Giants Announce Rotation

Manager Felipe Alou wasted no time announcing San Francisco’s pitching rotation -- selecting Jason Schmidt as the opening-day starter after the Giants’ first full-squad workout Wednesday at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Schmidt will be followed by left-hander Kirk Rueter, right-hander Brett Tomko, left-hander Noah Lowry and right-hander Jerome Williams.

Schmidt, an 18-game winner last season despite starting the season on the disabled list, said when he arrived in camp last week that he was feeling better than he had in years.

“Our ace is healthy,” Alou said. “He welcomed the early responsibility, early announcement.”

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Juan Gonzalez hasn’t read Jose Canseco’s book and doesn’t want to. The Cleveland slugger became the latest player to refute allegations made by his former teammate, saying he has never used performance-enhancing drugs.

“The only guys who have put needles in my body are doctors,” Gonzalez said.

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Ugueth Urbina planned to report to spring training, even if his kidnapped mother still was being held. He didn’t want to show her captors that he was weak.

Now that Maura Villarreal is safe after a rescue operation Friday in Venezuela, Urbina said an indescribable weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“I feel like I’m 18 years old,” the Detroit Tiger reliever said, speaking publicly about the ordeal for the first time.

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The San Diego Padres finalized minor league deals with pitcher Andy Ashby and infielder-outfielder Robert Fick.

Although both players are at spring training with the big league club, they won’t be eligible to play for the Padres until May 1 because they weren’t offered arbitration and didn’t re-sign before Dec. 7.