Rizzo pleased teams will salute alma mater
Top Astro pitching prospect suspended
MESA, Ariz. — Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was pleased to learn that all 30 major-league teams will wear Stoneman Douglas High School baseball caps to honor the 17 people who died in a shooting last week at his alma mater.
“I think it’s awesome,” Rizzo said Wednesday, less than one week after he spoke at a vigil in his hometown of Parkland, Fla. “It’s cool we get the support. The ties are deeper for me than the rest of the league, but it’s really neat that Major League Baseball is recognizing what happened in the country.”
Rizzo said he wasn’t contacted from anyone at MLB but is glad action was taken.
After an emotional time, Rizzo was relieved to talk about baseball and turn up the intensity after falling short of a second trip to the World Series.
“You make a bad play, you shrug it off easier than if you make a bad play now, and you’re a little ticked off because you didn’t prove anything now,” Rizzo said. “You’re nothing and at the bottom of the pack or top of the pack, just like everyone else. It depends on how you look at it, but we have a lot to prove.”
GIANTS: Big league pitchers often talk about a “dead arm” period, when the ball does not seem to feel right or act properly. San Francisco closer Mark Melancon pitched last year with the real thing — dead tissue in a forearm muscle, discovered only during a season-ending surgical procedure Sept. 12.
When doctors began a procedure designed to allow the muscle to “breathe,” they found something they did not expect.
“It was actually dying off,” Melancon said. “It had turned gray. When they went in, they literally saw it. The muscle was dying from being restricted. The doctor said he hadn’t seen that too much.”
While the surgery was considered a success, Melancon and the Giants can only hope the surgery will be enough to help him return to the All-Star form that led him to 98 saves and two NL All-Star teams with Pittsburgh in 2015-16. But there are no guarantees.
“I think they have done all that they can do,” Melancon said.
ASTROS: Minor league pitcher Forrest Whitley has been suspended for 50 games without pay for a violation of baseball’s minor league drug prevention and treatment program.
Whitley, who is considered one of Houston’s top prospects, is on the roster for Double-A Corpus Christi. His suspension will begin at the start of the Texas League season.
“Obviously as an organization we’re going to suffer a little bit, but we’re still hopeful and optimistic that Forrest can be a big part of our future,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said.
YANKEES: Newly acquired Brandon Drury is now the favorite to be the starting third baseman after he was acquired from Arizona on Tuesday. Drury played mostly second base for Arizona, but came up through the minors at third.
“Nothing is going to be given to anybody, but going into the process he’s going to have a leg up given the fact that he’s had two years of major league experience that he can fall back on plus postseason experience,” Yankees general manager Cashman said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Yankees announced another deal, trading outfielder Jabari Blash to the Los Angeles Angels for either a player to be named or cash.
Blash hit .213 with five home runs and 16 RBIs last season for San Diego. He batted .285 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs at TripleA El Paso.
The Yankees got the 28-yearold Blash from the Padres in December for third baseman Chase Headley, pitcher Bryan Mitchell and cash.