philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com February 26 John R. Finger ComcastSportsNet.com

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Seemingly behind in his work after arriving at camp with a broken nose suffered when an errant ball caught him flush, second-year reliever Carlos Silva threw two simulated innings under the watchful eyes of manager Larry Bowa and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, Wednesday morning at Jack Russell Stadium. Silva says he threw approximately 20 pitches and feels no worse for the wear after his first strenuous workout of spring training.

He says he threw all of his pitches and doesn't feel like he is playing catch up despite missing a few days of camp to have his broken nose reset.

Jim Thome smashed another impressive home run during workouts in Clearwater on Wednesday but not quite as impressive as his shot that traveled over 500-feet last week. (AP)

After the workout where the pitchers stretched, worked on fielding drills and threw in the outfield, while the hitters took batting practice, Bowa said he was very pleased with Silva's session and feels confident that the 23-year old Venezuelan righthander will be ready to go when camp breaks. In fact, things are going so well for Silva that Bowa says the only flaw in his game is something he can't do anything about.

"The thing that Silva lacks is experience," the manager said adding that the righty will throw a few more side sessions before appearing in a game.

But the inexperience appears to be something that will be remedied quickly. Last season, Silva appeared in 68 games as a rookie with a 5-0 record and an impressive 3.21 ERA in set-up relief. However, Silva posted so-so numbers with 41 strikeouts in 84 innings while allowing 88 hits which manifested itself to opponents batting .282 against him. Not bad, but not great either.

But as a groundball pitcher, Silva only gave up four homers and seemed to pitch better the more he worked. With two days rest, opponents hit .227 against him and his ERA sank to 1.75.

Certainly, it appears as if Silva will get plenty of work in 2003. During the first three weeks of camp, Kerrigan told reporters he was as impressed with Silva's stuff — his bread-and-butter is a diving sinker — than any pitcher in camp. In fact, Kerrigan suggested that Silva might be closer Jose Mesa's heir apparent. A starter in the minors who didn't begin working in the bullpen until last year with the Phillies, the friendly hurler is game for anything Bowa and Kerrigan want him to do.

"I like being a reliever but someday I would like to be a starter again," Silva said. "Right now, I'm too good in the bullpen but I'll go wherever they want to put me."

Pitching and workouts aside, to say Silva has had a unique spring would be an insult to the word. First he was popped on the schnoz running in the outfield during a workout in Venezuela, and then he couldn't get a visa to get out of the country because his name is similar to one on the government's terror watch list.

If that isn't enough, Silva's home country is mired in civil unrest, labor strikes and violent protests. However, Silva says his hometown Bolivar is 12 hours away from the trouble in Caracas, the capital. Conversely, Bobby Abreu's "30-30 Ranch" in Aragua is just three hours away. Abreu's arrival in camp was delayed when he thought it was too unsafe to drive to the airport in the capital city.

Happy Campers So far, Bowa is very happy with the way things are going in his third camp as the Phillies manager. Sure, adding David Bell, Kevin Millwood and Jim Thome while losing malcontents Scott Rolen, Travis Lee and Robert Person might have a lot to do with it, but Bowa was full of praise for his players after Wednesday's workout.

The enthusiasm has been high, attitudes great and the work ethic strong.

"I'm not concerned about anything," Bowa said. "We have to keep working hard. I'm sure they'll pop up but right now there are no concerns."

I got it! The most enthusiastic workout during Wednesday's session was a fielding drill led by Kerrigan with his pitchers. Kerrigan called out pitches such as "curve!" and "fastball without much on it!" to which the hurlers ran a certain direction, fielded a ball bounced off the plate or batted, and finished the play by throwing to the appropriate base.

The session featured instructor Tug McGraw raucously playing a fielder at the bases and closer Jose Mesa trying to plow him over with his fireball tosses. At one point Mesa looked more like a guy trying to impress his date at a carnival booth game than the confident veteran pitcher that he is. After fielding a ball hit by Kerrigan, Mesa missed McGraw's glove and pegged a bucket filled with balls, littering them all over the third-base line. He did not win a stuffed animal, but drew big laughs from the fans watching in the stands.

In another amusing moment, McGraw taught Randy Wolf how to be more like, well, Tug McGraw. While fielding a popup, Wolf meekly called out, "I got it," causing McGraw to interject and chide the lefty.

"Is that all you got?" the fun-time reliever shouted while running toward Wolf. "All you have to do is be loud."

McGraw then stood on the mound screaming, "I got it! I got it!" demonstrating one aspect of the game that set him apart during his playing days.

McGraw's certainly made an impression. After his demonstration, every player tried to scream louder than the one before, but none could match McGraw's vocal prowess.

When it comes to being loud, Tug is still an All-Star.

All signed up On Wednesday, the team announced that Brandon Duckworth, David Coggin, Jason Michaels and Bud Smith all agreed to terms on split contracts. If they break camp with the Phillies, Duckworth will get $325,000, Coggin $320,000 and Michaels and Smith $305,000. The deadline for all contracts to be renewed is March 2 leaving Joe Roa, Brett Myers and Jimmy Rollins as the only unsigned players.

