Pokey Reese leaves Marlins spring training camp without explanation

[savafan]

There sure are a lot of guys leaving spring training this year, not sure what to make of it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2353367&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

JUPITER, Fla. -- Florida Marlins second baseman Pokey Reese failed to show up for two consecutive days of spring training without explanation, briefly raising concerns regarding his whereabouts before he contacted his agent, the team said Friday.

General manager Larry Beinfest said Reese gave no indication that he was taking time off, and for two days the team had no idea where he was.

"We tried to track him down starting yesterday," Beinfest said Friday. "He was playing well. He looked healthy. We were happy with him, and he appeared to be happy."

Worries were allayed Friday evening by Reese's agent, Mike Nicotera.

"We have been informed through his agent that he is safe," said team spokesman Matt Roebuck, who added that the club had been told nothing further.

Nicotera didn't return calls seeking comment.

Reese missed a workout Thursday. The Marlins had him in the lineup for Friday's game against Baltimore, but he again failed to show.

Reese, a two-time Gold Glove winner, spent all of last season on the disabled list with the Seattle Mariners following shoulder surgery. He signed with the Marlins in December.

"I'm not upset with him," manager Joe Girardi said before Reese surfaced. "I just want to hear his voice that he's OK."

Reese, 32, who grew up in a depressed neighborhood in Columbia, S.C., has been forced to cope with a succession of family tragedies. His fiancée died in a car crash in 1993. Three years later, the mother of his son, Naquawan, died while delivering a child fathered by another man.

Naquawan went to live with his maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. Both women were murdered Dec. 24, 1997.

"Baseball helps me free my mind from the past," Reese said shortly after reporting to spring training with the Marlins last week.

He began his major league career in 1997 with Cincinnati and won a World Series ring with Boston in 2004.

[savafan]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/14014869.htm

BY CLARK SPENCER
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com

JUPITER - Pokey Reese went AWOL on the Marlins, but mounting fears about his disappearance from spring training were alleviated somewhat Friday when his agent informed team executives that the player was ``safe.''

All else remained a mystery.

Reese, a former Gold Glove infielder trying to resurrect his career after missing most of the past two seasons because of injuries, did not show up Thursday or Friday.

And he never called in to explain his absence.

''It's unusual,'' Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest said Friday after Reese didn't show up again and had to be scratched from the starting lineup about an hour before game time.

Marlins teammate Lenny Harris, who once played with Reese in Cincinnati, said: ``I never played with anyone who just got up and left like that.''

Reese was considered a leading contender to win the starting job at second base.

Now, according to sources, it's unlikely Reese will return.

Reese, 32, signed with the Marlins over the winter in an attempt to revive a playing career cut short by injuries, including shoulder surgery in 2005 that wiped out his season.

CONCERN GROWS

But he did not report to the team's Jupiter facility Thursday as required when the team was opening its Grapefruit League campaign in Fort Lauderdale, and he was a last-minute scratch from the starting lineup Friday when he failed to appear again.

Marlins executives grew concerned, particularly in light of Reese's history of tragedy.

''None of us knows what it's like to be Pokey Reese, the issues he has to deal with on a daily basis,'' Marlins manager Joe Girardi said.

Reese was born in poverty and reared in a tiny shack on a dirt road in South Carolina.

The mother of his first child was killed in a car accident. The mother of his second child died during labor while giving birth to a child belonging to another man.

The second child witnessed the 1997 Christmas Eve slayings of his grandmother and great-grandmother.

Beinfest said Reese had looked good this spring.

''He's playing well and he appeared to be healthy,'' Beinfest said.

But worries on the Marlins began to set in Thursday when Reese didn't show up.

Informed of the absence, Girardi called Harris off the field Thursday and asked if he would put in a call to his teammate.

''I got no answer,'' Harris said.

By Friday, concern turned to real fear.

Reese was slated to bat ninth against the Orioles, but was scratched from the lineup when he didn't show up again.

MLB NOTIFIED

The team notified Major League Baseball security of the player's absence. Calls were made to his agent, Mike Nicotera, who was also unable to locate the player at the time. Someone was sent to Reese's Palm Beach Gardens apartment to knock on his door, but to no avail.

''I'm very concerned about it,'' Girardi said after Friday's game. ``I'm not upset with him. I'm just worried that he's OK. I just want to hear a voice that he's OK.''

Police in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens, where Reese stayed during spring training, said early Friday evening that no missing reports for the ballplayer had been filed.

