Carpenter, whose throwing session Friday was canceled, left the team’s camp Friday morning to get a second opinion, according to the newspaper. He returned a few hours later but did no throwing.

Prior to camp, there was some concern about how Carpenter’s workload in 2011 might affect him this season. Including the postseason, Carpenter, 36, threw 273 innings in 2011.

In 34 regular seasons starts last season, Carpenter was 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA. He started six times in the postseason, including twice on short rest and three times in the World Series. - http://aol.sportingnews.com/

After 19 seasons in the majors -- 17 of them with the Boston Red Sox -- knuckleballer Tim Wakefield announced his retirement from baseball Friday afternoon.

"This has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do, so it's with a heavy heart that I stand here today," Wakefield said, pausing to regain his composure. "And I'm saddened to say that I have decided to retire from this wonderful game of baseball."

Wakefield's announcement came at a 5 p.m. ET news conference at JetBlue Park, the team's new spring training facility.

"I'm very grateful I've been able to put this uniform on for such a long time and to win two World Series for this great city and I can finally say it's over," the 45-year-old said.


Wakefield walks away with 186 victories with the Red Sox, just six short of the team record shared by Cy Young and Roger Clemens. He recorded his 200th career victory late last season.

Wakefield had said toward the end of last season that he wanted to return for his 18th season with the Red Sox, but as the winter wore on it became clear he was not in Boston's plans.


The team extended him an invitation to spring training but did not guarantee him a roster spot. Had Wakefield accepted, he likely would have competed for the fifth spot in the rotation.

The Red Sox extended a similar invitation to captain Jason Varitek, who has spent the past 15 years with the team. It remains unclear whether the soon-to-be-40-year-old catcher will take them up on the invitation, sign elsewhere or retire. - http://espn.go.com/

DETROIT (AP)—Victor Martinez had knee surgery and will need a second operation, another indication he is likely to miss the entire 2012 season.

The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee.

“I don’t want to say it was a surprise,” team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “We knew it was a possibility.”

Martinez is projected to have anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery on the same knee in six-to-eight weeks, the procedure that was previously expected.

The team announced Monday that he was expected to be out for the year.

When the Tigers revealed two weeks ago that Martinez tore his left ACL during offseason conditioning, they said the designated hitter would “most likely be lost,” for the 2012 season.

The first of two operations was done last week by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colo.

“We didn’t know the full extent of the damage for sure until Dr. Steadman got in there,” Dombrowski said. “He’s the resident expert in the world on knees, and he feels it is more important to correct cartilage before the ACL to get the best results.”-http://sports.yahoo.com

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—The Oakland Athletics are open to signing slugger Manny Ramirez but the team is not actively pursuing the free agent.

That was the message Sunday from assistant general manager David Forst, who talked during A’s Fanfest held at the Oakland Arena, next door to the Coliseum. A’s owner Lew Wolff had suggested the move last week.
“We’re open to it,” Forst said. “We do have other things going on and we do expect other additions between now and opening day. We have never been in a situation where we had too many good players.”
Ramirez applied for reinstatement to Major League Baseball last month. He was suspended for 100 games last year but the ban was trimmed to 50 because he sat out nearly all of last season. The suspension would start with the first game he is eligible to play after signing with a club.

“I think it would be fun,” Wolff said. “This should be viewed on the basis of talent. Once he’s served the penalty he should be free to do what he wants. I don’t know what kind of shape he’s in, though I hear he’s in great shape.”

Ramirez, who will be 40 on May 30, ranks 14th on the career list with 555 home runs. He was 1 for 17 (.059) in five games last season for Tampa Bay, which had signed him to a one-year deal worth $2.02 million. He retired from baseball rather than serve his longer suspension.

“I never actually met him,” A’s outfielder Josh Reddick said. “But to have a veteran hitter like Manny? That experience can only help us. We’re a young team and I would look forward to a guy like that, a guy we can learn from.”- http://sports.yahoo.com/

CHICAGO (AP)—Commissioner Bud Selig will decide what compensation the Boston Red Sox will receive for Theo Epstein’s move to the Chicago Cubs.
Epstein left as Boston’s general manager with a year left on his contract to become president of baseball operations for the Cubs.

Epstein got a five-year, $18.5 million deal in late October. But the two teams have not been able to agree on compensation and now it’s up to Selig.
Selig said Friday night he’d like to have it done as quickly as possible. He said he gave the clubs more latitude in hopes they’d reach an agreement, but they couldn’t. Selig said now it’s his decision and that’s OK, all part of the job.- http://sports.yahoo.com

BOSTON (AP)—The Boston Red Sox on Thursday confirmed the signing of outfielder Cody Ross to a one-year contract and said right-hander Scott Atchison was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

The $3 million deal for Ross was first reported on Monday, when he told The Associated Press in a text message he still needed to take a physical.

