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| Thursday, February 15 | |||||
| Teams disagree over Sirotka compensation | |||||
CHICAGO – The team doctors, the specialists, the Toronto
Blue Jays and the Chicago White Sox all agree Mike Sirotka has some
problems in his throwing shoulder.
Anything beyond that – how badly he's hurt, when he'll be able
to pitch again, who owes what and whether David Wells will be
wearing a White Sox uniform this year – is still unknown.
Commissioner Bud Selig and his staff probably will be the ones
to settle this mess.
"This is starting to appear as if it's some sad soap opera,"
White Sox general manager Ken Williams said Wednesday.
Sirotka was traded to the Blue Jays on Jan. 14 as part of a
six-player deal that sent Wells to the White Sox. Though he passed
one Toronto physical, a second test showed a possible torn labrum
so the Blue Jays sent him to Dr. James Andrews, a specialist, for
an independent opinion.
On a day of dueling news conferences, the Blue Jays said
Andrews' examination showed Sirotka has a partial tear of the
rotator cuff and a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Andrews isn't
recommending surgery now, but the Blue Jays said the specialist
calls the 29-year-old a "long-term surgical candidate."
While Sirotka could still pitch this season, Toronto general
manager Gord Ash said that doesn't matter. They didn't get the
pitcher they thought they were getting, and he wants the White Sox
to pay up to make it all better.
"This is a player that has significant concerns, whether it's
two weeks from now or six months from now," Ash said. "That is
not what we thought were getting.
"The honorable thing would be to recognize that and provide
adequate compensation."
No way, Williams said. Not when the White Sox are getting a
different story from Andrews.
Williams has maintained all along that Sirotka's injury is the
same problem that's caused him to start slowly the last two
seasons. And according to team physician Dr. James Boscardin,
Andrews' examination supports that.
Boscardin said in a statement that Andrews told him Sirotka has
normal "wear in the rotator cuff and possibly the labrum." That
doesn't necessarily mean surgery, and Boscardin said Andrews told
him there's a "70 to 80 percent chance" Sirotka won't need it.
In fact, Boscardin said Andrews suggested to him that Sirotka
will be able to pitch this year, though he'll probably start the
season two weeks late.
"Boy, I hate this, because I really wanted to be above the
he-said, she-said type of thing," said Williams, whose anger was
evident despite his calm demeanor. "But I've been reduced to that,
and I resent that.
"I believe we're back to where we started from. I do not feel
as though compensation of any sort is entitled," he said.
"According to Dr. Boscardin's conversation with Dr. Andrews, this
has played out. I've had enough. This is a dead issue."
But Ash isn't going to let it go that easily. He's giving
Williams until the end of the week to reach some sort of agreement,
or he'll ask Selig's office to settle it.
Go ahead, Williams said.
"(Compensation) is not something we will entertain," Williams
said. "So moving forward, let's get this to the commissioner's
office as soon as possible so we can put this all behind us. I look
forward to it."
Selig's staff could do several things, including rescinding the
trade. But that's probably not going to happen, said Mets general
manager Steve Phillips.
The Mets were interested in Wells before the White Sox stunned
everyone with their deal.
"It's caveat emptor," Phillips said from the Mets training
camp in Port St. Lucie, Fla. "I think that we'll just kind of sit
back and watch what happens with that. We like our club and
wouldn't suspect there would be anything that would happen with
that situation that would change what we look like for the
season."
No matter what Selig's office decides, it's not going to do much
to soothe the bad feelings that are festering in Toronto and
Chicago. Ash and Paul Godfrey, the Blue Jays' president and CEO,
said repeatedly that they didn't think Williams tried to mislead
them.
But the suggestion is still there, especially when Ash said
Williams wasn't returning his phone calls.
"I don't think anyone has ever suggested the White Sox misled
us or lied or misdirected us," Ash said. "That doesn't change the
reality that he can't do for us what we bargained for. We look for
the White Sox to make us whole in that regard."
And Williams would like his reputation and that of the White Sox
to be unsullied.
"I will absolutely return his phone call," Williams said. "I
got the messages today. They were inconsistent with what I know to
be the actual doctor's report.
"So, quite honestly, in order for me to maintain a professional
attitude when I return his phone call, I need to calm down a little
bit."
 Send this story to a friend | ALSO SEE Rogers: Parque to Jays? Unlikely AUDIO/VIDEO   Mike Sirotka and Buck Martinez talk to the media about the recent trade.RealVideo: 28.8 White Sox GM Kenny Williams discusses the Mike Sirotka trade.RealVideo: 56.6   Blue Jays GM Gord Ash hopes he can meet with the White Sox soon to settle the Mike Sirotka situation.wav: 139 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 White Sox GM Kenny Williams does not feel the Blue Jays deserve compensation in the Mike Sirotka trade.wav: 77 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Mike Sirotka figures his injury is the only explanation for his trade.wav: 167 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez feels his team will be strong without a healthy Mike Sirotka.wav: 234 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 ESPN.com's Jayson Stark tries to make sense of the Mike Sirotka injury situation.wav: 1611 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | ||||