ARLINGTON, Texas — A lost season for the Texas Rangers has turned even more disheartening: All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez is out for the year with a broken right thumb.
The reigning AL MVP was injured Monday night when his hand hit Mo Vaughn’s bat while making a throw against the Anaheim Angels.
“That’s what happens when the team isn’t going good,” Rodriguez said. “What can I do? But I have a strong mind and I’ll be ready for spring training.”
The two-time AL West champion Rangers are 11½ games behind division-leading Seattle. On June 2, center fielder Ruben Mateo — a rookie of the year candidate — broke his leg and was lost for the year.
Rodriguez, regarded by many as the best all-around catcher in the majors, began the day batting .347 with 27 home runs and 83 RBI.
He was hurt in the first inning as Vaughn struck out swinging while Kevin Stocker was trying to steal second. Stocker was called out by home plate umpire Gerry Davis on batter’s interference.
Rodriguez said Vaughn did nothing wrong, and added the Angels first baseman left a message in the Rangers clubhouse expressing his sorrow.
“I don’t think it was on purpose,” Rodriguez said. “Mo is a very clean player.”
Vaughn expressed sadness.
“It’s just unfortunate because he’s such a great player,” Vaughn said. “Something will be missed from the game these last two months.”
Rodriguez, 28, played earlier this month in his ninth straight All-Star game. He has won eight consecutive Gold Glove awards, an AL record.
Rodriguez, the Rangers’ career hits leader, will have surgery Tuesday afternoon at a Fort Worth hospital to repair the break at the base of his thumb.
Team director of medical services Dr. John Conway said Rodriguez will need 6-10 weeks for the fracture to heal. Rodriguez will be able to resume sports-related activities in 2-4 months.
Conway said there were no guarantees that Rodriguez would be able to fully recover.
“Anytime there’s an injury like this, there’s a possibility for a loss of performance,” Conway said. “But we think he’ll make a full recovery.”
Earlier this year, the Rangers said Rodriguez would spend time in the off-season learning a new position, possibly second base, in hopes of reducing the rigors of catching.
The Rangers purchased the contract of catcher B.J. Waszgis from Triple-A Oklahoma. Rodriguez will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
“As soon as it happened, my thumb went numb. There was swelling and I knew it was broken and I’d be out for the season,” he said.
This year he had thrown out 16 of 33 (48.5 percent) would-be basestealers. Last year, he caught 54.2 percent, the fifth straight season he led the AL in that category.
Rodriguez won the MVP last year when he hit .332 with an AL-record 35 home runs by a catcher. He had 113 RBI and scored 116 runs.
“I was having a strong season, so it’s disappointing for it to end two months before it was supposed to,” Rodriguez said. “But there’s always next season. I’ll just go out and put up better numbers next year.”
Rangers general manager Doug Melvin said Rodriguez’s season-ending injury, coupled with the loss of Mateo, seemed to sum up his team’s season.
“This is a sad day,” Melvin said. “We always take Pudge for granted that he’s always going to be out there. But you have to realize it can happen to anybody. You wonder which player your team can least afford to lose. He falls into that category.”
Melvin was unsure whether the loss of Rodriguez would mean his team would be more willing to trade impending free agents like David Segui and John Wetteland.
“The clock is still running on our players who are going to be free agents,” Melvin said. “But that doesn’t change our thinking. We’re still going to try and win every game that we can. This does give a chance to some of our young players.”

