kepdawg
07-16-2005, 11:33 PM
Rogers tops Oakland; union will go to bat for him
11:24 PM CDT on Saturday, July 16, 2005
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
OAKLAND, Calif. – Admittedly pitching while distracted because of his litany of legal woes, Kenny Rogers went out and kept the Rangers in second place Saturday.
Good thing. Because the legal situation may just be warming up.
After allowing just two earned runs in seven innings of the Rangers' 10-8 win Saturday, Rogers said he has "no doubts" he'll make at least one more start for the Rangers before the appeal hearing on his 20-game suspension.
And after that, things could get really cloudy. Rogers is expected to go to Milwaukee on Friday for the hearing, but he said the Players Association is prepared to file a grievance in court against Major League Baseball on Rogers' behalf immediately after the hearing.
Rogers said the Players Association feels commissioner Bud Selig violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by personally handing down Rogers' suspension for a shoving incident with two cameramen June 29. MLB vice president for on-field operations Bob Watson is in charge of discipline for on-field and in-game incidents.
According to Rogers, the union would ask a judge for a court-ordered stay to block Selig's ruling. If successful, the move would allow Rogers to continue to pitch until an independent arbitrator heard the case.
The union, according to Rogers, contends that MLB ignored the usual process for administering suspensions and broke precedent in handing down a 20-game suspension. Rogers said the union might not file a grievance if the penalty is reduced more in line with previous player-media incidents. Albert Belle, a position player, got 10 games in 1995 for throwing a ball at a cameraman.
"If it's in line, I have no problem serving my penalty and taking my responsibility for the matter," Rogers said. "I know what I did was wrong."
An MLB official said Saturday that the league was unaware of any further legal wrangling in the matter. Union officials could not be reached for comment.
The MLB official said, however, that Selig chose to rule on the matter because it did not happen during a game, and that makes jurisdiction less clear. This, the official said, falls more in line with the "best interests of the game" clause that gives Selig broad power. But the official said Selig had not invoked the clause.
The official said Selig handed down the 28-game suspension to John Rocker in 2000 for making racially insensitive remarks. That suspension was reduced to 14 games upon appeal. The official was unaware of the union ever extending a fight on behalf of a player beyond the MLB process to a court of law.
For now, Rogers is scheduled to pitch again Thursday against the A's, who trail the Rangers by 1 ½ games in the AL West. He anticipates leaving for the hearing in Milwaukee on Friday morning.
Before being Kenny Rogers the defendant, though, he is trying to continue being Kenny Rogers the ace. He acknowledged that with all the legal involvement, including possible misdemeanor assault charges that could be filed against him Monday, it hasn't been easy.
"I'm just trying to forget all of it and pitch," Rogers said. "But anybody who says this would not be difficult would be lying. This is a distraction, but that's part of it.
"I know I'm not perfect, and I can't change what happened or what's going on right now, but I'm trying to handle it the best way possible. It's more difficult than I'd like it to be, but I've got a job to do."
After consecutive games in which the Rangers were nearly no-hit, Rogers seemed to go about his job with gusto. Thanks in part to a pair of double plays, he faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings.
In the meantime, the Rangers got three runs. It marked the first time in their last 10 games against AL West contenders Los Angeles and Oakland that they had scored first.
With the lead, Rogers kept Oakland at bay through seven innings. Only a bullpen meltdown in the ninth got the A's close. Rogers improved to 11-4 and kept his ERA second-best in the league at 2.54.
"It's a bit more of a challenge to focus right now," Rogers said. "But what choice do you have?"
He may have to face it for a while longer.
11:24 PM CDT on Saturday, July 16, 2005
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
OAKLAND, Calif. – Admittedly pitching while distracted because of his litany of legal woes, Kenny Rogers went out and kept the Rangers in second place Saturday.
Good thing. Because the legal situation may just be warming up.
After allowing just two earned runs in seven innings of the Rangers' 10-8 win Saturday, Rogers said he has "no doubts" he'll make at least one more start for the Rangers before the appeal hearing on his 20-game suspension.
And after that, things could get really cloudy. Rogers is expected to go to Milwaukee on Friday for the hearing, but he said the Players Association is prepared to file a grievance in court against Major League Baseball on Rogers' behalf immediately after the hearing.
Rogers said the Players Association feels commissioner Bud Selig violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement by personally handing down Rogers' suspension for a shoving incident with two cameramen June 29. MLB vice president for on-field operations Bob Watson is in charge of discipline for on-field and in-game incidents.
According to Rogers, the union would ask a judge for a court-ordered stay to block Selig's ruling. If successful, the move would allow Rogers to continue to pitch until an independent arbitrator heard the case.
The union, according to Rogers, contends that MLB ignored the usual process for administering suspensions and broke precedent in handing down a 20-game suspension. Rogers said the union might not file a grievance if the penalty is reduced more in line with previous player-media incidents. Albert Belle, a position player, got 10 games in 1995 for throwing a ball at a cameraman.
"If it's in line, I have no problem serving my penalty and taking my responsibility for the matter," Rogers said. "I know what I did was wrong."
An MLB official said Saturday that the league was unaware of any further legal wrangling in the matter. Union officials could not be reached for comment.
The MLB official said, however, that Selig chose to rule on the matter because it did not happen during a game, and that makes jurisdiction less clear. This, the official said, falls more in line with the "best interests of the game" clause that gives Selig broad power. But the official said Selig had not invoked the clause.
The official said Selig handed down the 28-game suspension to John Rocker in 2000 for making racially insensitive remarks. That suspension was reduced to 14 games upon appeal. The official was unaware of the union ever extending a fight on behalf of a player beyond the MLB process to a court of law.
For now, Rogers is scheduled to pitch again Thursday against the A's, who trail the Rangers by 1 ½ games in the AL West. He anticipates leaving for the hearing in Milwaukee on Friday morning.
Before being Kenny Rogers the defendant, though, he is trying to continue being Kenny Rogers the ace. He acknowledged that with all the legal involvement, including possible misdemeanor assault charges that could be filed against him Monday, it hasn't been easy.
"I'm just trying to forget all of it and pitch," Rogers said. "But anybody who says this would not be difficult would be lying. This is a distraction, but that's part of it.
"I know I'm not perfect, and I can't change what happened or what's going on right now, but I'm trying to handle it the best way possible. It's more difficult than I'd like it to be, but I've got a job to do."
After consecutive games in which the Rangers were nearly no-hit, Rogers seemed to go about his job with gusto. Thanks in part to a pair of double plays, he faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings.
In the meantime, the Rangers got three runs. It marked the first time in their last 10 games against AL West contenders Los Angeles and Oakland that they had scored first.
With the lead, Rogers kept Oakland at bay through seven innings. Only a bullpen meltdown in the ninth got the A's close. Rogers improved to 11-4 and kept his ERA second-best in the league at 2.54.
"It's a bit more of a challenge to focus right now," Rogers said. "But what choice do you have?"
He may have to face it for a while longer.