But the Marlins, through a team spokesman, said later Friday that Nicotera had informed the team that Reese was safe. The team provided no other details.

Said Harris: ``I'm just hoping everything is all right because it's kind of weird for a guy like him to just get up and go.''

[Chip R]

Gee, and I thought it'd be May before Pokey quit on his team again.

[TeamBoone]

As much as I dislike Pokey and would love to crack a joke, I can't because this is so weird. Especially when it appears he was doing well and might even win the starting job (I suppose he might not have known that).

Like I said, I don't particularly like the guy and would hate to see him with the Reds again, I sure don't wish him any more bad luck.

[Chip R]

As much as I dislike Pokey and would love to crack a joke, I can't because this is so weird. Especially when it appears he was doing well and might even win the starting job (I suppose he might not have known that).

Pokey winning the starting job on the Marlins is like Kramer getting a black belt in Karate by going against kids.

[Little Alex]

Shame on you all for poking fun.

Get it? ;)








Seriously though... it sounds like this man has been through more than I would wish on anyone. My prayers go out to him. He has overcome a lot, and was one of the best defensive 2nd basemen the Reds have seen since Oester.

[jmcclain19]

.... and was one of the best defensive 2nd basemen the Reds have seen since Oester.

Uh..let me go ahead and insert Chip's post again


...(that's) like Kramer getting a black belt in Karate by going against kids.

[George Foster]

Some people have a self-destructive personality. It's been 9 years since anything tragic has happened in his life according to reports. He has several other children with several other women. He should put their well-being first and go to work, if you call playing major league baseball real work. I would love to have off from mid-October until mid Feburary every year while making a couple of million a year. Remember they call it playing baseball not working baseball. Pretty good union as well. You play in the majors for 7 or 8 years and draw a pretty good pention the rest of your life. If you can't tell I don't have much sympothy. Tragic things happen to all of us, and the vast majority of us cope and go on with life because people depend on us, like our children.

[jmcclain19]

Bye Bye Pokey.

Marlins terminated his contract today

http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/transactions.jsp?c_id=fla

[Chip R]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[redsfanfalcon]

It said the Marlins may trade for a veteran 2nd baseman...trade Rich Aurilia or Womack! Get a pitcher or something out of it. A perfect opportunity!

[KronoRed]

Aurilia for..anything.

[TeamBoone]

What to they have in return? Anything decent?

I was under the impression that they're pretty much gutted.

[KronoRed]

They have lots and lots of prospects.

[BCubb2003]

The Marlins have released him.

'Disappointed’ Marlins release Reese
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Second baseman Pokey Reese’s contract was terminated Sunday by the Florida Marlins, who said they were disappointed not to receive an explanation regarding his abrupt departure from spring training.
Reese went home following a workout Wednesday without notifying the Marlins. They later heard twice from his agent, but not directly from Reese, general manager Larry Beinfest said.
“I think that the 72 hours that have passed is more than a reasonable amount of time for him to offer some explanation for his unexcused absence,” Beinfest said. “We still do not have that explanation, and we’re moving on.”
The 32-year-old infielder has coped with a succession of tragedies, including the death of his fiancee 13 years ago. His agent, Mike Nicotera, said Reese went home to deal with personal issues.
“Pokey is fine,” Nicotera said. “He’s with family. When personal feelings are involved, it’s very difficult to put a timetable on the resolution of those.”
Nicotera said he hoped Reese would play again. The agent spoke shortly before the Marlins released Reese and didn’t return subsequent phone calls seeking comment.

[Redsland]

He probably just bailed because he didn't want anyone asking him about his contract status. ;)

[Jim]

It said the Marlins may trade for a veteran 2nd baseman...trade Rich Aurilia or Womack! Get a pitcher or something out of it. A perfect opportunity!

Makes perfect sense! Freel becomes our every day 2B and Womack gets traded for a young arm.

[Chip R]

It said the Marlins may trade for a veteran 2nd baseman...trade Rich Aurilia or Womack! Get a pitcher or something out of it. A perfect opportunity!

They make too much money for the Marlins.

[IslandRed]

So let's combine the sunk-cost theory and the addition-by-subtraction theory and flat-out give them Womack -- paying every cent of his contract -- if they'll send us a decent arm back.

[RedsFan8978]

I'd do it!

[Caseyfan21]

Maybe he took steroids and didn't want to get caught so he staged all of this...;)