Friday, January 6, 2012

Baseball notes: Rangers show higher railings

ASSOCIATED PRESS

? The railings at Rangers Ballpark are being changed to make them safer for fans.

Rangers officials showed off one of the first sections of new protective railing Thursday during a tour of renovations at the stadium. They have beveled tops and lean slightly inward toward front-row seats.

The team announced plans to make all front-row railings 42 inches high after the July death of a Texas firefighter who fell after reaching out to grab a ball tossed his way by Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton.

The $1.1 million project to replace the railings is separate from $12 million in stadium upgrades that include a reconfigured visitors bullpen. All work is scheduled to be completed before the season opener April 6.

Rangers hire Hamilton father-in-law

ARLINGTON ? The Rangers hired Josh Hamilton's father-in-law as a staff special assistant.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says Michael Dean Chadwick will fill a support role for the slugger that was left vacant when Johnny Narron left in November to become Milwaukee's hitting coach.

Narron joined the Rangers when Hamilton was acquired four years ago in a trade from Cincinnati. His primary role was to support Hamilton, the former No. 1 overall draft pick who rebounded from substance abuse problems to become the 2010 AL MVP and a four-time All-Star.

Rockies acquire manager's son from Rangers

DENVER ? The Colorado Rockies acquired a minor league infielder that manager Jim Tracy loves ? his son.

Chad Tracy was traded from the Texas Rangers to Colorado on Thursday for pitcher Greg Reynolds, the No. 2 selection in the 2006 amateur draft out of Stanford.

The 26-year-old Tracy hit .259 with 26 home runs and 109 RBIs for Triple-A Round Rock last season.

Reynolds was 3-0 with a 6.19 ERA in 13 appearances for the Rockies in 2011, including three starts. He was 6-7 with a 6.81 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Marlins: Guillen can get best out of Zambrano

MIAMI ? The Miami Marlins are counting on excitable Ozzie Guillen to have a calming influence on quarrelsome Carlos Zambrano.

Their latest offseason move was approved Thursday, when they acquired Zambrano from the Chicago Cubs for underachieving pitcher Chris Volstad. The Marlins believe Zambrano's career can be resuscitated by pairing him with fellow Venezuelan and good friend Guillen, the team's new manager.

"We went with Ozzie on this one," president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. "The bottom line was Ozzie just really, really felt confident about this deal."

Elsewhere ...

Washington Nationals pitcher Zechry Zinicola is the first player suspended this year under baseball's minor league drug program and will miss the first 50 games of the season. Zinicola was penalized after a second violation for a drug of abuse. He was 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 21 relief appearances for Triple-A Syracuse last season.

Boston Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks underwent a second spinal decompression procedure that could delay the start of his spring training. He appeared in just 19 games last season with lingering back pain.

The New York Yankees say they failed to sign Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. He attracted attention in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, where he batted .364 with six RBIs in seven games as Japan won the title.

Source: http://www.statesman.com/sports/baseball-notes-rangers-show-higher-railings-2083460.html?cxtype=rss_sports

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