TORONTO (AP) — Right-hander Esteban Loaiza went to the Toronto Blue Jays from the Texas Rangers on Wednesday in exchange for two minor leaguers.
Loaiza, 28, was 5-6 with a 5.37 ERA for the Rangers, appearing in 20 games, including 17 starts. He has a career record of 44-45 with one save in 160 games.
Loiza began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1995, before joining Texas in 1998.
Blue Jays general manager Gord Ash had been looking for pitching help. Young starters Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay and Kelvim Escobar have struggled this season.
The Rangers got right-hander Darwin Cubillan and second baseman Mike Young.
Cubillan has pitched for both Toronto and Triple-A Syracuse this season. The 25-year-old right-hander was 1-0 with a 9.69 ERA with Toronto. He had six saves and an ERA of 0.55 with Syracuse.
Young, an All-Star second baseman at Double-A, hit .275 with 24 doubles, six homers and 47 RBIs for the Tennessee Smokies.
Second Story
TEXAS RANGERS ACQUIRE RHP DARWIN CUBILLAN AND IF MIKE YOUNG FROM TORONTO BLUE JAYS IN DEAL FOR RHP ESTEBAN LOAIZA
FOR RELEASE: 2:30 (CDT), Wednesday, July 19, 2000
The Texas Rangers announced today that the club has acquired righthanded pitcher Darwin Cubillan and infielder Mike Young from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for righthanded pitcher Esteban Loaiza.
Cubillan, 25, will be assigned from Syracuse of the International League to Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League. Young, 23, will be assigned from Tennessee of the Southern League to Tulsa of the Texas League. Both players have been placed on Texas’ major league roster, putting that number at 36.
Cubillan is 3-1 with a 0.55 era and 6 saves in 24 relief appearances for Syracuse this season. He was with Toronto from May 19-June 24, going 1-0, 8.04 in 7 relief appearances, his first big league action. The righthander defeated Atlanta for his first major league win on June 5.
Cubillan was signed by Toronto as a minor league free agent last November after spending six seasons in the New York Yankees organization. He is a native of Venezuela.
Young is hitting .275 with 6 homers, 47 rbi, and 16 stolen bases at Tennessee this season. The righthanded hitter has played primarily at second base this season but has seen extensive action at shortstop in his four pro seasons. He played in the Class AA All-Star Game last week and was a Florida State League All-Star in 1999, when he batted .313 with 83 rbi and 30 stolen bases at Dunedin. Young has 71 career minor league steals. Drafted by Toronto in the fifth round of the June, 1997 draft, Young is from Covina, CA and attended the University of California-Santa Barbara.
The Rangers have indicated that Young will play shortstop at Tulsa, joining first baseman Carlos Pena and second baseman Jason Romano in the Drillers infield.
Loaiza, 28, is 5-6 with a 5.37 era in 20 games/17 starts with the Rangers this season. He was acquired from Pittsburgh on July 17, 1998 and was 17-17 in 64 games/46 starts with Texas. Loaiza has a career record of 44-45 in 160 games/133 starts with the Pirates (1995-98) and the Rangers. Loaiza is scheduled to start for Toronto on Saturday against Baltimore.
Loaiza’s spot on the roster is expected to be taken by lefthanded pitcher Darren Oliver, who will be activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday to start in Anaheim.

DARWIN CUBILLAN_2000 STATS
Team     W-L ERA  G  GS SV IP   H  R  ER BB SO
Syracuse 3-1 0.55 24 0  6  32.2 14 2  2  13 41
Toronto  1-0 8.04 7  0  0  15.2 20 14 14 11 14
MIKE YOUNG_2000 STATS
Team       AVG G  AB  R  H  2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS
Tennessee .275 91 345 51 95 24 5  6  47  36 72 16 5

