Security Is a Big Concern for Venezuelans

Both Kelvim Escobar and Francisco Rodriguez were relieved to learn that the mother of Detroit reliever Ugueth Urbina was rescued from kidnappers Friday after five months in captivity, but both Angel pitchers remain uneasy about their well-being and the safety of family members in their native Venezuela.

“I have a bodyguard with me most of the time in Venezuela, and he stays with my family when I’m here,” said Rodriguez, a Caracas native who has played winter ball at home for several years. “It’s not good to live like that because you don’t feel free in your own country, but you need to do it because you want to protect your family.”

Major league players have become the targets for criminals in Latin America, and according to police, the number of reported kidnappings in Venezuela rose from 51 in 1995 to 201 in 2002, the last year for which official figures have been released. Many cases are not reported because victims’ families quietly pay the ransom. The kidnappers of Urbina’s mother demanded $6 million, but the family didn’t pay.

“It’s sad because there are so many poor people and they’ll do anything for money,” said Escobar, who signed a three-year, $18.75-million contract with the Angels before the 2004 season. “You have to be careful and pray to God nothing happens to you and your family. You see the news and read the paper, and people say, ‘How can you live there?’ But I love my country so much.”

Escobar lives in La Guaria, which he says is in a more “peaceful part of the country,” and unlike Rodriguez, he has not hired a full-time bodyguard.

“Most of the guys I know in the big leagues from Venezuela don’t have bodyguards,” Escobar said. “People don’t like that. They’d say, ‘Look at Kelvim, he’s big time, he has bodyguards.’ There are times when I go out when I might hire some security, but not all the time.”

*

Even after David Ortiz blasted a pitch from left-hander Jarrod Washburn over Fenway Park’s Green Monter to end the Angels’ 2004 season, Manager Mike Scioscia said the Angels would not carry a left-handed relief specialist this season just for the sake of having a left-hander.

“A left-hander is important because of the ability to keep a pinch-hitter on the bench, turn a [switch-hitter] around and match up against another left-hander,” Scioscia said. “But our bullpen is so deep, you don’t want to take an arm of a left-hander who might not help us over a right-hander with a power arm.”

The Angels’ top three relievers -- right-handers Rodriguez (.201), Brendan Donnelly (.212) and Scot Shields (.225) -- have had considerable success against left-handers, and power-pitching right-hander Esteban Yan and long reliever Kevin Gregg, also a right-hander, are locks to make the bullpen.

Right-handers Matt Hensley and Scott Dunn are the top candidates for the final spot. The top left-handed relief prospect in camp is probably Jake Woods, who started at double-A Arkansas and triple-A Salt Lake last season.