Pedro wavers
in 1st outing
(AP) In his first outing of the
spring, Pedro Martinez looked noth
ing like the unhittable pitcher of last
September and October. Then again,
it was spring training.
“Everything went fine. Those are
not the results I would like,” he said
Monday after allowing three runs and
three hits in two innings as the Boston
Red Sox lost to the Texas Rangers 13
6 on Monday.
Using mostly fastballs, Martinez
gave up a double, triple and homer
while throwing 32 pitches.
In the first inning, Martinez faced
Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez with one out
and a runner on third. The Rangers
catcher edged Martinez for the
American League Most Valuable
Player last season when two writers
left Martinez off their ballots because
they didn’t think pitchers should get
the award.
Martinez won this much less
important matchup, getting
Rodriguez on a called strike on the
outside comer.
“I like challenges,” Martinez said.
“Pudge is one of the players I like to
face, and he’s going to be one of the
players I want to face most of the time
in spring training so I know how to get
him out.”
The other matchup should have
been more one-sided - the AL Cy
Young Award winner who was 23-4
with a major league-best 2.07 ERA
and AL-high 313 strikeouts vs. Luis
Alicea, who has 36 homers in 10 sea
sons.
•• Even though it s
spring training,
you like facing
good teams...”
Jaret Wright
pitcher, Cleveland Indians
In other Florida games:
Expos ll,Mets6
At Jupiter, Fla.- Hideki Irabu
pitched three innings in his first start
of the spring and had an RBI single in
a seven-run first. New York starter
Bobby J. Jones failed to retire a batter,
allowing seven runs, six hits and three
walks. Rondell White had a two-run
double and Chris Widger a two-run
single before Irabu’s hit.
Braves 12, Blue Jays 2
At Dunedin, Fla. - Tom Glavine
pitched two hitless innings in his first
outing of the spring, and Brian Jordan
homered off Gary Glover. Toronto
reliever John Bale was ragged for five
runs, including a three-run homer by
Marcus Giles. Jeff Horn hit a two-run
homer for Atlanta in a three-run ninth
off Lance Painter.
Astros 8, Cardinals 7
At Kissimmee, Fla. - Daryle
Ward, who has bounced between the
major leagues and the minors, hit his
second homerun in two days. Ward,
the son of former big-leaguer Gary
Ward, hit a solo homerun off reliever
Mike Matthews in the seventh to put
the Astros ahead 7-6. He homered
Sunday off five-time Cy Young Award
winner Roger Clemens.
The fifth pitch was a fastball that
didn’t go as far inside as Martinez
would have liked. Alicea sent it over
the 20-foot wall in right field fdr a
second-inning homerun.
“I could have gotten Alicea out,
maybe, with some other pitches, but
that’s not exactly what I want,”
Martinez said. “I don’t want to get
hurt trying to get Alicea out in spring
training.”
At Winter Haven, Fla., Richie
Sexson drove in four runs with a
homerun and a double as Cleveland
routed the Yankees 15-1, dropping
New York to 0-5 this spring.
The World Series champions have
been outscored 49-16 and have not
held a lead in any game this year.
Sexson’s second spring-training
homer came in the fourth inning off
reliever Mike Buddie. He added a
two-run double during an eight-run
fifth. *
Pirates 11, Reds 4
At Bradenton, Fla. - Aramis
Ramirez, trying to win Pittsburgh’s
job at third base, went three for four
with a grand slam off Dennys Reyes
that capped a six-run seventh.
Ramirez is six for 10 (.600) with
seven RBI in his first three games this
spring.
Phillies 5, Tigers 4
At Clearwater, Fla. - shortstop
Kevin Polcovich botched a potential
game-ending double play for Detroit’s
sixth error, allowing two runs to
score. Detroit made three errors in the
ninth inning.
Jaret Wright pitched two hitless
innings in his spring debut. Wright,
trying to hang on to the fifth spot in
the Indians’ starting rotation, needed
just 18 pitches to retire his six batters.
“Even though it’s spring training,
you like facing good teams, and it’s
still the Yankees,” Wright said. “It’s
always good to skate by that first one
and get it out of the way.”
Carlos Perez, who struggled last
year, was pounded for six runs and
five hits in two innings as the Los
Angeles Dodgers were routed by the
Baltimore Orioles 17-3 in Vero
Beach, Fla.
After signing a $15.6 million,
three-year contract, Perez went 2-10
with a 7.43 ERA last season.
“This is the first game,” Perez
said. “I’m still working. It’s no big
deal.”
All five games in Arizona were
wiped out by rain.
Marlins 6, Royals 4
At Haines City, Fla. - Josh
Beckett, Florida’s top draft pick last
year, pitched two hitless innings and
Mendy Lopez hit a three-run homer.
Carlos Beltran singled twice and
drove in two runs for the Royals.
Beltran has five RBI in Kansas City’s
four games, all losses.
Twins 4, Devil Rays 1
At Fort Myers, Fla. - Brad Radke,
the subject of trade rumors all spring,
allowed one run and three hits in three
innings. Radke, unable to get a multi
year contract by his Feb. 20 deadline,
was making his second outing of the
spring. Tampa Bay’s lineup was miss
ing Jose Canseco, Vinny Castilla and
Greg Vaughn, who did not make the
trip from St. Petersburg, Fla.
p.m.
JVebraska Union
sponsored by RHA and the Daily Nebraskan
ISU’s Fizer, Longhorns’ Mihm
heads list of All-Big 12 stars
■ Iowa State guard
Jamaal Tinsley provides
surprise in selections.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -
Marcus Fizer, whose forceful pres
ence led Iowa State to its first confer
ence championship in 55 years, heads
a parade of unanimous selections for
The Associated Press All-Big 12 bas
ketball team.