ARLINGTON – The people have spoken.
Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez is the most popular player in the major leagues.
Pudge’s All-Star vote totals All-time All-Star vote-getters
Rodriguez, defending American League Most Valuable Player, earned the distinction on Tuesday by edging National League catcher Mike Piazza of the New York Mets. Rodriguez received 2,808,456 votes, about 28,000 more than Piazza.
Rodriguez ended Ken Griffey Jr.’s four-year run as the leading vote-getter in the All-Star selection process. Griffey moved from Seattle to Cincinnati this season and was voted into the NL’s starting outfield.
Rodriguez received more votes than three AL teams’ candidates combined: Detroit, Minnesota and Tampa Bay.
“I didn’t realize I had so many fans,” said Rodriguez, whose contract includes a $50,000 incentive for making the All-Star team. “My family told me that I could get elected governor of Puerto Rico with this many votes. I owe the fans for this.
“That’s why when I put this uniform on, I go out and do my best. That’s what the fans like to see. They pay for a ticket and want to see a good show. I want to do good for them.”
This will be Rodriguez’s eight consecutive start and ninth consecutive appearance in the All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday at Atlanta. No other Ranger finished among the top five at his position.
In the AL, only Cleveland had two elected starters: second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Manny Ramirez.
In the NL, Cincinnati and San Francisco each placed two starters on the team. For Cincinnati, the starters are shortstop Barry Larkin and Griffey. For San Francisco, the starters are second baseman Jeff Kent and outfielder Barry Bonds.
Seven Hall of Famers have led the overall voting: Henry Aaron, Johnny Bench, Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Joe Morgan, George Brett and Robin Yount. Among active players, Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr. and Will Clark, Tampa Bay’s Jose Canseco, Bonds and Griffey have led the overall All-Star voting.
“We’ve all come to assume that he’s going to be the starting catcher,” Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. “But to get the most votes, that’s nice. I’m happy for him.”
Before Rodriguez’s ascension, Ripken Jr. and Griffey had led the voting annually since 1994.
The vote totals reflected each player’s role of ambassador of the game. Rodriguez, the first top vote-getter from Puerto Rico, said he would like to take on that responsibility.
“I want to leave a good example when I leave the game,” Rodriguez said. “I want it to be because of the way I play.”
Rodriguez owes his latest distinction to Griffey’s decline as much as his popularity.
Griffey, traded from Seattle to Cincinnati in the off-season, dropped from 2.92 million votes last year to 2.19 million votes, good enough to put him in the NL starting outfield.
Rodriguez picked up nearly one million votes over last year, but this was not his best showing in terms of numbers. Rodriguez attracted 3.01 million votes in 1996. His total was the lowest for the overall leader since 1995, when Ripken won with less than 1.7 million votes.
Reserves and pitchers will be named on Wednesday. The Rangers’ best hopes for a second All-Star ride with closer John Wetteland and second baseman Luis Alicea.
The Rangers have had more than one All-Star representative in eight of the last nine seasons. Rodriguez was their only representative in 1997, the last time the club had a losing record.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Right-handed pitcher Mark Clark got his wish Monday when the Texas Rangers placed him on waivers for the purpose of releasing him.If Clark is not claimed by noon Friday, he will become a free agent.
Clark, 3-5 with a 7.98 ERA, hasn’t been happy with his diminished role with the Rangers, and has expressed his desire to leave the team several times.

“What good is it being here?,” Clark told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a story published Monday before his release. “I’m not doing the club any good sitting out there in the bullpen and not pitching, and I’m not doing myself good career-wise. Since I’m a mistake, I don’t see any reason to be here.”

Team owner Tom Hicks referred to Clark as a “mistake” last week.

Some of the club’s high-priced veterans haven’t played well this season for the Rangers, the two-time defending AL West champions who now sit in last place.

Clark signed a two-year, $5 million free-agent contract with the Rangers after the 1998 season.

The former starter was converted into a seldom-used long reliever. He has pitched just once since June 16, losing 6-3 to Seattle on Saturday.

The Rangers recalled infielder Kelly Dransfelt from Triple-A Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League. Dransfelt was in uniform for Monday night’s game against Oakland.

Texas was expected to wait until at least next week’s All-Star break before doing anything with Clark, but needed to make a move after shortstop Royce Clayton left Sunday night’s game with a strained oblique muscle in his left side.

Clayton will be out of the lineup until at least Friday, but the Rangers aren’t ready to put him on the disabled list.

WIRE STORY #2:
ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) — The Texas Rangers have placed Mark Clark on irrevocable waivers for the purpose of giving the struggling righthander his unconditional release.

