White Sox bring back Alomar
Angered with Chicago’s inconsistency and refusing to concede the division title, White Sox general manager Ken Williams is again looking to Roberto Alomar for help.
The White Sox acquired Alomar from Arizona on Thursday, the second straight year Williams has traded for the 12-time All-Star second baseman for the stretch run. For Alomar, the White Sox gave the Diamondbacks a player to be named and cash.
“Obviously, you’ve got to deal with the fact that we’re six games back. But I do not accept that we don’t have enough talent to win this thing,” Williams said. “Robbie’s a smart pro and one who’s not afraid of the August and September heat — and I’m not talking about the temperature outside.
“As we go down the stretch here, you simply have to play smart baseball,” Williams added. “You cannot give away games. We need to pick it up.”
Alomar, 36, batted .309 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 39 games for Arizona. He missed 56 games with a broken right hand after being hit by a pitch in Milwaukee on April 20.
Williams said Alomar will be used at second base and designated hitter, and might also play some third base.
Clemens given apology for ejection from youth game
Roger Clemens was given an emphatic apology Thursday for “unjustly” being ejected from his 10-year-old son’s baseball game last weekend in Colorado.
David King, president of tournament organizer Triple Crown Sports, said “Mr. Clemens was a non-aggressor and a victim of mistaken identity and confusion” by an upset umpire.
Clemens was asked to leave son Kacy’s game Saturday in Craig, Colo., when a 22-year-old ump said the Houston Astros pitcher spit a sunflower seed at him. Moments earlier, Kacy was called out on a stolen base attempt — the fielder later admitted he missed the tag — and the Rocket watched the rest of the contest from a parking lot.
“Mr. Clemens never raised his voice, never physically confronted our official, nor was he ever on the field of play,” King said in a written statement, underlining those words.
“Mr. Clemens was unjustly asked to leave the field of play,” King said. “For all of this, we apologize to Mr. Clemens.”
Clemens was sitting on a bucket, behind a fence near the first base dugout, when Kacy was called out at second base in the middle innings of a game the Bakersfield (Calif.) Curve won 11-5.
The Katy coaches and fans complained about the call, but witnesses said Clemens never said a word. The umpire came over to quiet the ruckus, and said he was hit in the pants cuff by a sunflower seed spit by Clemens.
King did not identify the young umpire, but said he was a schoolteacher and in his seventh year of calling games.
Reds broadcaster Nuxhall says team wants him out
Longtime Cincinnati Reds announcer Joe Nuxhall is upset, certain the team is forcing him out of the broadcasting booth.
“I had to get it off my chest,” the 76-year-old Nuxhall said this week at a signing for his new book. “It’s been on my mind ever since it started.”
Nuxhall was only 15 when he pitched in relief for the Reds on June 10, 1944. He still holds the distinction as the youngest player ever to appear in the majors.
The left-hander has been a Reds broadcaster since 1967, spending almost the last 31 years in the booth with partner Marty Brennaman. The two of them signed two-year extensions on Nov. 1, 2002.
The Reds issued a statement Thursday saying they have talked with him about returning next year in some capacity, although not as an everyday broadcaster.
Clearing the bases
The Philadelphia Phillies placed left fielder Pat Burrell on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left wrist. … Houston Astros pitcher Darren Oliver left Thursday night’s start against the Atlanta Braves after only one inning because of tightness in his left shoulder. He is day-to-day.