Devil Rays Enlist CEO McHale

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, struggling on and off the field, are turning to John McHale Jr. to guide them through tough times.

The team introduced McHale as chief operating officer Tuesday. He will assume control of day-to-day operations handled by Vince Naimoli since the club’s inception.

McHale has been president and chief executive officer for the Detroit Tigers since January 1995 and led the effort to fund and build Comerica Park. He spent more than three years as an executive vice president with the Colorado Rockies before joining the Tigers.

With the Devil Rays, McHale steps into a chaotic situation.

The owners of the team have been bickering, the club has the worst record in baseball, attendance is sagging and Naimoli has alienated fans and local business and civic leaders.

Shortstop Rey Ordonez of the New York Mets has agreed to pay his ex-wife $6,250 a month in child support while the couple works out a permanent agreement, according to court documents.

The agreement, signed by Circuit Judge Victoria Platzer in Miami this month, amounts to a huge raise for Hilda Maria Fiallo, who had been granted child support payments of $1.50 a month by a Cuban court.

Fiallo, who was divorced from Ordonez more than seven years ago, asked a Florida court in October to order him to increase the payments to $7,790 a month.

Fiallo left Cuba with the couple’s son, Rey Jr., a year ago this month.

An MRI revealed Tim Raines’ shoulder injury is worse than originally thought and the outfielder’s comeback with the Montreal Expos has probably ended.

The Expos also said that second baseman Jose Vidro will be sidelined for at least two weeks.

Raines, 41, had an MRI on his injured left shoulder Saturday--the day he was eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list--and it revealed there was possibly more damage than what was originally termed a strain.

Raines, who retired in March 2000 after a failed spring training comeback attempt with the New York Yankees, successfully returned to baseball last month.

An MRI exam revealed tears in the left quadriceps and hamstring of the Arizona third baseman Matt Williams, who sat out four games for what was thought to be a sore hip flexor. Williams was put on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Thursday.

Juan Sosa was expected to be called from triple-A Tucson to fill Williams’ roster spot.

The Detroit Tigers put outfielder Bobby Higginson on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left rib cage and activated outfielder Wendell Magee. . . . Outfielder Henry Rodriguez, out since spring training because of a bad back, was activated by the New York Yankees, who optioned Clay Bellinger to triple-A Columbus of the International League. . . . The Kansas City Royals purchased the contract of catcher Sal Fasano from the Oakland Athletics.