To take Clark’s place on the roster, the Rangers have recalled infielder Kelly Dransfeldt from Triple-A Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League.

The waivers on Clark, 32, will expire on Friday at 1:00 p.m. EDT. He will become a free agent if not claimed by that time.
In 12 games, including eight starts, Clark was just 3-5 with a 7.98 ERA. He started the year in the rotation but has been pitching out of the bullpen for the last month.

Clark was the losing pitcher against Seattle on Saturday, when he allowed two runs and three hits while recording four outs.
Signed as a free agent prior to the 1999 season, Clark was 6-12 with a 8.37 ERA in 27 games, 23 starts, in his two seasons with the Rangers. He owns a career mark of 74-71 in eight seasons, having also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs.

Dransfeldt was hitting .224 with three homers and 26 RBI in 69 games for the RedHawks this season. He was with the Rangers from May 4-6 and went hitless in his only at-bat against Tampa Bay on May 4.

Dransfeldt, who batted .189 with five RBI in 16 games for the Rangers last season, will fill in for shortstop Royce Clayton, who is expected to be sidelined three to four days with a strained oblique muscle.

FROM JOE: To tell you the truth, at this point, it’s the best move that could be made for both sides. He’s not happy, so he won’t pitch well if he remains. He was never really good for the Rangers as a team. It’s a shame – I really wanted to like him – go look at the old news on my site from when he was first signed. Oh well, guess this means that the Perisho / Glynn experiment will continue longer.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers left-hander Darren Oliver will miss at least two starts after being placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of weakness in his left shoulder.
The move is retroactive to June 17, the day after Oliver’s last start, at Tampa Bay. Oliver, 2-4 with a 6.66 ERA in 13 starts, began complaining of shoulder trouble during that start.
Ryan Glynn, currently at Triple-A Oklahoma, is the probable starter in Oliver’s place for Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay. Glynn (1-0, 0.00) pitched eight shutout innings and allowed just two hits in an earlier spot start for the Rangers, a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles and Kevin Brown on June 7.
Even though an MRI, a bone test and a nerve test showed no serious problems, team physician r Dr. John Conway said the weakness in Oliver’s shoulder is causing mild inflammation and irritation in the muscles of his shoulder.
Conway has recommended that Oliver have treatment and start a series of exercises designed to strengthen his shoulder muscles.
“I don’t see Oliver pitching again for us before the All-Star break,” Rangers manager Johnny Oates said Wednesday. “I also might like for him to go to the minors to pitch a time or two to make sure everything is all right.”
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas right-hander Mike Munoz will have surgery on his left elbow next Tuesday to repair a torn tendon.
The surgery, to be done by Dr. Lewis Youcum in Inglewood, Calif., is expected to sideline Munoz for the rest of the season.
Munoz has been on the disabled list since April 27 with acute tendinitis in his left elbow. He is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in seven relief appearances this season.