Farewell tour, spring style Not only is 2003 the last season for the Vet, but the team is closing Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in Clearwater, too. The first game was played in 1955 in a game started by Hall of Famer Robin Roberts, who will return to throw the ceremonial first pitch in the finale on March 28. Special spring hitting instructor Mike Schmidt will toss the first pitch on Friday before a split-squad game against the Yankees.

Game time The Phillies open their exhibition season Thursday against the Pirates in Bradenton.Wolf will face Jeff D'Amico with Duckworth, Hector Mercado and Eric Junge also seeing action. Jim Thome and David Bell will make the trip and play while Pat Burrell, Placido Polanco and Rollins will stay in Clearwater. Burrell will play all nine innings against the Yankees on Friday.

In the game against the Yankees, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Rheal Cormier and Mike Fyhrie will pitch, while Roa, Gavin Floyd, Jim Crowell and Amaury Telemaco will head to Orlando, Fla. to pitch against the Braves.

The Braves come to Clearwater on Saturday where Myers, Jose Mesa, Terry Adams and Dan Plesac will pitch.

Thome runs Thome's latest feat of strength during batting practice on Wednesday was a rain-making bomb he clubbed over the 400-foot sign in dead center that soared well above and over the high batting background. Burrell, Bobby Abreu and David Bell also smashed some impressive long balls.

E-mail John R. Finger

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

4 Venezuelan baseball players have been telling US news reporters about the ordeal during the winter league and after.

Speaking at the Minnesota Twins clubhouse in Fort Myers (Florida), Luis Rivas, Johan Santana, Juan Rincon y Gabriel Torres refrained from making any political statements but did complain about the winter league being suspended because of the national stoppage.

• The biggest effect the stoppage had on the players themselves was the lack of gasoline and the queues.

Santana highlights personal insecurity, especially in Caracas, even though he did spend some time in his native Tovar village (Merida).

Lew Ford, who played for the Aragua Tigers,  says things got ugly after the national stoppage started and it was a pity that the league was cancelled … “it would have relieved a bit of tension that was in the air … people love baseball.”

Twins general manager, Terry Ryan says the team is worried about players and their families during the recess, especially because of increasing instability in Latin American countries.

www.grandforks.com Posted on Wed, Feb. 26, 2003 By GORDON WITTENMYER Saint Paul Pioneer Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Gasoline was so scarce that Johan Santana once traded shifts with relatives for eight days waiting in line at a gas station that had no gas but told customers the tanker truck was due any day.

The fuel was so valuable that once he decided to buy some on the black market and paid 30 times the government rate, he sped home as quickly as possible with his 195 liters out of fear he would be robbed, or worse.

"Just carrying gas in your car is dangerous," the Minnesota Twins pitcher said. "I knew I was in danger the whole time. But you have no choice."

That kind of danger became a way of life this winter for the major leaguers and minor leaguers who make their year-round homes in their native Venezuela - the South American political hot spot, where anti-government protesters have been killed and a nearly 3-month-old general strike by business owners threatens to destroy the economy.

"It's scary," said Twins second baseman Luis Rivas, whose hometown of LaGuaira is just outside the Venezuelan capital, and epicenter of unrest, Caracas. He now lives several hours away but has friends and family near the capital.

"We couldn't do nothing," Rivas said. "You never know what's going to happen_something bad. You have to be in your home."

Santana, Rivas and pitcher Juan Rincon, who lives in the oil-rich region around Lake Maracaibo, spent much of their offseasons as virtual shut-ins, avoiding the streets except as necessary to make discreet purchases of gasoline or to drive to Caracas for visa applications or to get to the airport to fly to Florida for spring training.

"It's a nightmare," Rivas said.

The cause of the upheaval is strong-arm President Hugo Chavez, an ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro who is trying to take greater control of what has been a representative government. As anger among the private business powers grew in the tropical nation made prosperous by oil, nationwide business shutdowns began - a one-day strike in November and then another on Dec. 2 that has yet to be lifted.

JOBLESS AND DESPERATE

The strike has put people across the country out of work, resulted in countless protests, most visibly_and deadly_in Caracas, and filled the streets of Venezuela with growing numbers of people, many with growing desperation.

"Every time you step out of your home, you're in danger," Rincon said. "People aren't working. A lot of people were fired from the petroleum plants. The malls have been closed for almost a month.

"People in the streets might think you have money. I'm lucky in my hometown (of 4 million people); not too many people know me."

Many banks are open for only a few hours daily and no longer operate a currency exchange program because of the wildly fluctuating value of the Bolivar, Venezuela's currency. The players protect their U.S. wages and bonuses with base accounts in this country, transferring funds to Venezuelan accounts as needed.

Other businesses also operate within strictly limited hours and are starting to suffer supply shortages, Rincon said. Makers of soft drinks, beer and other products have shut down.

And with the gas shortage, police cars are becoming an increasingly rare sight, along with other emergency vehicles such as ambulances.

"We've never been through this before," Rincon said.

And the Twins thought contraction was tough to survive.

