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Baseball notebook

By KEVIN KELLY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 20, 2001

Rays: no Hamilton decision

The Rays reiterated Friday that top prospect Josh Hamilton will visit a specialist early next week to determine the cause of the back pain that ended his stint in the Arizona Fall League.

Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said the club is reserving judgment regarding treatment possibilities for the outfielder until its knows what is wrong.

"We're trying to do what's best for him," Proefrock said. "The main thing we're focused on now is just making sure he's healthy and ready to go at some point next year."

After missing the first week of the AFL season with a sore shoulder, Hamilton played two games, going 0-for-7, and reported the back problems.

It is the latest in a string of nagging injuries this season. During spring training, he was involved in a car crash and played only 27 games during the regular season because of back and leg problems.

"Certainly, it hasn't been the best thing in the world for his development without any question," Proefrock said.

"But there have been other players who have had similar injury problems from the standpoint of having to miss a year along the way, and it hasn't hurt them."

Red Sox employee sued

TAMPA -- A lawsuit was filed last month in U.S. District Court alleging a retired clubhouse manager for the Red Sox sexually abused young boys he employed over 20 years.

The allegations are from seven men who worked as clubhouse boys dating to 1971.

The men accuse Donald James Fitzpatrick, Boston's clubhouse manager from 1970 to 1991, of molesting them and blame the Red Sox for not doing anything.

The men, all black, said Fitzpatrick favored black boys and used them exclusively while the team trained in Winter Haven.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been investigating for about a month and intends to arrest Fitzpatrick when the inquiry is complete, special agent supervisor Richard Pyles said.

The lawsuit, filed Sept.12, accuses the former clubhouse manager of recruiting minors to work for him. They were not paid by the Red Sox but were compensated by Fitzpatrick for helping him maintain the clubhouse.

Also, the Boston Globe reported a group headed by television producer Tom Werner, the former owner of the Padres, has tried to bring the New York Times Company in as an investor. The group also has courted Entercom Communications, which owns Boston sports-talk radio station WEEI.

The team declined to comment on the bidders, only confirming the deadline for interested parties to provide financial plans and lists of investors has passed.

In addition, Walt Hriniak told the team he is not interested in returning as hitting coach. Hriniak was coach from 1985-88.

LABOR: Alex Rodriguez believes the last thing players should do in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is go on strike. "With all that's happened, I don't think a strike would make sense," he said. "I don't think the fans deserve that." He said players should work next season under the current deal if a new agreement is not worked out, then resolve the issue during the next 16 months.

CARDINALS: Tony La Russa, who has had a contract extension offer on the table for several months, said he will return as manager.

METS: Co-owner Nelson Doubleday was a victim of identity theft in a ring that could include several other victims and hundreds of thousands of dollars, police said.

Jeffrey E. Groover, 41, of Jupiter Island applied over the Internet for debit and credit cards in the name of Doubleday, said Brent Hoosac, a Jupiter police officer said. Groover used the cards to buy "anything from getting your car washed to purchasing computer equipment," Hoosac said.

Also, Matt Galante and Tom Robson were hired as third-base coach and bench coach, respectively.

-- Information from Times wires was used in this report.

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