The Texas Rangers announced today that the club has acquired outfielder Dave Martinez from the Chicago Cubs as part of a three-team trade. As part of the deal, Texas sent righthanded pitcher Chuck Smith to the Florida Marlins, and the Marlins traded outfielder Brant Brown to the Chicago Cubs.
Martinez, 35, has combined for a .234 (37-158) batting average with one homer and 13 rbi in 47 games with Tampa Bay and the Cubs this season. The lefthanded batter started the season with the Devil Rays, hitting .260 with one homer and 12 rbi in 29 games before his trade to Chicago for lefthander Mark Guthrie on May 12. With the Cubs, he batted .185 with one rbi in 18 games.
Martinez started 24 games in the outfield for Tampa Bay. With the Cubs, he was in the starting lineup for 8 games at 1st base, 3 games in left, and one in right. Martinez led the American League with five outfield assists at the time of his trade to the Cubs.
Originally selected by the Cubs in the January, 1983 free agent draft, Martinez has a career major league average of .274 (1443-5259) with 85 homers and 526 rbi in 1714 games with the Cubs (1986-88; 2000), Montreal (1988-91), Cincinnati (1992), San Francisco (1993-94), the White Sox (1995-97), and Tampa Bay (1998-2000). He set career highs for at bats (514), hits (146), doubles (25), and rbi (66) in 1999, when he led the Devil Rays in runs scored (79).
Smith, 30, has spent the entire season with Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League, going 5-3 with a 3.78 era in 11 starts. He will be added to the Marlins’ major league roster and will be making his major league debut. The righthander was in his second year in the Rangers organization and is tied for third in the Pacific Coast League with 73 strikeouts.
Brown, 28 is batting .192 with two homers and six rbi in 41 games with the Marlins this season. The lefthanded batter has a career .255 batting average in 370 games with the Cubs (1996-98), Pittsburgh (1999), and Florida (2000).
Martinez is expected to join the Rangers this weekend in Colorado. The Rangers will make a roster move to accommodate Martinez when he reports.
GABE KAPLER ACTIVATED FROM DISABLED LIST
The Rangers also announced today that outfielder Gabe Kapler has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and will be in uniform for tonight’s game in Colorado.
Righthanded pitcher Jonathan Johnson was optioned to Oklahoma to make room for Kapler. Johnson had been recalled from Oklahoma on June 6 and allowed 2 unearned runs in 3 innings in his only appearance on Wednesday versus Los Angeles.
Kapler has been on the disabled list since sustaining a partial tear of his right quadriceps muscle will running the bases on May 2 at Tampa Bay. He was 3-9 in a three-game stint on rehab at Oklahoma, May 20-22, but aggravated the injury and was not activated at that time. Kapler just completed a second rehab assignment with Tulsa of the Texas League, going 7-12 with a homer and 4 rbi in 3 games.
For the season, Kapler is batting .200 with 3 homers and 12 rbi in 24 games.

ARLINGTON, Texas — One of the best catchers in the majors may be heading for a different part of the baseball diamond — some day in the near future.
The Texas Rangers’ Ivan Rodriguez will start learning a new position during the off season, team officials told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Monday’s editions.
Rodriguez, 28, plans to spend a week at Bucky Dent’s Baseball School in Florida to begin the learning process, according to paper, which may focus on teaching Rodriguez to play second base.
Rangers manager Johnny Oates said the offseason tutoring is primarily aimed at finding a position where the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player is least likely to be injured.
Rodriguez said he’s not planning a position switch any time soon, but did say, “It will be good to start working a new position.”
Dent’s school is in Boca Raton, Fla., and Rodriguez lives south of there, in Miami.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) — Citing a desire to spend more time with his family, Texas Rangers first base coach Ed Napoleon abruptly retired today.
The 62-year-old Napoleon had been a member of the Rangers’ coaching staff since 1995. No replacement has been named and bench coach Bucky Dent will serve as the interim first base coach.
“I want to thank (general manager) Doug Melvin, (manager) Johnny Oates, the players and everyone in the Texas Rangers organization for an outstanding 5 1/2 years,” Napoleon said. “The people here made it even more difficult to retire at this time. However, it is very important for me to be home in Florida and this is the right decision for me and my family.”
Although Napoleon worked for Melvin, it once was the other way around.
“Ed Napoleon will be greatly missed by the Rangers organization,” Melvin said. “Nap has had a major impact on a number of people in his career. If it wasn’t for him, I’m not sure I would be in professional baseball. He was my first manager in 1972 and helped me get a chance with the Yankees three years later.”
Napoleon has spent the last 45 years in baseball, the first 15 as a minor league manager and the last 30 as a manager or coach. He has been a coach with Cleveland (1983-85), Kansas City (1987-88), Houston (1989-90), the Yankees (1992-93) and Texas.
Story #2:
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas Rangers coach Ed Napoleon, who has spent 45 years in professional baseball, announced his immediate retirement Monday to spend more time with his family.
Napoleon, 62, was in his sixth season with the Rangers, serving as first-base and outfield coach for manager Johnny Oates.
Rangers bench coach Bucky Dent will serve as interim first-base coach. Napoleon’s departure is the first change in Oates’ staff since he became the Texas manager in October 1994.
“It was probably tougher for Nap than for me because I think he’s doing the right thing,” Oates said.
Napoleon had already left The Ballpark in Arlington before Monday night’s game against Seattle. Rangers officials, who refused to elaborate on Napoleon’s reasons for retiring, described the coach as very emotional.
“The people here made it even more difficult to retire at this time. However, it is very important for me to be home in Florida, and this is the right decision for me and my family,” Napoleon said in a statement.
Napoleon was a minor league player from 1956-70, and spent the last 30 years as a major league coach and minor league manager and coach. His 14-year major league coaching career includes stints with Cleveland (1983-85), Kansas City (1987-88), Houston (1989-90), the New York Yankees (1992-93) and Texas (1995-2000).
Napoleon was in uniform for Sunday’s game, but had missed games Friday and Saturday after asking Oates for a couple of days off to be with his family.