In an unprecedented show of una
nimity, a panel of sportswriters and
sportscasters who cover the Big 12 on
a regular basis also named Oklahoma
State’s Desmond Mason, Oklahoma’s
Eduardo Najera and Texas 7-footer
Chris Mihm to every first-team ballot.
For the fifth first-team spot, Iowa
State point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who
ranked in the top three in the Big 12 in
both steals and assists, outpolled
Colorado guard Jaquay Walls.
Mason, 6 feet, 6 inches, and
Najera, 6 feet, 8 inches, are the only
seniors on the first team. Fizer, 6 feet,
8 inches, Mihm and Tinsley, a 6-foot
3-inch junior college transfer, are
juniors.
Fizer - leaner, quicker and smarter
than he was as a pudgy sophomore
who averaged 18 points - topped the
Big 12 with a 22.8-point scoring aver
age.
“He is a man among boys,” said
Colorado Coach Ricardo Patton.
Fizer is barreling into the postsea
son as one of the hottest players in the
nation, averaging 32.6 points during
the last five games by shooting 61 of
106 (.575) from the field. He has gone
higher than 30 points in four of his last
five games.
“He’s a different guy. He’s more
mature,” said Iowa State Coach Larry
Eustachy. “He lets the game come to
him. He dictates the game. The game
dictated him last year.”
Fizer and Tinsley were the key
players in one of the biggest stories in
basketball this season. With Tinsley
providing what Oklahoma Coach
Kelvin Sampson termed the finest
point-guard play in the conference,
the Cyclones went from 15-15 a year
ago to a school record of 26-4. In pre
season polls, they were not picked
higher than sixth.
In league games, the Cyclones
went 14-2 in capturing their first con
ference title since winning the Big Six
in 1945.
The top vote-getters on the second
team were Texas forward Gabe
Muoneke and Walls, whose 42 points
in an overtime victory against Iowa
State set a Big 12 record.
They are joined by Missouri point
guard Keyon Dooling, Nebraska cen
ter Kimani Ffriend and Texas Tech
guard Rayford Young.
Tinsley, who didn’t play high
school basketball, had 199 assists and
made 75 steals.
“Tinsley’s the best with the ball in
his hands maybe in our league,” said
Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson.
“In terms of creating, Tinsley might be
the best.”
Kansas Coach Roy Williams said,
“He’s the best newcomer in the league
for sure and has done more things at
point guard than anybody else I can
think of.”
Najera, who came to Oklahoma
four years ago from his native Mexico
hardly able to speak English, will
leave as one of the most popular
Sooners ever. He was second to Fizer
with an 18.5 scoring average and sec
ond to Mihm with 9.5 rebounds a
game.
He probably leads the conference
in bumps and bruises and headlong
dives to the floor in pursuit of loose
balls.
“There’s a significant difference
between being a star and being a team
mate,” said Sampson. “Eduardo is a
humble kid, a mild, humble, modest
soul. I’m a better person for having
had the opportunity to coach him.”
For his career, Najera ranks 1 Oth in
school history in scoring, sixth in
rebounding, seventh in steals and
sixth in blocked shots
Mihm led the Big 12 with 19 dou
ble-doubles last season and is again at
the top with 17 this season. His 10.4
rebound average is the best in the
league and his 17.8 points are sixth.
“He’s just a monster,” said Larry
Eustachy. “He scores so easy. He’s just
so big and has such a nice touch
around the basket.”
Mason was third in the conterence
with 18.1 points per game and the
most important contributor to
Oklahoma State’s 23-5 record.
For Baylor Coach Dave Bliss,
there is little difference in the quality
of Najera, Mason and Mihm.
“A coin flip,” he said. “Each of the
three does so much for the team
they’re playing on. They bring differ
ent things. Najera, very few big men
are as good a leader as he is for his
team. Desmond Mason plays well at
both ends of the floor and has really
stepped up his offense. Chris Mihm is
just overwhelming in the post.”
Vikings look to sign Marino, but Dolphins
say they’ll take quarterback back again
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - At least
one team in the NFL doesn’t think Dan
Marino is washed up.
Dennis Green is trying to lure the
league’s career-passing leader to
Minnesota, where he would become the
Vikings’ eighth starter in eight seasons.
Marino turns 39 this year and has
spent his entire 17-year career in
Miami. He is considering an offer from
the Vikings, but he’s also considering
retirement.
Marino was offered Minnesota’s
starting quarterback job last week in
talks with Green, two sources close to
Marino and speaking on condition of
anonymity confirmed Monday.
Marino, who has never won a cham
pionship, most likely will decide by the
end of the week, one of the sources said.
The offer was first reported Sunday
night by ESPN and Fox Sports Net, cit
ing unidentified sources.
“I’m just flabbergasted,” Dolphins
President Eddie Jones said. “I have no
idea about Dan Marino and any report
about him going anyplace. I know noth
ing about where Dan’s head is at or what
he plans to do.”
But Jones said for the first time
Monday that if Marino plays next sea
son, the Dolphins want him.
“Danny has been told he can come
back,” Jones said.
Green didn’t return phone calls
from The Associated Press on Monday.
Last week, he told his staff not to dis
cuss the team’s quarterback situation in
light of heavy criticism of his declara
tion that Daunte Culpepper, his top draft
pick last year, would enter camp as the
projected starter.
But Green told WAFN Radio in
Miami he’d love it if Marino and the
Vikings pursued their elusive champi
onship rings together.
“We think this is a perfect merger of
a guy who wants one more year to get it
done the right way and a team that’s
looking for that one guy who wants one
more year to get it right,” Green said.
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