Seattle Gets Cirillo in Trade

The Seattle Mariners completed a trade for third baseman Jeff Cirillo early Saturday, getting him from the Colorado Rockies for three pitchers.

The Rockies acquired right-handed reliever Jose Paniagua and prospects Dennis Stark and Brian Fuentes for the two-time all-star, according to two sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There has been speculation the Rockies will trade Paniagua to Detroit for all-purpose player Shane Halter.

Cirillo batted .312 with 17 home runs and 83 runs batted in last season. He batted .326 in each of the previous two years. Cirillo also finished this year with 85 consecutive errorless games, setting a National League record for third basemen in one season.

The trade sent Cirillo, 32, close to home. His off-season residence is in Redmond, Wash.

Paniagua, 28, was 4-3 with three saves and a 4.36 earned-run average in 60 games.

At triple-A Tacoma, Stark, a 27-year-old right-hander, was 14-2 with a 2.37 ERA.

Fuentes, a 26-year-old left-hander, was 3-2 with six saves and a 2.94 ERA at Tacoma.

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The Boston Red Sox acquired right-hander Dustin Hermanson from the St. Louis Cardinals for three minor leaguers--outfielder Rick Asadoorian and first basemen Luis Garcia and Dustin Brisson.

Hermanson, 28, was 14-13 with a 4.45 ERA last season and was particularly strong in the second half when he won eight of his 14 starts and had a 3.16 ERA.

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Former major league manager Whitey Herzog declined an offer to be the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox. Herzog, 70, was offered the manager’s job in Boston before Jimy Williams was hired before the 1997 season.

Swimming

Slovenia’s Peter Mankoc set a world record in the 100-meter medley to advance to the final at the European short course championships at Antwerp, Belgium.

Mankoc, who already won the 200 medley at the championships, finished his semifinal heat in 52.63 seconds. He shaved .16 seconds off the mark set by Neil Walker of the United States last year.

Mankoc was almost two seconds faster than his closest challenger in the semifinals. The final is today.

It was the fifth world record in three days of races at the championships.

Jurisprudence

Former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth, convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in January, was named in a wrongful death lawsuit by the victim’s mother in Charlotte, N.C.

Lawyers for Saundra Adams filed suit Wednesday in Mecklenburg Superior Court against Carruth and the three other men convicted in the fatal shooting of Cherica Adams on Nov. 16, 1999.

The lawsuit asks that Carruth and the other defendants pay at least $444,000 in medical and funeral expenses. It also seeks payment for the loss of $60,000 in annual net salary Cherica Adams was earning in a real estate career and unspecified damages for pain and suffering.

Golf

Norma Menoher made two holes in one in a round at Heritage Palms Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla. on Friday.

Menoher, a 64-year-old Fort Myers resident who is a 12-handicap player, shot a 77 Friday and made her first ace with a seven-iron on the 99-yard sixth hole. Five holes later, she used an eight-iron on the 108-yard 11th hole for her second ace.

The odds of making two holes in one in a round are 67 million to one, according to Golf Digest.

Miscellany

Jenny Potter had her second consecutive hat trick, leading the U.S. women’s hockey team past Sweden, 8-0, at New Haven, Conn., to improve to 20-0 on its pre-Olympic tour. ... Bob Hayes was in critical condition in Jacksonville, Fla., but family members said he was improving after two operations to remove fluid from his stomach. ... Lee Evans, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, will coach South Alabama’s track and cross-country teams. Evans set a world record in the 400 meters in the 1968 Olympics. The record lasted more than 20 years.