By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published February 28, 2004
LOS ANGELES - Darryl Strawberry always has put baseball first.
Until now.
He spoke publicly Friday for the first time since resigning as a player development instructor with the Yankees this week to spend more time with church-related activities. Strawberry said he finally has found peace.
"It's just a different time for me in my life," the former star outfielder said at a news conference between speaking appearances at schools near where he grew up.
"Baseball has always been first. It is no longer first," Strawberry said. "I played 18 years of baseball, I had a long career. It just wasn't in my heart to do it anymore. I want to reach my full potential in the ministry. I really don't want to think about sports anymore."
Strawberry said he wasn't totally abandoning sports because his son, D.J., is a freshman basketball player at Maryland.
The eight-time All-Star was active with the Without Walls International Church in Tampa.
OUT OF BOUNDS: The Yankees banned personal trainers from their weight room in response to a directive from the commissioner's office.
That means Bobby Alejo, Jason Giambi's strength and conditioning coach, will not be allowed to keep working with the slugger while the Yankees are at the ballpark.
Giambi said Alejo is more important to him than ever because he is recovering from offseason left knee surgery.
"He's been around me going on 10 years now," Giambi said, referring also to his days with the Athletics. "You just don't tell a guy to change his routine like that."
In a memo sent to teams, commissioner Bud Selig said that rules restricting personal trainers, attorneys and other visitors from playing fields, dugouts, clubhouses and other areas will be strictly enforced.
BERNIE ON MEND: Bernie Williams could be released from a hospital today, two days after his appendix was removed. Williams, New York's regular centerfielder since 1992, is expected to miss the opening series March 30-31 in Tokyo against the Devil Rays.
PITCHING NEWS: Despite an unimpressive workout in Miami, ex-Yankee right-hander Orlando Hernandez was offered a minor-league deal, Newsday reported. "El Duque" missed last season after surgery in May. ... Right-hander Mike Mussina is expected to start the exhibition opener Thursday against the Phillies in Clearwater.
- TIMES WIRES
Battle on for back of pen
CLEARWATER - The Phillies don't have a lot of jobs available, so the less news this spring, the better.
That means everybody is healthy.
But there are two jobs open in the bullpen. David Coggin, Geoff Geary, Josh Hancock, Ryan Madson, Bud Smith and Amaury Telemaco are strong candidates to fill out the six-man pen. Eric Junge would be in the mix, but the Phillies are bringing him along slowly after a right shoulder injury last season.
GM Ed Wade also spoke highly of left-hander Victor Alvarez, whom the Phillies claimed off waivers this offseason from Los Angeles.
Coggin, Smith and Telemaco are out of options, but that doesn't mean they have the edge.
Two will join Billy Wagner, Tim Worrell, Rheal Cormier and Roberto Hernandez.
"We'll bring the best 25 north," Wade said. "We want strike throwers. You want to keep it clean. If your starter is out of there early, but you got a lead, if you can keep those middle innings clean it gives you a better chance to get to the situational guys who you hope will shut the door for us."
Manager Larry Bowa said Wagner is improving daily and could throw Monday if he's 100 percent. Wagner has some inflammation in the middle finger on his left hand, but it's not believed to be serious.
- TODD ZOLECKI
Jays to shun steroid talk
DUNEDIN - The steroid question may be the hot topic of spring training, but don't expect to hear much out of Blue Jays camp.
"Obviously what happened with (Colorado reliever) Turk Wendell (who strongly implied Giants slugger Barry Bonds used steroids), you want to try to avoid that in your clubhouse," Jays outfielder and player representative Vernon Wells said. "You don't need to create more problems than you already have.
"We don't want to get involved in that. If you're not involved, don't get involved. We don't want to be the guys to answer the (steroid) questions every time it comes up."
At Devil Rays camp, veteran reliever Todd Jones felt it necessary Thursday to call a closed-door, players-only meeting to advise the younger Rays to steer away from steroid talk with the media if they didn't know the subject matter.
Wells said he didn't feel a similar warning was necessary for the younger Jays. "Obviously there's a chance for any comment to come out," Wells said, "but we tend to learn pretty quickly here."
