Mets’ Randolph issues apology
New York Mets manager Willie Randolph issued an apology Wednesday to team ownership, the club’s TV network and his players “for the unnecessary distraction” he created by suggesting he was portrayed in a different manner than white managers.
Randolph, the Mets’ first black manager, created a stir with comments he made that appeared Monday in The Record of Hackensack, N.J.
Randolph brought up race when he questioned the way he has been presented by SNY, the team’s TV network.
“Is it racial?” Randolph was quoted in the story. “Huh? It smells a little bit. … I don’t know how to put my finger on it, but I think there’s something there.”
Randolph met with the media before Wednesday’s game in Atlanta. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. It was a mistake. As simple as that. It was a mistake. And there is no excuse for that. No excuses. I own up to it.”
•Mets right-hander Pedro Martinez returned to the Dominican Republic to be with his sick father, delaying plans to test his ailing hamstring.
Tigers recall Willis
The Detroit Tigers recalled pitcher Dontrelle Willis and placed reliever Clay Rapada on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis.
Manager Jim Leyland said Willis, who has been on the DL since April 12 with a hyperextended right knee, will initially pitch out of the bullpen and eventually return to the rotation.
Cox optimistic
One day after John Smoltz said he would not set a timetable on his return from the disabled list, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox did the job for him.
Cox also gave a projected timetable for the returns of two more injured Braves pitchers, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano.
“I think within the next 12 days all three of them will be up here – or close,” Cox said.
Speed it up
With games seeming to run longer each year, Major League Baseball asked teams to help enforce speed-up rules already on the books.
A nine-inning game is averaging 2 hours, 51 minutes, 42 seconds this season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That’s 29 seconds longer than last season but 51/2 minutes longer than five years ago.
In 1981, an average game took 2:33.