Hudson, Braves Finalize Deal

Pitcher Tim Hudson completed a $47-million, four-year contract extension with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, giving up the chance to go through free agency at the end of the season.

“I knew all along this was the place I wanted to be,” said Hudson, a former 20-game winner. “It was just a matter of getting together with a fair-enough contract.”

Hudson will make $6.75 million this year. His new deal calls for a $10-million signing bonus, payable when the contract is approved by the commissioner’s office, and salaries of $4 million in 2006, $6 million in 2007 and $13 million in 2008 and 2009.

Hudson’s extension contains a $12-million mutual option for 2010 with a $1-million buyout. If the option is exercised, the deal would be worth $58 million over five years. Hudson was traded from the Oakland A’s to Atlanta in December.

Hudson went 12-6 with a 3.53 earned-run average in 27 starts but spent a month on the disabled list with an injury to his left side.

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Randy Johnson will miss his first scheduled spring training start with the New York Yankees on Thursday because of tightness in his left calf.

The problem is not considered serious, and the left-hander is expected to be ready for what would have been his second start on Tuesday.

Johnson first experienced tightness in the calf last week, and the injury reoccurred during fielding drills Monday.

“This is not that big of a deal,” Johnson said. “If I had to pitch today, I could have.”

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Ken Griffey Jr. sat out the Cincinnati Reds’ intrasquad game because he’s still not up to full speed in his recovery from a torn hamstring. Griffey worked out with trainers before the game. He had surgery Aug. 16 to reattach a torn right hamstring, and needs more time to recover.

The Reds expect him to be ready before opening day but don’t have a timetable for Griffey playing in a spring training game.

“We are mostly concerned with his ability to change directions and decelerate,” trainer Mark Mann said.

“He is running 90 to 95% right now. When he can go at 100% two or three days in a row without residual pain, he will be cleared to play in games.”

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Philadelphia Phillie right-hander Vicente Padilla will be sidelined for two weeks after an MRI exam confirmed he had triceps tendinitis.

He sat out two months of the 2004 season with the same injury.

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Jerry Krause, who helped assemble the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls teams that won six NBA titles, was hired by the New York Mets as a scout.

Krause, 65, held a similar role with the Yankees last season. He spent 18 seasons with the Bulls, citing health reasons when he quit as executive vice president of basketball operations in April 2003.

Krause spent 16 years in baseball as a scout with the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox before joining the Bulls.

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Grady Fuson, a highly respected scout who helped build the low-budget Oakland Athletics into a consistent power, was hired as a special assistant to San Diego Padre General Manager Kevin Towers.

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Gil Hodges, Maury Wills, Ron Santo and Roger Maris are the top names on the ballot when the Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee announces its vote today.

Joe Torre, Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant also were among the 25 players on the ballot. Reconfigured to include mostly Hall of Famers, the Veterans Committee did not pick anyone in 2003. It votes every two years.

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After four years of negotiations, the Chicago Cubs and the city agreed on a plan to add 1,790 seats to Wrigley Field, the National League’s oldest ballpark.

Officials said construction of the additions was expected to begin after this season and be completed in time for 2006.

The plan to expand the bleachers calls for the Cubs to pay the city $3.1 million up front while also contributing about $250,000 toward a park at a local school.