Rookie doesn't hit Blalock; demoted next day

[Walter Cronkite]

White Sox rookie pitcher Sean Tracey got into hot water with his manager Ozzie Guillen -- for getting an out.

Tracey was summoned to start the seventh inning and got Hank Blalock to ground out, but getting an out might not have been the reason Tracey was brought into the game. White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski was hit by two pitches in the game and a source told the Chicago Sun-Times that Tracey was told to hit Blalock as retaliation. Tracey threw two inside pitches to Blalock before getting him to ground out.

After getting the out, Tracey was removed from the game. Guillen slammed a water bottle to the ground when Blalock grounded out and the manager then brought Agustin Montero in to pitch. Guillen was then seen in the dugout barking at Tracey, who pulled the collar of his jersey over his head.

Guillen didn't address why he screamed at Tracey and had a different explanation why he took the rookie out of the game.

"I tried to get Montero ready [to face Blalock] and wasn't able to. It was a little late," Guillen explained. "It was my mistake. I didn't get him up quick enough. I didn't want Tracey in that situation."

Tracey refused comment.

"Ozzie went nuts," one source told the Sun-Times.

Tracey was demoted to Triple-A on Thursday after the White Sox acquired reliever David Riske from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league reliever Javier Lopez.

Pierzynski was hit by pitches his first two at-bats, prompting home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi to issue warnings to both benches in the fourth.

"I don't know what the deal was. He had pretty good control and then he runs two first pitches in on me," Pierzynski said. `Why did he do it? You're going to have to ask him. I faced him maybe two times in the National League."

Vicente Padilla didn't comment after the game.

Source: ESPN.com

[Walter Cronkite]

Henry ordered to avoid alcohol, contact with minors

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, arrested on Wednesday for the fourth time since December, was ordered Thursday morning to avoid alcohol and all contact with minors during an arraignment in which the second-year veteran pleaded not guilty to three counts of unlawful transaction with a minor.

The stipulations were made by Kenton (Ken.) District Court judge Douglas Grothaus, a court spokesman said Thursday afternoon, as a condition of Henry's bond.

Henry was released from the Kenton County, Kentucky jail early Wednesday evening on $2,500 bond and he faces a June 29 pretrial hearing on the charges. If he violates the conditions established by Judge Grothaus, Henry faces the possibity of having his bail revoked.

The arrest warrant issued on Wednesday morning claims that Henry provided alcohol to three women all under the age of 21. One of the women is identified as Monica Beamon, 18, and the others are cited as unnamed 15- and 16-year-olds. The criminal affidavit charges that all three women were in Henry's car when he provided them alcohol, with the knowledge that all were under the legal drinking age of 21.

Henry, 23, turned himself in late Wednesday afternoon, accompanied by his attorney, Bob Lotz of Covington, Ken., after the arrest warrant was issued.

The wide receiver faces up to a year in jail, and a $500 fine, if convicted of the charges. Already under scrutiny by the league because of his three past arrests in the last six months, Henry could also face tougher sanctions now under terms of the NFL personal conduct policy.

The alleged incident occurred on April 29. On the morning of April 30, Covington Police were called to a local hotel, where Beamon told investigators that Henry had raped her. Based of inconsistencies in her story, and a follow-up investigation, it was determined no rape had taken place and Henry was not charged with any crime at the time. An arrest warrant for Beamon was issued on Wednesday morning, charging her with filing a false police report. As of early Thursday, she had not been located.

Henry most recently was charged with speeding and drunken driving earlier this month.

In that incident, Henry registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.092 on a breath test and was clocked at 82 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone, said Sgt. Craig Cvetan, a State Highway Patrol spokesman. Kentucky's legal limit is 0.08.

Henry was charged in January with pulling a pistol on a group of revelers in downtown Orlando. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of carrying a concealed weapon and is set for trial Aug. 21.

He avoided jail time on marijuana charges from a December arrest in Kentucky after pleading guilty and agreeing to enter a drug rehabilitation program.

Henry had 31 catches for 422 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie last season, when he developed into the Bengals' No. 3 receiver behind Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The league typically does not levy sanctions against a player until due process has run its course. Bengals officials, citing franchise policy, have declined comment on Henry's mounting off-field problems. Coach Marvin Lewis did acknowledge last week, however, that incidents involving Henry and rookie linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who is facing burglary charges in Florida, have brought "embarrassment" to the team.

Lewis charged both young players with "some poor decisions, some poor associations with people and some selfishness."

Additional charges against Henry in his latest case are possible, Kenton County attorney Ken Easterling said, because the investigation of the incident is still open.

"The bottom line," Easterling said, "is that Mr. Henry's conduct [was] inappropriate, and he has been charged criminally. . . . Sports figures are not above the law."

Source: ESPN.com