"There was a lot of concern," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You throw the baseball stuff out the window. It comes down to their lives. You have guys getting robbed for gas, people getting taken out of their cars and beaten."

As recently as 1991, economic reforms in Venezuela after oil prices dropped resulted in widespread protests, with hundreds killed. And the government endured two attempted coups in 1992.

But no political or economic crisis in the lifetimes of these early-20-something Twins has lasted this long or affected their lives so personally_and never has it canceled their winter baseball season.

BASEBALL SEASON CANCELED

With the start of the Dec. 2 strike came the end of the Venezuelan winter league. Santana was due to start pitching for his team Dec. 4. Rivas managed to play one game before the strike. And Rincon started early because he anticipated a possible strike but still got in only 11 innings before the shutdown.

Rincon, who had access to workout facilities and players to throw to near his home, has appeared strong in the early part of camp. Santana, who didn't throw all winter, brought a lingering hamstring pull from a late-December attempt at conditioning. Rivas didn't practice much and put on five to 10 pounds during the forced break.

"I'm glad I took some rest," Santana said. "But now I've got to start all over again."

Said Rivas: "You can tell the difference. It's going to be hard. But I got here early (by about a week) to start, and I don't think it's going to be a problem."

If anything, the biggest problem for the Venezuelan players, once Major League Baseball intervened to make special arrangements for teams to obtain their players' visas, also was the source of their biggest relief: Leaving behind their country_and their loved ones.

"I still worry," Santana said. "I'm glad I'm here, because I need to play. But I'm still worried because my family and friends are there. It's not easy to be here and think about friends there and the whole situation going on right now."

Rivas has a sister and grandmother living near Caracas.

"I wanted to leave, but sometimes I wanted to stay with my family," he said.

For whatever might have been lost in conditioning and practice time, the Twins were fortunate. None of their players from Venezuela, nor the handful of U.S. coaches and players sent there for winter league ball, was directly involved in any of the violence. No one was robbed or hurt.

And, so far, the harrowing offseason hasn't made them start house hunting in the United States.

"Still, I love my country," Santana said. "That's where I'm from. My family's all there. As long as I can, I'll stay there, and we'll see how it goes.

"Hopefully, everything will change, and it will get back to normal."

foxsports.lycos.com SportsTicker Feb. 26, 2003 1:37 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) - New Orleans senior forward Hector Romero, the leading scorer in the Sun Belt Conference, will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in the first half of Sunday's game against Denver.

Romero returned in the second half but was hampered by the injury. When the swelling decreases, he will undergo reconstructive surgery.

"Hector Romero has meant a greal deal to this program during the past two years and we certainly will miss him," New Orleans coach Monte Towe said. "However, the important thing now is for him to rehab and get healthy for a long, productive professional career."

Romero averaged 18.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season. Last season, he averaged 20.1 points and led the Sun Belt in rebounds at 10.8 per game.

Romero, a junior college transfer and native of Venezuela, became the 20th player in school history to score 1,0000 career points and only the sixth to do it in two seasons.

www.newsok.com 2003-02-26 By Anthony McCarron New York Daily News

TAMPA, Fla. -- They were happy days for Juan Rivera. From his home across the street, he would peer into the Stadia Nicolas Leon where the ballplayers were practicing. Eagerly, he'd run inside and try to join them, even if it meant a few hours of shagging baseballs or throwing batting practice before he got a chance to hit.

Several Venezuelan stars were always there -- Ozzie Guillen, Richard Hidalgo, Henry Blanco. They were older than the 15-year-old Rivera. Some, like Guillen, were established major leaguers. Others, like Hidalgo, were playing in the minors.

"Sometimes," Rivera said through an interpreter, "they didn't let me hit. But that was all right.".

Growing up in Guarenas, Venezuela, Rivera fell in love with the game when he was 5. As a skinny 15-year-old, he knew he wanted to join play in in the majors.

Last year, Joe Torre was impressed with Rivera's self- assured manner and grit in returning after a bizarre June injury that left him with a broken kneecap just when he was starting to get comfortable in the Bronx.

But now Rivera's big-league hopes are stalled because of the Yankees' clogged outfield. They signed Japanese star Hideki Matsui to a three-year, $21 million contract over the winter, blocking left field, and have so far been unable to move trade bait Raul Mondesi, who will start in right, or Rondell White.

So unless there is an injury or a trade, Rivera will begin the season at Triple-A Columbus.

Rivera chuckled softly when asked what he thought his role could be this season. He said the way last year ended -- he made four starts and had three RBI in the playoffs -- gave him "a lot of energy and excitement.

"But then they signed Matsui. I don't know what will happen. The game's a business, but I hope to always be with the Yankees."

Rivera agreed with Torre that it would be better for him to play regularly in the minors than languish on the bench in New York. "Of course I want to be in the major leagues, but I want to be there playing," he said.

Even Rivera's strong showing yesterday in the Yanks' first intrasquad game won't go far in swaying Yankee brass to keep him instead of Chris Latham as a spare outfielder. Rivera hit an opposite-field drive that hit the right-field foul pole. It wound up a two-run triple, though, because umps ruled the ball was in play.