Valenzuela

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Apparently at an impasse with Fernando Valenzuela over the time he needed to pitch himself back into shape, the California Angels placed him on waivers yesterday for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.However, they did invite him to pitch for the Class AAA Edmonton Trappers if he clears waivers and doesn't sign with another club.Valenzuela was placed on the disabled list June 13 after a heart abnormality was detected in two tests. The condition was later ++ diagnosed as "crimping" in an artery leading to his heart, and medication was prescribed to alleviate the problem.

Et cetera 'Redux' 3-5 favorite in latest bid for history Rapid Redux has been established as the 3-5 morning-line favorite by Maryland Jockey Club handicapper Frank Carulli in Tuesday's sixth race, a $17,000 starter allowance. Rapid Redux, who broke the record for consecutive wins last month at Mountaineer Park with his 20th straight score, looks to tie the modern-day U.S. record for victories in a calendar year, currently shared by Citation (1948) and Roseben (1905)

The Orioles have never held the salary arbitration process in high regard, but yesterday the club decided to offer arbitration to veteran left-hander Fernando Valenzuela.Valenzuela, who is expected to reject the offer, was the only Orioles player affected by yesterday's deadline for offering salary arbitration to free-agent players. The team already had declined arbitration with four other veteran players -- Mike Pagliarulo, Rick Sutcliffe, Harold Reynolds and Lonnie Smith -- and was expected to do the same with Valenzuela.

The first pitch thrown by left-hander Brian Matusz at the University of San Diego hit the backstop on the fly. It happened against the No. 1 team in the nation and in front of his father. The only way it could have been worse would be if he had drilled the mascot. "I was so pumped up," said Matusz, taken by the Orioles with the fourth overall pick June 5 in the amateur draft. "That ball wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to throw it." Most college freshmen probably would have become unnerved at the sheer embarrassment of the moment.

A newly reformed Pat Valenzuela, out to shake his image as racing's bad boy, arrives from Los Angeles today for a one-day stand in Laurel Park's $200,000 General George Stakes."

Fernando Valenzuela began his comeback last night with the California Angels' Class A team in Palm Springs, Calif., giving up four hits, three walks and one unearned run in four innings."

Cardiologist Larry Santora, who performed an angiogram on California Angels left-hander Fernando Valenzuela yesterday, said the 30-year-old pitcher has a very rare -- but minor -- heart condition that would not affect his baseball career.Valenzuela has been placed on oral medication and is scheduled to undergo another treadmill (stress) test next week to measure the drug's effectiveness. He could be pitching again within two weeks.* GIANTS: San Francisco released pitcher Rick Reuschel, apparently ending a major-league career that spanned nearly 20 years.

LOS ANGELES -- Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, released Friday by the California Angels, will report to their Class AA club ,, in Midland, Texas, tomorrow, according to Valenzuela's agent, Tony DeMarco.Valenzuela, 30, was 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in two starts. He was placed on the disabled list June 13. Tests found "crimping" in an artery leading to his heart, a condition not deemed serious.He was cleared to resume pitching July 1 but didn't rejoin the Angels because he sought a 20-day rehabilitation assignment to the Class AAA Edmonton Trappers, and club officials believed he would need more than 20 days to pitch himself back into shape.

Fernando Valenzuela, hoping to recapture the mound magic he had with the Los Angeles Dodgers, will make his first start for the California Angels on Friday night.Valenzuela, who did not allow an earned run in three appearances in the Angels' minor-league system, will make his American League debut against the Detroit Tigers at Anaheim Stadium.Valenzuela signed a one-year contract with a club option for 1992.* EXPANSION: Commissioner Fay Vincent is expected to announce his decision today about the allocation of the $190 million in entrance fees to be paid by the two winning cities in the National League expansion chase, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

SEATTLE -- There was no fanfare when Fernando Valenzuela walked to the mound on Friday night. There were no mariachis playing and certainly no media crush. Fernandomania II wasn't supposed to start this way.Valenzuela wasn't expected to make his Orioles debut until Tuesday night in Texas, but his services were required during Friday night's 6-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome. He had waited two years to make his triumphant return to the major leagues, only to sneak into a blowout and pitch one meaningless inning of long relief.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Alex Solis gained the mount on Rock Hard Ten in the Belmont after a California judge yesterday denied jockey Patrick Valenzuela's request to postpone his riding suspension. Valenzuela was suspended for four months by California racing officials for failing to report in January for a required drug test. The final month of the suspension began yesterday. Valenzuela had asked that the suspension be postponed so he could ride in the Belmont. NOTES: Smarty Jones galloped 1 1/2 miles by himself at approximately 5:40 a.m. yesterday at Philadelphia Park.

