Pine Tar Still a Sticky Matter for Angels

As Brendan Donnelly served the final days of his suspension for having pine tar on his glove, the Angels were considering asking baseball to reconsider the illegality of pine tar for pitchers.

“I think it deserves discussion,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “The real question is, what does it do? Does the use of pine tar give anybody a distinct advantage over somebody else?

“I don’t know. The logical question is, what’s the difference between pine tar and rosin? I’m not sure there’s an answer for that.”

Stoneman could present the topic of pine tar during fall meetings of the league’s general managers, who then could ask the newly formed rules committee to investigate. A former big league pitcher who said he had not used pine tar during his eight-year career, Stoneman appears to come in on the side of legalizing what has been on the list of foreign substances.

He also is one of nine members of the rules committee, which had been dormant until last winter. Sandy Alderson, then head of MLB’s baseball operations and now president of the San Diego Padres, was named chairman by Commissioner Bud Selig.

In the hours after pine tar was found in Donnelly’s glove, Angel Manager Mike Scioscia called the practice “common” among pitchers. Donnelly said the grip allowed by pine tar kept batters safe from potentially errant pitches. In 182 games over 3 1/2 seasons for the Angels, Donnelly has hit seven batters.

It appears Stoneman might find some resistance.

While inviting Stoneman to raise the subject, Alderson said, “I would be surprised if there was any sentiment to change the existing rules.”

General Manager Terry Ryan of the Minnesota Twins, like Stoneman a former pitcher and a rules committee member, cited that only three pitchers -- Jay Howell, Julian Tavarez and Donnelly -- had been caught with pine tar since 1988. The Angels’ contention seems to be that few umpires are actually asked to look -- as Washington National Manager Frank Robinson requested -- but Ryan views pine tar as neither vital to the pitcher nor harmless to the game.

So far, Ryan said, “We aren’t looking at it at all.”

As for Donnelly’s contention that pine tar possesses a safety value, Ryan said, “Safety? The rosin bag’s back there for a reason.”

Therefore, he said, there is no rush to legalize pine tar.

“Not any more than there’s a rush to let hitters put cork in their bats,” he said.

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Bats and Pieces

Jim Tracy’s two-year contract extension includes a clause allowing him to leave after the first year. The Dodgers have followed their NL West title with a sub-.500 first half, but management appears to recognize that injuries -- and not Tracy -- are at fault. There is not yet a sentiment to replace the manager.... Jose Canseco apparently is destined for one of those Dennis Rodman post-career lives, soiling himself for every dollar blowing across Hollywood Boulevard. Next up: VH1’s “Surreal Life,” on which Canseco shares a house with the likes of Bronson Pinchot, Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa (Salt, apparently, was otherwise engaged), a couple of models and various other washouts.

In the wake of Keith Foulke’s knee surgery and Curt Schilling’s request to close games, the Boston Red Sox have misplaced some of that one-for-all spirit. The whiskey bottle can’t be far away.

Red Sox players told the Hartford Courant that Mike Timlin, who had a borderline All-Star first half, and others in the bullpen deserved first crack at the job over Schilling, who hasn’t pitched regularly in relief in 13 years.

Johnny Damon told the paper, “I don’t think he’s ready to be our closer. I think Bronson [Arroyo] would be our best choice as a closer. That’s if Mike Timlin’s not it. Mike Timlin deserves to be it.”

He added, “You’ve got a lot of upset people in here. You’ve got a lot of guys busting their butts in the bullpen all year.”

Ultimately, Manager Terry Francona said, Schilling would return to the rotation.

The Red Sox are “panicking,” Damon said, and he was on a roll. “We’re [four] games up. They feel like we’re 10 down. They’ve been trying to get rid of [Kevin] Millar since the beginning of the season. Well, guess what? His numbers were the same as last year and then he caught fire. Now he’s definitely looking over his shoulder a little more because we’ve got a very good backup first baseman now in [John] Olerud.”

Two things: Schilling is tired of the rehab and will do anything to stay out of a Pawtucket uniform, so he returns ready to pitch a couple of innings and not seven. Also, it certainly did not escape the attention of the publicity-savvy Schilling that John Smoltz was widely revered for becoming Atlanta’s closer, viewed as a team-first move that potentially put Smoltz in the Hall of Fame.

