Ward, Brian L. Hunter, and Tomas Perez were supposed to start yesterday. It probably won't be possible for Bowa to still give them those at-bats. But when the rain falls in sheets and the outfield at Jack Russell Stadium resembles a small lake, there's not much a manager can do except cross his fingers and hope that Bruce Chen will be able to get his innings in against the Rangers today. Darren Oliver is slated to start for Texas. He would be eligible for salary arbitration at the end of this season and could become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2002 season.
All indications are that the two sides remain far apart.
It's expected that Levinson will try to meet with general manager Ed Wade today or tomorrow. If you go by the stats, it's no contest. Then again, Bottalico rarely has been effective in March. Last spring with Seattle he just threw a lot of fastballs and he got whacked. He's using all his pitches now.