Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
SUN WIRE REPORTS
Hideki Irabu might end up setting his sights a whole lot lower than the New York Yankees.
If he does pitch in North America this year, it could be with Regina or Sioux Falls or some other team in an independent league.
"We've received a lot of calls," Irabu's agent, Don Nomura, said from Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The one call Nomura didn't get Tuesday was from the Padres saying they had traded Irabu's rights to the Yankees. Last week, Nomura sent all big-league general managers a letter saying Irabu would return to Japan and sit out the big-league season if he wasn't dealt to the Yankees by Tuesday.
Irabu's rights belong to the Padres, but he has refused to negotiate with them. The Padres have fielded offers from several teams, including the Yankees, but weren't about to rush into a deal to meet Nomura's deadline.
"We haven't changed the way we're going about business," general manager Kevin Towers said Tuesday. "We're just doing business as usual."
Nomura and Irabu still intends to fly to Tokyo today. But he could return in a few months if he gets a deal in the independent leagues.
Towers responded matter-of-factly when told of Nomura's plans for Irabu.
"That would get him in pitching shape," the GM said.
Irabu's fastball has been clocked at close to 100 mph. New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who managed Irabu on the Chiba Lotte Marines two years ago, has said he is among the best 10 pitchers in the world.
Nomura said the Japanese commissioner was quoted in Japanese newspapers as saying that if Irabu goes to an independent league, he will be suspended.
"I don't know how they do that since he's not under contract," Nomura said. "Every time this man tries to do something, they keep changing the rules, arbitrarily and capriciously. The world doesn't work that way, but apparently it does for them. They try to crucify him all the time."
Ripken contract
If the Baltimore Orioles and Cal Ripken agree on a contract extension, the signing could be delayed until after April 1 to work around baseball's new payroll tax system.
If a player signs an extension before then, the average annual value of the contract would be applied to this year's payroll for tax purposes. Contracts signed after April 1 would not apply until the 1998 season.
General manager Pat Gillick said Tuesday the tax implications could affect the timing of an agreement with Ripken.
Ripken, 36, is entering the final season of a five-year, $30.5 million contract and could be a free agent next winter. The Orioles have offered a two-year extension with a team option for a third season worth about $6.2 million per year, the same as Ripken's current salary.
Bochy gets extension
Bruce Bochy, the 1996 NL Manager of the Year, received a two-year contract extension through 1999 from the San Diego Padres, with the club holding an option for 2000.
"I'm ecstatic. This is home," Bochy said Tuesday. "There's no other place I want to manage or anyone else I'd want to manage for. I couldn't be happier right now."
Bochy was promoted from third base coach on Oct. 21, 1994, after Jim Riggleman was hired by the Chicago Cubs. The Padres were 70-74 in 1995, and won the NL West last year with a 91-71 record.
* COX BOOTED: Don't think the umpires are getting tough? Well, Bobby Cox might be the latest believer. The Atlanta Braves manager was ejected for arguing in the first inning of Tuesday's 1-1 tie with the New York Mets at West Palm Beach, Fla. Cox was banished by plate umpire Gregg Gibson after he made comments following a called third strike on Fred McGriff that ended the first. "I don't remember every getting thrown out of a spring game," Cox said, refusing to discuss the matter further. Umpires, still upset over the Roberto Alomar spitting incident last September, have said they will eject players, managers and coaches for the slightest arguments. Greg Maddux of Las Vegas allowed one run and six hits in five innings and walked none. Mets starter Bobby Jones gave up one run and five hits in five innings and struck out three.
* GIANTS 12, PADRES 3: At Peoria, Ariz., Jeff Kent went 3-for-4 with a home run, and Glenallen Hill also went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. San Francisco scored seven runs in the eighth inning off Marc Kroon to break open the game.
* DODGERS 5, ORIOLES 4: At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Scott Erickson allowed three runs and eight hits in four innings, and Dodgers starter Ramon Martinez gave up one run and five hits in four innings with seven strikeouts and four walks. Los Angeles got the winning run in the 10th when B.J. Waszgiz allowed a passed ball on a low pitch from Armando Benitez with Adam Riggs on third.
* ATHLETICS 5, ANGELS 4: At Phoenix, pinch-hitter Damon Mashore had a two-run double and Ariel Prieto pitched six strong innings as Oakland sent Anaheim to its sixth straight loss. Mark McGwire, who missed five games because of back stiffness, returned to Oakland's lineup as designated hitter. He grounded out, then walked and scored in the fourth.
* MARINERS 10, CUBS 6: At Mesa, Ariz., Jay Buhner hit a three-run homer off Bob Patterson to cap a seven-run seventh. Mariners starter Dennis Martinez allowed five runs and eight hits in four innings.
* RANGERS 3, CARDINALS 1: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Dennis Eckersley got into it with the umpires after walking Mark McLemore and Shawn Green in the fifth inning. The reliever made a few comments to home-plate umpire Eric Gregg. At one point, Eckersley came off the mound and Gregg removed his mask, but Eckersley wasn't ejected.
* REDS 9, INDIANS 5: At Plant City, Fla., Cleveland's Orel Hershiser left after only one inning because of a strained groin, and Hal Morris, Willie Greene and Eddie Taubensee homered for Cincinnati.
* YANKEES 3, BLUE JAYS 1: At Dunedin, Fla., Darryl Strawberry hit a three-run homer in the first and Ramiro Mendoza allowed one hit in five innings. Paul O'Neill and Cecil Fielder singled off Erik Hanson with two outs in the first and Strawberry, who also had a three-run shot the last time the teams played, hit a wind-blown popup just over the right-field fence.
* RED SOX 2, WHITE SOX 2: At Fort Myers, Fla., Tim Naehring hit a two-run homer off Wilson Alvarez to tie the game in the fourth. Alvarez struck out five in six innings, allowing six hits and a walk.
* PHILLIES 6, ROYALS 5: At Clearwater, Fla., Mike Lieberthal was 3-for-4 and drove in four runs as Philadelphia extended its home winning streak to nine. After the Phillies wasted a 5-4 lead in the ninth, Ricky Otero led off the bottom half with a walk, took third on Gregg Jefferies' double and scored on Brent Bowers' sacrifice fly.
* ASTROS 4, EXPOS 2: At Kissimmee, Fla., Mike Hampton struck out nine in five innings and allowed just two hits. Tommy Greene followed with two shutout innings. Rheal Cormier gave up four runs -- three earned -- in four innings.
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