Red Sox relievers have a 5.54 ERA, worse than all but Tampa Bay, and opponents are batting a league-high .287. A day after Damon vented, Arroyo said, “I know Johnny, [Tim Wakefield] and Timlin don’t think [Schilling] should be down there.”

Francona dragged Damon into his office Thursday and, as Damon revealed, “He just pretty much called me a dumb ... and told me to keep my mouth zipped.”

Stop us if you’ve heard this: After being hit by a Pedro Martinez pitch Tuesday night, Jose Guillen became angry when his National pitcher -- Esteban Loaiza, in this case -- did not immediately retaliate. According to the Washington Post, Guillen scolded Loaiza and catcher Brian Schneider for failing to retaliate.

During a dugout argument, Loaiza said, “Everybody was mad. I was mad. Eventually, some of our teammates had to calm us down.”

While with the Angels, the volatile Guillen called out pitchers for not protecting him, the beginning of the end for him in Anaheim. As one Angel authority noted, if Guillen is so convinced pitchers are out to get him, why hasn’t he ever charged the mound?

Two months ago today, the New York Yankees suggested that Jason Giambi go to triple-A Columbus and rediscover his swing there. He was batting .195. He had three home runs. The Yankee Stadium crowds had turned on him. It was the logical thing to do, General Manager Brian Cashman and Manager Joe Torre told him.

Giambi refused. Then, ever so slowly, stained by his steroid past, he began to hit. On June 12, he was hitting .234 with four home runs. Now he is hitting .276 with nine home runs.

Granted, Giambi has 17 extra-base hits in 203 at-bats. But the Yankees have asked him to concentrate less on hitting to all fields and more on pulling the ball, the old uppercut swing is returning, and over three consecutive games last week, Giambi had two doubles and four home runs.

Despite his deficiencies at first base, Giambi has played there for the last month, Torre saving the designated-hitter at-bats for Hideki Matsui (foot injury), Bernie Williams and Ruben Sierra. Tino Martinez regularly replaces Giambi at first in the later innings.

While recognizing that Giambi might never be the .300-40-120 hitter they paid for, the Yankees are resigned to having him for the duration of his contract, and Giambi’s teammates respect him for the work he has done trying to come back.

It’s not a great situation -- for the Yankees or their fans -- but Giambi has made the best of it.

The next crisis awaits, however. The BALCO trial is expected to start around the time the Yankees are in Oakland, in early September.

As the New York Mets fade, some of the speculation in Flushing has Tom Glavine being traded to the Red Sox or the Yankees. Glavine’s contract includes a no-trade clause. But, at 39, in the last guaranteed year of his contract and with the Mets having no apparent interest in having him back, Glavine would waive the clause for a few destinations.

One issue: If Glavine remains injury free, he’ll reach an innings incentive guaranteeing him $10 million next season.

How desperate are the Yankees for starting pitching? They gave the ball to 41-year-old Randy Johnson -- he of the tin back and $48-million price tag -- on three days’ rest ... in the first week of July.

Carl Pavano has a sore shoulder, Kevin Brown has pitched once since June 5 because of his temperamental back and Jaret Wright, recovering from a shoulder problem, hasn’t pitched since April. All three are on the disabled list.

The Yankees expect Brown back shortly after the All-Star break and Wright by the end of the month.

It appears likely that Lee Mazzilli, who does not have a contract for next season, will lose his job as a result of the Baltimore Orioles’ nosedive. Co-GMs Mike Flanagan and Jim Beattie aren’t safe either.... Because of Florida starter Josh Beckett’s strained side muscle, suffered during Tuesday night’s game against Milwaukee, Al Leiter pitched in relief for the first time in 12 years. He gave up one run over three innings.... Neither Jeff Kent nor Cesar Izturis has an All-Star bonus clause in his Dodger contract.

David Wells, revealing in the Boston Globe the deteriorating relationship between athletes and media, on Kenny Rogers’ assault of a cameraman: “I’m glad he did that. He needed to vent.... The cameraman wasn’t hurt. He went to the hospital pretending to be hurt. He’s winking at another guy, saying, ‘I’m going to get paid.’ That guy’s an ... idiot.”