Manfred unhappy with Kasten’s flippant comments on Bauer
DENVER — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was unhappy with flippant comments made by Dodgers president Stan Kasten that followed the start of the sport’s investigation of domestic violence allegations against Los Angeles pitcher Trevor Bauer.
Bauer was placed on administrative leave by MLB on July 2, three days after an allegation of assault was made by a woman against Bauer.
Kasten, speaking with reporters that day at Nationals Park after the World Series champion Dodgers visited the White House, said “it’s really great to follow up such a great morning.” He added: “and now I have to have this press conference.”
Then Kasten said he told manager Dave Roberts ahead of his meeting with reporters: ”Just say, ‘Can we please talk about foreign substances?’” Kasten said the team would await the investigation before commenting.
“It was pretty clear what people thought about it. I don’t think it was a helpful comment given all we’re trying to achieve in this area,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “But I can’t say much more than that.”
Bauer’s leave was imposed with pay under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy adopted by MLB and the players’ union in 2015. It was extended through this Thursday
and can be extended again by agreement between MLB and the union. It also can be the initial step leading to a longer suspension.
Players penalized in the past under the domestic violence policy include Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and pitcher Domingo Germán, Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, Toronto pitcher Roberto Osuna, Colorado shortstop José Reyes and Atlanta outfielder Hector Olivera.
Anaheim Ducks re-sign Carrick brothers, Vinni Lettieri
ANAHEIM — The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed brothers Sam and Trevor Carrick and right wing Vinni Lettieri to one-year contract extensions.
The Ducks announced the moves Tuesday. Sam Carrick got a one-way contract, while Lettieri and Trevor Carrick will be on two-way contracts.
Sam Carrick scored an NHL career-high six points in his 13 games with the Ducks last season. The 29-year-old center has appeared in 47 NHL games with Anaheim and Toronto, but has spent most of his pro career in the AHL. He is the career scoring leader for the Ducks’ top affiliate in San Diego.
Trevor Carrick was acquired by Anaheim in a trade with San Jose last January. The defenseman has appeared in seven NHL games for the Sharks and Carolina while playing 434 AHL games.
Lettieri appeared in five games with the Ducks last season. He has 51 games of NHL experience with Anaheim and the New York Rangers.
Manfred: A’s fate in Oakland to be decided in coming months
DENVER — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the fate of the Athletics in Oakland will be determined in the next few months.
A’s managing partner John Fisher and president David Kavak have proposed a new ballpark in the Howard Terminal area of Oakland, and Manfred said if the stadium project is not approved, the team would move forward with either a move to Las Vegas or a wider relocation search.
“John Fisher and Major League Baseball have done everything humanly possible to get a stadium built in Oakland,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association before Tuesday’s AllStar Game. “At the point in time that you come to the conclusion that it can’t get done, whether you like the market or not, you have to find someplace else to play because you need a facility. It’s that simple.”
The A’s have played at the Coliseum since 1968 and their lease expires after the 2024 season.
After proposing and withdrawing plans for ballparks in Fremont and San Jose, the team announced in November 2018 it had found a waterfront location for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, close to the Jack London Square neighborhood. The stadium would cost more than $1 billion, with picturesque views toward San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and Port of Oakland.
The Oakland City Council is to consider a non-binding terms sheet on July 20.
“The Oakland process is at an end,” Manfred said. “John Fisher, Dave Kaval have devoted literally millions of dollars to the effort to get a ballpark proposal that could be supported by the city of Oakland and Alameda County. That proposal is in front of the relevant governmental authorities. There are really crucial votes that are going to take place over the next couple of months, and that’s going to determine the fate of baseball in Oakland.
“I do want to say this: Those terms that are going to be voted on involve investments of well over a billion dollars by John Fisher and his family, and that is one heck of a commitment to a community. So it’s not about that. John Fisher has done everything I’ve asked him to do in terms of trying to keep the A’s in Oakland and more than I asked him to do in terms of financial commitments. So we’re going to know one way or the other what’s going to happen with Oakland in the next couple of months. And if you can’t get a ballpark, I think that that the relocation process, whether it’s Los Vegas or a broader array of cities that get considered, is going to take on more pace.”
MLB announced May 11 that it had instructed the A’s to explore relocation options.
Other possible cities for franchises Manfred has mentioned in the past include Charlotte, North Carolina; Montreal; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Roger Federer says he’s out of Olympics after knee ‘setback’
Roger Federer will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics, writing on social media Tuesday that he “experienced a setback” with his knee during the grass-court season.
Federer had said before Wimbledon that he would make a decision about going to the Summer Games after the Grand Slam tournament ended.
The 39-year-old from Switzerland lost in the quarterfinals at the All England Club last week to Hubert Hurkacz.
Federer had two operations on his right knee in 2020 and went more than a full year between matches. He returned to Grand Slam action at the French Open and then pulled out of that tournament after three victories, saying he wanted to be rested and ready for the grass circuit — especially Wimbledon.
On Tuesday, he said in a post on Twitter that because of the setback, he has “accepted that I must withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic Games. I am greatly disappointed, as it has been an honor and highlight of my career each time I have represented Switzerland.”
Federer won a gold medal alongside Stan Wawrinka in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver in singles at the 2012 London Olympics, losing to Britain’s Andy Murray in the final at the All England Club.
Federer sat out the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games because of problems with his left knee.
“I have already begun rehabilitation in the hopes of returning to the tour later this summer,” wrote Federer, who turns 40 on Aug. 8.
The U.S. Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, is scheduled to begin Aug. 30 in New York.
Federer joins a growing list of tennis stars who are not going to Tokyo, where COVID-19 cases have been rising as the July 23 opening ceremony approaches.
Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios are among the players who will not be competing for medals.
Konrad wins Tour de France’s stage 16, Pogacar keeps lead
SAINT-GAUDENS, France — Austrian rider Patrick Konrad won the Tour de France’s hilly 16th stage on an otherwise uneventful day Tuesday as race leader Tadej Pogacar remained on course for his second overall victory.
Konrad made his decisive break with 36 kilometers (22.5 miles) to go, four kilometers (2.5 miles) before the summit of Col de Portet-d’Aspet and maintained the lead for his first Tour stage win.
The 29-year-old Konrad finished 42 seconds ahead of a group of five chasers — Sonny Colbrelli, Michael Matthews, Pierre Luc Perichon, Franck Bonnamour and Alex Aranburu Deba — on the second day of racing in the Pyrenees.
Pogacar, the defending champion, finished 13 minutes, 49 seconds after Konrad and maintained his general classification lead of more than five minutes over Rigoberto Uran and Jonas Vingegaard.