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Contreras Says Family Can't Leave Cuba
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, 19 - New York Yankee
pitcher Jose Contreras says his family was
barred from leaving Cuba, the newspaper
La Prensa reported Monday.
Contreras told the newspaper that Cuban
officials had twice refused permission for
his wife Miriam Murillo to go to Nicaragua
and that she would have to wait four years
before applying again.
He told La Prensa that Nicaragua had given
a visa to his wife and daughters Naylan,
11, and Naylenis, 3, but that it had expired.
Contreras was a star with the Cuban national
baseball team before defecting and signing
with the Yankees in December 2002.
He has legal residence in Nicaragua, though
he also has a house in Tampa, Florida. He
spoke to the newspaper at a hotel in Managua.
"While they call me a traitor, I don't
feel that I'm a traitor," Contreras
told La Prensa. "I have not committed
any offense, any crime. I took the decision
to leave the island. It was a personal decision,
and my daughters and my wife should not
have to pay any price. They aren't guilty
of anything, even if any guilt exists."
"For eight years, I gave my best for
my country and now they treat me this way.
I'm not a politician. I'm a sportsman, and
if my country had treated me better, I would
not be here, I'd be in Cuba."
Scouts to look at Cuban
By Rod Beaton, USA TODAY.
Jan 20.
Cuban right-hander Maels Rodriguez, who
defected in October and was declared a free
agent by Major League Baseball on Jan. 7,
is working out Thursday for big-league scouts
to generate what he hopes will be a bidding
war for his services.
The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston
Red Sox, Anaheim Angel Seattle Mariners
and Texas Rangers are among the teams expected
to attend the workout in San Salvador that
will include lightly regarded utility player
Yobal Duenas, 31, who defected with Rodriguez.
"When I see certain (big-spending)
teams are going, I figure, 'What's the point?'
" Minnesota Twins general manager Terry
Ryan says of making a bid for Rodriguez.
Ryan is saving money to sign players in
the June draft, where the Twins have seven
of the first 100 picks: "We can sign
them with more certainty (than Cubans)."
Top Cuban pitchers have a spotty record
in the majors. Osvaldo Fernandez (San Francisco
Giants), Rene Arocha (St. Louis Cardinals)
Ariel Prieto (Oakland Athletics), Rolando
Arrojo (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and Adrian
Hernandez (Yankees) have been expensive
failures. Every team hopes to find and sign
standouts such as Orlando "El Duque"
Hernandez, Livan Hernandez and last year's
plum, Jose Contreras.
The Yankees signed Contreras, 32, for four
years and $32 million. Rodriguez is 24,
his age verified by Olympic records. He
is looking to sign for terms comparable
to those Contreras received, a long shot
given some of the questions surrounding
him.
Rodriguez must overcome a bias against
hard-throwing right-handers who are under
6 feet tall, their durability considered
suspect. Rodriguez is 5-11 and 176 pounds.
He threw 255 innings, a Cuban record, in
2002.
His high points include a perfect game
and setting the Cuban record for strikeouts,
263 in 178&frac_one_third; innings in
2000. Last season he was 8-3 with a 3.11
ERA and 117 strikeouts in 113 innings.
In his last season in Cuba, officials left
him off two touring teams because of arm
problems. Rodriguez also had a herniated
disk a year ago and was unable to throw
mid-90s routinely - and 100 mph on occasion
as he did during the 2000 Olympics.
This workout is designed to dispel those
concerns.
When he's healthy, he compares to major
league reliever Danys Baez, now with Tampa
Bay, says Peter Bjarkman, author of Smoke:
The Romance and Lore of Cuban Baseball.
Bjarkman and observers of Cuban baseball
say Rodriguez can be a big-league closer
if his arm is healthy, a washout if not.
"If I was a team with a lot of money,
I'd take a chance with Maels," said
Milton Jamail, author of Full Count: Inside
Cuban Baseball. "If I was in a middle
market, I wouldn't consider it."
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