Smoltz Wants Baseball to Get Tougher on Steroids

Atlanta Brave closer John Smoltz called on Major League Baseball to adopt tougher steroid testing policies.

Saying the sport’s integrity is at stake, Smoltz added Sunday that he doesn’t even understand the testing policy adopted as part of the collective bargaining agreement in 2002.

“The more this becomes a monster, the more it plays into everybody’s mind,” Smoltz said after a spring training workout in Kissimmee, Fla. “There’s a way they should do tests. Do them the way they should be done -- not a platform that’s just a smoke screen.”

Last season, baseball conducted random tests for steroids and between 5% and 7% came back positive.

“It’s not right,” he said. “It’s not a level playing field. This stuff did not just pop up out of nowhere. This controversy is not going to end until the studies and tests are done the right way.”

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Oakland Athletic left-hander Mark Mulder threw off a mound for the first time in more than a week and said he would be ready to take his regular turn when spring training games start.

“It won’t be a problem,” Mulder said after throwing 36 pitches in his first action since having back spasms. “I’ll throw to hitters in a day or two, and we only start with two or three innings the first time out. I feel fine.”

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Pedro Martinez was shocked by the sharpness of his first pitches of spring training.

Martinez threw 49 pitches in his first session off a mound since Oct. 16, when the Boston Red Sox lost the seventh game of the American League championship series to the New York Yankees.

“For so long without actually touching a mound I thought it was great,” Martinez said. “It was nice and loose, smooth.”

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New York Met shortstop Kaz Matsui will be sidelined for a week after injuring a finger on his throwing hand.

Matsui needed two stitches near the nail of the middle finger on his right hand after being hit by a grounder, the team said. His fingertip was cut and the nail was bent back.

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Josh Beckett will start the Florida Marlins’ spring training opener Thursday, his first competitive action since winning Game 6 of the World Series.... New York Yankee pitcher Jon Lieber hopes to resume working off a mound Wednesday after his right groin tightened up during a bullpen session a week ago.... Minnesota Twin first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz returned to workouts after hyperextending his left knee the day before during a fielding drill.... Pitcher Zach Day and outfielder Endy Chavez agreed to contract terms with the Montreal Expos.