Oates Resigns Before Rangers Can Fire Him

Johnny Oates avoided the seemingly inevitable. He resigned as manager of the Texas Rangers before team executives faced the decision to fire him.

With the Rangers off to their worst start since 1985 despite signing Alex Rodriguez to the richest contract in sports history, owner Tom Hicks and General Manager Doug Melvin already were considering a change. Oates made it easy for them.

“I knew in my gut where we are,” Hicks said Friday after Oates’ resignation. “Everybody in this room has figured out the same thing. Johnny figured it out too.

“He recognized it’s time to make a change,” he said.

Oates said he had done everything he could to turn things around. But the Rangers are 11-17 and 10 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.

“This is not something I wanted to do, but I wrestled with the decision,” said Oates, who was in his seventh season. “It will be a lot easier to get a new voice in the clubhouse than new players.”

Oates was replaced for the remainder of the season by third-base coach Jerry Narron.

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Geoff Jenkins’ sprained right shoulder is healing more slowly than expected, and the Milwaukee Brewer left fielder was put on the 15-day disabled list. The move is retroactive to Wednesday, the day after Jenkins hurt his shoulder running into a wall. . . . Tim Raines was put on the 15-day disabled list by the Montreal Expos because of a strained left shoulder. Raines, 44, has appeared in 22 games for Montreal this year after sitting out the previous 1 1/2 seasons.

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Kansas City Manager Tony Muser apologized for suggesting the slumping Royals should pray less and drink more. “If I hurt anybody’s feelings, I apologize for that,” Muser said. “That was not my intent. I am a God-fearing man.” . . . Gov. Jesse Ventura apologized to New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner for Minnesota Twin fans who pelted left fielder Chuck Knoblauch with golf balls, coins and hot dogs. “We have a reputation in Minnesota for having knowledgeable sports fans, and when they go to games they should know where to draw the line,” Ventura wrote in a letter. . . . Met Manager Bobby Valentine, catcher Mike Piazza and reliever Turk Wendell were fined by the commissioner’s office for actions during New York’s series in St. Louis last weekend. . . . Legislation to finance a ballpark for the Marlins in downtown Miami died when the Florida Senate adjourned without a vote.

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Darryl Strawberry has been told his “brain is broken” and he vowed to fight the drug problem that has prosecutors pushing to send him back to prison.

“I do care about recovering. I don’t know why I go out and use drugs. I don’t know what happens to me,” Strawberry said in Florida, in a brief statement to Hillsborough Circuit Court Judge Florence Foster, who is considering the former baseball star’s fate.

Foster is to sentence Strawberry for a violation of house arrest and probation on May 17.

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Catcher Eddie Taubensee, who returned to the Cleveland Indians in an off-season trade to back up Einar Diaz, got a two-year, $3.6 million contract extension. . . . Infielder Juan Castro and catcher Kelly Stinnett signed contract extensions with the Cincinnati Reds through the 2004 and 2003 seasons, respectively. . . . The Atlanta Braves sent struggling reliever Kerry Ligtenberg to triple-A Richmond and called up outfielder Bernard Gilkey to take his place on the roster.