park, hit Soriano and Derek Jeter on their hands with high-and-tight pitches July 7 at Yankee Stadium. Both were knocked out of the game and didn't start the next day.
"Everybody knows he likes to throw inside," said Soriano, whose mother spoke with Martinez when she came across the star pitcher during a visit to Yankee Stadium last season.
Soriano, Jeter and manager Joe Torre didn't think there would be any carryover in the first meeting between the AL East rivals since that game.
New York intends to activate Nick Johnson from the disabled list today. He has been sidelined since May 14 with a broken right hand.
DOMINICAN CONNECTION: Major League Baseball injects $76-million annually into the Dominican economy through payments to players, scouting trips and donations, according to a study.
The study, completed in June by baseball, also found that the major leagues created 1,200 jobs.
The 79 Dominican players on opening day major-league rosters collect a combined salary of $210-million, according to the study. Each year $14.7-million is paid directly to the country by 30 baseball academies, which are run by major-league teams, and baseball's office in the Dominican Republic.
SCHOTT SUIT SETTLED: Reds minority owner Marge Schott has settled her lawsuit with the club over seats allocated to her at the team's new ballpark. The details are confidential.
The lawsuit, filed in February, asked that the court determine the seats Schott is entitled to in the new stadium. She said the 1999 sale of her majority interest in the Reds guarantees her use of premium section seats at the stadium.
EVERETT DEAL: The Rangers acquired three minor-leaguers from the White Sox to complete the July 1 deal that sent All-Star outfielder Carl Everett to Chicago. Texas got right-handers Frankie Francisco and Josh Rupe and outfielder Anthony Webster.
BLUE JAYS: A sudden shower forced a 26-minute delay rain delay at SkyDome, where the retractable roof was open when bad weather moved in during the sixth inning.
BREWERS: Bob Uecker, who on Sunday will enter the Hall of Fame's broadcasting wing, was enshrined in the team's Walk of Fame at Miller Park.
GIANTS: A CT scan on rookie right-hander Kurt Ainsworth's broken pitching shoulder show the fracture is healing. Trainer Stan Conte hopes Ainsworth can pitch in early September.
METS: The team will hold Gary Carter Night on Tuesday. Carter, who led New York to its last World Series title in 1986, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame with Eddie Murray.
PIRATES: Right-handed reliever Brandon Lyon, acquired from Boston in a trade for left-hander Scott Sauerbeck, remained in Pittsburgh for medical exams. General manager Dave Littlefield declined to say why the team wanted more tests.
TIGERS: Outfielder Bobby Higginson is expected to come off the disabled list today. He has been sidelined since June 29 with a pulled left hamstring. ... Catcher A.J. Hinch is not responding to treatment for a strained left groin sustained last week and could be placed on the disabled list.
TWINS: Third baseman Corey Koskie, out with a sore back since July 12, was scheduled to see a specialist.
