ryno4ever
Mar 30th 2007, 7:08 am
I can't see Murton behind the plate!
Blanco subpoena leaves Cubs thin
Team won't have backup catcher at least one game
March 29, 2007
BY GORDON WITTENMYER Staff Reporter
MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs are preparing for the likelihood of playing without a backup catcher for at least one game during the opening week of the season because of Henry Blanco's involvement in a federal trial in Key West, Fla.
Blanco was subpoenaed by prosecutors this month in a case against one of his agents, Gustavo ''Gus'' Dominguez, who faces more than 45 years in prison if convicted on all 53 counts of an indictment for conspiring to smuggle Cuban baseball players into the United States.
RELATED STORIES
• Verdict: Guilty
Blanco is not under suspicion for any illegal activity, but money used in the smuggling operation was laundered through Blanco's U.S. bank account, according to the indictment.
Blanco is one of at least two active major-leaguers scheduled to appear at the trial. The other is Seattle Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Lou Melendez, Major League Baseball's vice president for international operations, also is on the prosecution's witness list.
Blanco said he tentatively plans to use the Cubs' day off Tuesday to travel from Cincinnati to Florida, then testify Wednesday on the first day of the trial and try to get back to Cincinnati in time for the series finale against the Reds, which starts at 12:35 p.m. Thursday.
Under that plan, the Cubs would play the second game of the season without a second catcher, according to a team source. Manager Lou Piniella would not comment on the situation Wednesday.
But a one-day absence is probably a best-case scenario. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a trial expected to last four to seven days, and Blanco's attorneys aren't even sure how soon he will be allowed to testify, the catcher said.
''Hopefully, we can get it over with soon,'' Blanco said. ''We'll see how we work this thing out.''
I
It could get especially dicey for the Cubs and Blanco if the process drags any later in the week because the trial is scheduled to break for the weekend at noon on Good Friday -- which could force an extended stay or a second trip for Blanco.
The Cubs do not have a day off during the expected duration of the trial, with their second one coming April 12. And a roster move to cover the catching situation is almost impossible; players optioned to the minors out of spring training can't be recalled until after the first 10 days of the season, and anybody else in the system would have to be added to the 40-man roster -- creating another deep layer of headaches.
A team source said attorneys for the Cubs are trying to arrange for Blanco's testimony to be delayed, but a delay of anything less than a week could make things worse because of the lack of days off.
The Cubs have no designated emergency third catcher. Nobody on the roster besides Blanco and starter Michael Barrett has caught a pitch majors.
Left fielder Matt Murton might be the best option if something were to happen to Barrett while Blanco is gone. Murton played catcher his junior year in high school and said at one point it was probably his natural position.
''I would do it, without question,'' he said. ''I could do it in an emergency.''
Blanco said he informed general manager Jim Hendry when he received the subpoena, but Hendry would not comment on the team's plans to cover the position or efforts to reschedule Blanco's testimony.
Blanco said he's not sure what questions to expect at the trial and hasn't prepared what he'll say.
Gonzalez and co-defendants are accused of smuggling Cuban citizens, including ballplayers, to South Florida on speed boats, then transporting the players to Southern California, where they were housed, fed and trained.
Among those brought to the United States were family members of White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras, according to the indictment.
Blanco, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, said he doesn't know whether to be optimistic about his agent's chances at trial.
''We'll find out,'' he said. ''All we can do is wait and see how things go.''
Blanco subpoena leaves Cubs thin
Team won't have backup catcher at least one game
March 29, 2007
BY GORDON WITTENMYER Staff Reporter
MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs are preparing for the likelihood of playing without a backup catcher for at least one game during the opening week of the season because of Henry Blanco's involvement in a federal trial in Key West, Fla.
Blanco was subpoenaed by prosecutors this month in a case against one of his agents, Gustavo ''Gus'' Dominguez, who faces more than 45 years in prison if convicted on all 53 counts of an indictment for conspiring to smuggle Cuban baseball players into the United States.
RELATED STORIES
• Verdict: Guilty
Blanco is not under suspicion for any illegal activity, but money used in the smuggling operation was laundered through Blanco's U.S. bank account, according to the indictment.
Blanco is one of at least two active major-leaguers scheduled to appear at the trial. The other is Seattle Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Lou Melendez, Major League Baseball's vice president for international operations, also is on the prosecution's witness list.
Blanco said he tentatively plans to use the Cubs' day off Tuesday to travel from Cincinnati to Florida, then testify Wednesday on the first day of the trial and try to get back to Cincinnati in time for the series finale against the Reds, which starts at 12:35 p.m. Thursday.
Under that plan, the Cubs would play the second game of the season without a second catcher, according to a team source. Manager Lou Piniella would not comment on the situation Wednesday.
But a one-day absence is probably a best-case scenario. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a trial expected to last four to seven days, and Blanco's attorneys aren't even sure how soon he will be allowed to testify, the catcher said.
''Hopefully, we can get it over with soon,'' Blanco said. ''We'll see how we work this thing out.''
I
It could get especially dicey for the Cubs and Blanco if the process drags any later in the week because the trial is scheduled to break for the weekend at noon on Good Friday -- which could force an extended stay or a second trip for Blanco.
The Cubs do not have a day off during the expected duration of the trial, with their second one coming April 12. And a roster move to cover the catching situation is almost impossible; players optioned to the minors out of spring training can't be recalled until after the first 10 days of the season, and anybody else in the system would have to be added to the 40-man roster -- creating another deep layer of headaches.
A team source said attorneys for the Cubs are trying to arrange for Blanco's testimony to be delayed, but a delay of anything less than a week could make things worse because of the lack of days off.
The Cubs have no designated emergency third catcher. Nobody on the roster besides Blanco and starter Michael Barrett has caught a pitch majors.
Left fielder Matt Murton might be the best option if something were to happen to Barrett while Blanco is gone. Murton played catcher his junior year in high school and said at one point it was probably his natural position.
''I would do it, without question,'' he said. ''I could do it in an emergency.''
Blanco said he informed general manager Jim Hendry when he received the subpoena, but Hendry would not comment on the team's plans to cover the position or efforts to reschedule Blanco's testimony.
Blanco said he's not sure what questions to expect at the trial and hasn't prepared what he'll say.
Gonzalez and co-defendants are accused of smuggling Cuban citizens, including ballplayers, to South Florida on speed boats, then transporting the players to Southern California, where they were housed, fed and trained.
Among those brought to the United States were family members of White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras, according to the indictment.
Blanco, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, said he doesn't know whether to be optimistic about his agent's chances at trial.
''We'll find out,'' he said. ''All we can do is wait and see how things go.''