ARLINGTON — Unable to swing a trade thus far, the Rangers took care of their need for an extra outfielder internally, promoting switch-hitter Scarborough Green from Triple-A Oklahoma.
Green was batting .313 with one home run, 10 runs batted in and 14 steals in 27 games for the RedHawks.
“I never want to get called up because someone gets injured,” Green said. “I want to get called up because of what I do on the field. All I want to do is get an opportunity to play.”
With left fielder Rusty Greer on the disabled list because of ankle surgery and a hamstring injury, and right fielder Gabe Kapler on the DL because of a partially torn quadriceps muscle, general manager Doug Melvin attempted to swing a deal for an outfielder.
He has had conversations with the Los Angeles Dodgers about Todd Hollandsworth and the Philadelphia Phillies about Ron Gant, but without success.
“I’ve looked into the trade route, and there’s nothing that excites me right now,” Melvin said. “A lot of clubs aren’t ready to deal yet.”
Melvin had some mild interest in Rich Becker, released by the Athletics on Friday, but decided to promote Green.
Green arrived in Arlington on Friday, and was in the clubhouse before the game. But because first baseman David Segui couldn’t play because of a strained hip flexor, the Rangers didn’t activate him because they needed an extra infielder.
Segui was able to play yesterday, so Green was added and infielder Kelly Dransfeldt was optioned to Oklahoma.
King off roster
Triple-A catcher Cesar King, once considered one of the top prospects in the Rangers’ farm system, was designated for assignment to make room for Scarborough Green on the 40-man roster. The Rangers have 10 days to trade, release or send him to the minor leagues.
King was batting .143 with seven RBI in 13 games for the RedHawks.
He was thought to be the same level with Ruben Mateo after the ’97 season, when both played most of the season at Class-A Charlotte. Mateo batted .314 with 12 home runs and 67 RBI. King hit .295 in 91 games at Charlotte and .356 in 14 games at Double-A Tulsa.
But in the past two seasons, King hit .222 and .227 at Tulsa, and was struggling this year at Oklahoma.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers placed outfielder Gabe Kapler on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday with a torn right quadriceps muscle.
Kapler was injured while running the bases against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Infielder Kelly Dransfeldt was recalled from Oklahoma City of the Pacific Coast League to replace Kapler. Dransfeldt is batting .278 with two homers and 12 RBI in 21 games this season.
Kapler joins four other Rangers on the disabled list: pitchers Mike Munoz and Justin Thompson, infielder Frank Catalanotto, and outfielder Rusty Greer.
On Monday, the Rangers signed outfielder Ruben Sierra to a minor league contract Monday.
Sierra, a four-time All-Star who played for the Rangers from 1986 through ’92, will join Triple-A Oklahoma of the Pacific Coast League on Tuesday. Sierra, 34, was playing for Cancun in the Mexican League, where he hit .355 with three homers and 12 RBI in 16 games.