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Baseball briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 25, 2001

Umpires practice with a new strike zone

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball officials insist the strike zone will rise this season.

Toward that end, in what is believed to be the first session of its kind, all 68 major-league umpires took turns Wednesday calling strikes on pitches that for years have been considered above the strike zone.

San Francisco minor-leaguers stood at bat with strips of white tape across their chest to show where the rule book says the strike zone is -- three baseballs, or 9 inches, above the belt. For years, anything above the belt has been considered a ball.

The higher zone will be enforced in the coming season, the umpires said.

Sandy Alderson, vice president for baseball operations in the commissioner's office, oversaw the session. The idea is simply to enforce the rules as written, he said.

After the session, the umpires held a closed session to discuss what needs to be done to be ready for the change on Opening Day.

Benitez to surrender on N.Y. assault charge

NEW YORK -- Mets pitcher Armando Benitez is scheduled to surrender next week on a third-degree assault charge stemming from a former girlfriend's complaint, New York City Police said Wednesday.

Benitez is to be arrested when he surrenders Monday at the 109th Precinct in Flushing, Queens, Lt. John Shatinsky said. Third-degree assault is a misdemeanor. Mets senior vice president David Howard said the surrender was expected and declined to comment further.

Stacey O'Neill filed a complaint Jan. 3, alleging Benitez punched her and left her neck with a scar from a scratch Oct. 18, an off-day between the National League Championship Series and the World Series. She said he attacked her at their Queens home.

O'Neill said she did not alert police at the time because she was afraid of Benitez.

Tuesday, Baltimore prosecutors dismissed a domestic-abuse case O'Neill filed against Benitez because of insufficient evidence.

The NL champion Mets, meanwhile, raised their top ticket price $7 to $64. The seats are available only as season tickets and include waiter service. Price increases for other seats ranged from $2-$6, making the prices $23-$43. Two price levels stayed the same, $12 for upper reserved and $1 for senior citizen seats.

Former pitcher Bobby Ojeda, who helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series, was hired as pitching coach for the team's Class A New York-Penn League affiliate in Brooklyn.

A'S: The team placed a six-year, $91-million offer on the table for American League Most Valuable Player Jason Giambi, the Contra Costa Times of Walnut Creek, Calif., reported. Giambi is in the final year of a three-year, $9.3-million deal, and the sides are not close to a new agreement. Agent Arn Tellem said Giambi seeks a deal with less deferred money.

BRAVES: Reliever Matt Whiteside signed a minor-league contract and was invited to spring training. The right-hander, 33, was 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA in 28 games for San Diego last season.

DEVIL RAYS: Mark Norelli, 42, was named director of ticket sales. He was president of ticket sales for the Giants from 1996-99. He was with the Pirates from 1986-92 and has been a sales and marketing consultant to more than a dozen colleges and pro teams.

MARINERS: Right-hander Brian Falkenborg agreed to a minor-league contract and was invited to spring training. Falkenborg, 23, did not pitch last year after elbow surgery on his throwing arm.

PADRES: San Diego agreed to terms of one-year contracts with catcher Wiki Gonzalez and outfielder Mike Colangelo. Gonzalez will earn $240,000, and Colangelo will get the minimum $200,000.

Gonzalez hit .232 in 95 games last year, his first full big-league season. He made 72 starts. Colangelo was claimed off waivers from Arizona in October. He missed the past 11/2 seasons with injuries.

REDS: Deion Sanders, who snubbed Cincinnati when it tried to call him up from the minors last season, is getting another chance to play for its Triple-A team.

The Washington Redskins cornerback got a non-guaranteed minor-league contract to play for Louisville. He will report to Sarasota with the minor-leaguers March 4.

Because Sanders filed for free agency and the contract was agreed to after the Dec. 7 deadline, the commissioner's office will examine the deal.

TED WILLIAMS UPDATE: The Hall of Famer, 82, continues to improve after heart surgery last week.

Doctors have removed a tube that ran down his mouth and into his throat, and four of six IV lines. They also have continued to decrease his medication intake.

"We haven't seen any meaningful setbacks throughout this entire period," said Jeffrey Borer, Williams's cardiologist at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. "He absolutely looks better every day."

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