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| Tuesday, June 6 | |||||
| Braves disappointed in Rocker | |||||
| ATLANTA -- As John Rocker goes off to face teams like the
Mud Hens and Tides, the rest of the Atlanta Braves seem glad to be
rid of their erratic closer.
Clearly, he didn't have a lot of friends in the clubhouse.
Asked if he spoke to Rocker after the pitcher was optioned to
the minor leagues, third baseman Chipper Jones scoffed.
"I didn't talk to him when he was here," Jones said. "Why
should I talk to him when he leaves?"
Rocker, who was sent to Triple-A Richmond on Monday, had three
days to report to the International League team.
The Braves had not heard from Rocker as of late Tuesday
afternoon, but general manager John Schuerholz said he had no
reason to believe he will refuse his assignment. Rocker left Turner
Field without speaking to reporters after his demotion.
"We never hear from guys when they're optioned out,"
Schuerholz said.
Richmond was playing a home game Tuesday night against the
Norfolk Tides, then goes on the road to meet the Toledo Mud Hens.
If Rocker doesn't report by Thursday night, he could be fined and
possibly suspended.
"Ordinarily, guys show up, so we've never had to deal with
that," Schuerholz said.
The Braves also fined Rocker $5,000 for threatening the Sports
Illustrated reporter who wrote the story revealing Rocker's
offensive comments about gays, minorities and foreigners.
After the story came out, Rocker was suspended for a month and
fined $20,000 by commissioner Bud Selig. The players association
appealed, and an arbitrator reduced the penalty to a two-week
suspension and $500 fine.
Union chief Donald Fehr wasn't sure if the latest fine will be
appealed.
"We won't make the judgment until we talk to him, and it's his
call," Fehr said. "I don't think that decision will be made for a
while."
Meanwhile, Jones summed up the prevailing mood in the Braves
clubhouse, where Rocker was viewed as an immensely talented pitcher
who always put himself above the team. The confrontation with SI
reporter Jeff Pearlman was especially disturbing.
"Everybody in here was trying to put that behind them," Jones
said. "The only guy who wouldn't let it go was John. That's the
most disappointing thing. What took place (Sunday) didn't have to
take place."
Kerry Ligtenberg, who was the Braves' closer in 1998, conceded
that Rocker never lived up to his spring training pledge to change
his ways.
"If he had gone about this differently, things would be a lot
better now," said Ligtenberg, whose elbow surgery a year ago led
to Rocker taking over as closer and saving 38 games. "I feel if I
had been in the same situation he was in, I would have handled it
in a completely different way. I would have kept my mouth shut and
gone about my business. That would have taken care of it."
The Braves said Rocker was being sent to Richmond to work on his
mechanics -- not as punishment for Sunday's incident. The
left-hander had 25 walks in 18 1/3 innings, rekindling memories of
another Braves closer who forgot how to throw strikes.
Mark Wohlers had 97 saves from 1995-97 and was on the mound for
the final out when the Braves defeated Cleveland in the 1995 World
Series. But his mechanics went awry after he pulled a muscle in his
side, leading him to request an assignment to the minors in 1998.
Wohlers walked 36 in 12 1/3 innings at Richmond and wound up
being traded to Cincinnati early last season. He is back in the
minors with the Reds organization, trying to bounce back from elbow
surgery.
Ligtenberg believes Rocker's problems are mostly mental.
"He just put too much pressure on himself to show everybody,
especially you guys (the media), that he was as good as he ever
was," Ligtenberg said. "That was a big part of the problem. He
was trying to do way too much." |  | ||||