The 31-year-old Ross batted .240 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs for the San Francisco Giants last season while playing at least 22 games at every outfield position.

Ross was the 2010 NL championship series MVP for the Giants and helped them win the World Series that year after they picked him up off waivers in August.- http://sports.yahoo.com

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Giants ace Tim Lincecum’s new $40.5 million, two-year deal includes a series of bonuses for winning the Cy Young and other awards.

Lincecum and San Francisco reached verbal agreement on a new contract Tuesday pending a physical, which likely will happen early next week before a formal announcement is made by the club.
Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, gets a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $18 million this year and $22 million in 2013.

He would earn an additional $500,000 for winning his third Cy Young, $250,000 for second place, $100,000 for third, $75,000 for fourth and $50,000 for fifth. If he wins the Cy Young in 2012, the bonus for winning again in 2013 would increase to $1 million.

Lincecum also would make $250,000 for being voted NL MVP, $150,000 for being the runner-up, $100,000 for third, $75,000 for fourth and $50,000 for fifth. He would receive a $100,000 bonus if picked to the All-Star game and $50,000 for a Gold Glove.

Lincecum had asked for a near-record $21.5 million in salary arbitration and had been offered $17 million by the Giants. He remains eligible for free agency following the 2013 season.

The 27-year-old right-hander, the winning pitcher in the Game 5 World Series clincher at Texas in 2010, earned $13.1 million last season when he finished a two-year deal worth $23.2 million.

When the sides exchanged numbers last Tuesday, Lincecum’s request neared the record amount sought in arbitration. Houston pitcher Roger Clemens asked for $22 million in 2005.-http://sports.yahoo.com/

NEW YORK (AP)—Given some time to reconsider, the San Diego Padres have voted in favor of baseball Commissioner Bud Selig’s two-year extension.

Selig’s latest agreement was finalized in a 30-0 vote, the commissioner’s office said Monday.
Because it was not on the agenda when owners met Jan. 12 in Arizona, unanimous consent was needed then for approval. San Diego owner John Moores, upset that the Padres’ sale to Jeff Moorad’s group was not approved, voted no.

Owners then decided to have a vote conducted by return ballot over 10 days, which fulfilled the notice requirement.

Reinsdorf says Guillen had his blessing to leave

CHICAGO (AP)—Ozzie Guillen left the White Sox four months ago, and they’re still talking about him in Chicago.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf defended his former manager Monday, saying Guillen had his blessing to leave the team before the season was over. Guillen was released from his contract with two games left last year and became the Marlins manager two days later.

“Ozzie told me he wanted to finish out the year, the Marlins really wanted him in Miami for the conclusion of the season, and I told him that he had no choice but to go given the excitement surrounding the opening of their new stadium and the unveiling of their new uniforms,” Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Ozzie needed to be in Miami at the end of the season for the Marlins.”

Reinsdorf’s statement came after White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy questioned whether Guillen quit on the team during an interview on WSCR-AM 670 on Jan. 14. Guillen then took to his Twitter account Friday and promised to tell the truth about his departure from Chicago.

“At the end of the day, Ozzie didn’t finish the season with us the last few games,” Peavy said. “So I don’t know who quit on who. But it is what it is and we’re all looking forward to 2012.”- http://sports.yahoo.com/

 

Rangers, Darvish beat deadline with 6-year deal

Star Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish agreed to a six-year, $60 million contract with the Texas Rangers just before the Wednesday deadline to hammer out a deal.

Alberto Callaspo agrees to $3.15M deal with Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Third baseman Alberto Callaspo and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $3.15 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration. The Angels announced a deal Monday with Callaspo, who batted .288 with six homers and 46 RBIs last season with the Angels, who acquired him in a trade with Kansas City in July 2010. He made $2 million. The Venezuelan infielder spent most of 2011 as the Angels’ starting third baseman, providing little power but leading the club with a .366 on-base percentage. Gold Glove shortstop Erick Aybar is the Angels’ only remaining player in arbitration. Los Angeles is working on a long-term deal with Aybar.-http://sports.yahoo.com/

For Cubs, uncertainty comes with excitement

 

Ricketts hopes Castro’s legal issue resolved soon

 

Mattingly—Preston—agrees to deal with Yanks

NEW YORK (AP)—A Mattingly will be back in uniform in the New York Yankees’ organization this year—Preston.

The 24-year-old son of the former Yankees star and current Los Angeles Dodgers manager agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract with New York

.He hit .232 with five doubles, five home and 19 RBIs in 53 games last year with Class A Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga.

He was drafted by the Dodgers in 2006, then traded to Cleveland in September 2010. He was released by the Indians the following April and then signed with the Dodgers. He became a six-year minor league free agent after the season.

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