Gold Was No Surprise to Bavasi

Bill Bavasi, fired by the Angels last year for not building a pennant-winning team quickly enough, wasn’t surprised the U.S. team he helped pick won the Olympic gold medal.

“I don’t have a reason to feel vindicated, because we knew what we were getting into,” said Bavasi, who picked the roster along with former Yankee general manager Bob Watson. “. . .We also knew we had real good pitching and a pretty good club overall.”

U.S. Manager Tom Lasorda returned to Los Angeles with his players on Thursday and was honored before the Dodger-Giant game.

“I’ve known Tommy for a long time and I’m thrilled for him,” Bavasi said. “I know Tommy’s going to get a lot of credit -- and I hope he does.

“I hope people don’t overlook what those kids did, and I hope they get their due. They did a good job, and there’s a lot of scouts out there who are filled with joy. We had really good scouts who put this thing together.”

In Milwaukee, fans cheered Ben Sheets, the Brewers’ top minor league pitching prospect who defeated Cuba, 4-0, with a three-hitter in the gold medal game.

Sheets was introduced in the middle of the fifth inning with his medal dangling from his neck and waved to the crowd as it chanted, “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

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Jay Canizaro of the Minnesota Twins suffered a concussion after he was hit in the head by a pitch during batting practice before Thursday night’s game against the Cleveland Indians.

Canizaro, who was not wearing a batting helmet, fell to the ground and was immediately surrounded by teammates. After about 10 minutes, Canizaro was helped to the clubhouse by two teammates, then taken to a hospital.

Canizaro returned to the team’s clubhouse during the second inning. His condition was listed as day-to-day.

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With American League teams bunched closely and home-field advantage at stake, the commissioner’s office has rescheduled two rainouts for Monday. The Florida Marlins must go to New York to play the Yankees at 9 a.m. PDT, making up a July 15 washout, and Oakland will play at Tampa Bay at 3:05 p.m. That makes up for the game missed Sept. 17 because of Hurricane Gordon. . . . Pirate first baseman Kevin Young was suspended for two games and fined $2,000 by the commissioner’s office for making contact with an umpire Sept. 21 at Milwaukee. . . . New York City is willing to pay a third of the cost of new ballparks for the Mets and Yankees if the teams and New York State also pay one-third each, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. . . . Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca vetoed a measure that would have eased the way for the independent Western League to bring a team to the city.