The best smile in America is actually an import. Orioles rookie Rodrigo Lopez brought it here from Mexico, and when Rick Sutcliffe first saw the toothy grin, it fooled him. It was 1996, three years after Sutcliffe last pitched for the Orioles, and he was coaching Lopez at Idaho Falls in the Rookie-level Pioneer League. "The first thing you think when you meet Rodrigo is how nice and wonderful the kid is," Sutcliffe said. "He really does a good job of hiding his toughness." Sutcliffe had no idea until one day when the opposing pitcher drilled an Idaho Falls batter with a fastball.

Cal Ripken never has been comfortable with the suggestion that he saved baseball last year when he broke Lou Gehrig's record for playing in the most consecutive games and provided the game a heavy dose of credibility at a time when it badly needed such.Ripken said several times baseball has a way of regenerating, and would have without him. Ripken didn't give himself enough credit, but he was correct in this: The sport has a life force of its own.Every year, baseball provides reminders of why it is so remarkable, stories of perseverance contributing to the immortality of the game, stories of electrifying players.

LOS ANGELES -- There was a certain symmetry to it right from the start. Los Angeles Dodgers pitching sensation Hideo Nomo came from another country and took Southern California by storm, much as another exciting rookie pitcher did 14 years earlier. And like Fernando Valenzuela before him, he arrived at a time when the team -- and the game -- needed him most.The similarities don't end there.Nomo, like Fernando, won 13 games in his first season in the rotation and, like Fernando, probably will be the National League Rookie of the Year.

A newly reformed Pat Valenzuela, out to shake his image as racing's bad boy, arrives from Los Angeles today for a one-day stand in Laurel Park's $200,000 General George Stakes."

There are always victims. The great baseball strike of 1994 may leave the amazing performances of Matt Williams, Ken Griffey and Jeff Bagwell diminished in its wake, but it's not as if that's some new twist in the unhappy history of baseball labor relations.Fernando Valenzuela was having a spectacular year when the 1981 season was interrupted for 50 days by a players strike. He was on pace to win 26 games and rewrite the record book for a rookie starting pitcher when a third of the season was wiped away.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- During a telephone conversation with Dr. Neal Fisher, jockey Pat Valenzuela, who has had substance-abuse problems, said he was going to "take off for three months to straighten out his life," according to Fisher.In a statement released by Fisher through Santa Anita Park yesterday, Valenzuela, 28, also told the doctor he was sick, but would refuse to be tested for drugs.Named to ride six horses on California Cup Day, including My Sonny Boy -- who won the $300,000 Classic -- Valenzuela called the Oak Tree stewards late yesterday morning, saying he was sick and that he wished to be taken off his mounts.

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- There had been relief in his voice and few regrets in his words. It had been almost eerie to watch Fernando Valenzuela, a pitcher who weathered so many storms for the Dodgers, accept his release so gently Thursday.But the shock to Valenzuela's system apparently ran deep. Speaking with a clear head Friday morning, Valenzuela admitted that when he spoke with the media the day before, he had been drinking."It is not the right way, to drink when you have problems," Valenzuela said.

PHILADELPHIA -- By all rights, this should be strictly about Fernando Valenzuela, the brilliant left-hander the Los Angeles Dodgers reluctantly released three years and four months ago.Pitching against his old team for the second time in two weeks, Valenzuela was positively brilliant yesterday at the Vet. He mixed in his rediscovered screwball with a variety of other pitches and had the Dodgers blanked on four singles going into the ninth."

Now that Fernandomania has moved about 90 miles up the East Coast, the next question to be heard is: Why?Not that anyone would've asked it a week ago. But, after Fernando Valenzuela pitched six effective innings for the Philadelphia Phillies while Arthur Rhodes was struggling against the Cleveland Indians, the subject is natural fodder for debate.For a good portion of last season, Valenzuela was a useful performer for the Orioles. He even earned American League Pitcher of the Month honors in July.