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Wake-Up Call: Gonzalez gone-zo for good?

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 23, 2009

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

For 18 consecutive seasons, veteran outfielder Luis Gonzalez was in somebody's Opening Day lineup.

This season? He was at home in Scottsdale, Ariz., channel surfing, waiting for a phone call that seems increasingly unlikely.

Gonzalez, 41, is still coming to grips with an unsavory possibility. It might be over. And that's hard to fathom for a guy who made baseball his daily routine, beginning at West Tampa Little League and Jefferson High School.

When he's ready to make it official, at least Gonzalez will have an appropriate exit.

The road has been cleared for him to retire as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the franchise where he got the Game 7-winning hit off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in the 2001 World Series. Gonzalez, known for his good-guy persona and community-minded projects, is still adored by the Arizona fans.

Gonzalez played the last three seasons with the Dodgers and Marlins, but clearly, his heart has remained in Arizona. No surprise there. After all, he batted .336 in 1999, when the Diamondbacks won 100 games. He hit a franchise-record 57 home runs in 2001.

Plans are for Gonzalez to sign a one-day contract with the Diamondbacks. Making things even more theatrical, he could take his place in the starting lineup, then come off the field before the first pitch is thrown. Gonzalez is expected to become a special assistant to Derrick Hall, the Diamondbacks' team president and CEO.

Gonzalez was one of the most successful Tampa-bred players ever to compete in the big leagues. Here's how Gonzalez compares to the other Tampa big-league icons in several offensive categories:

Career hits

Wade Boggs 3,010
Gary Sheffield 2,617
Steve Garvey 2,599
Luis Gonzalez 2,591
Fred McGriff 2,490

Career home runs

Gary Sheffield 500
Fred McGriff 493
Luis Gonzalez 354
Tino Martinez 339
Steve Garvey 272

Career RBIs

Gary Sheffield 1,634
Fred McGriff 1,550
Luis Gonzalez 1,439
Steve Garvey 1,308
Tino Martinez 1,271

Career doubles

Luis Gonzalez 596
Wade Boggs 578
Gary Sheffield 455
Fred McGriff 441
Steve Garvey 440

Shut your yap!

Coach John Tortorella's No. 6-seeded New York Rangers have taken a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals. The Rangers have largely shackled Caps superstar Alexander Ovechkin, who finally scored his first goal of the series on Wednesday night. Never underestimate the ability of Tortorella, the former Lightning coach, to make an impact. The Rangers finished the season at 12-7-2 after Tortorella replaced Tom Renney. "He told us when he came that if you're not doing what he wants you to do, he'll sit you," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "When he says it, we know it's real."

USF lets it slip away

The USF Bulls are leading the Big East Conference's baseball standings, but they missed the opportunity for a nice non-conference victory with Wednesday night's 5-4 loss at Florida in 10 innings. The Bulls entered the ninth inning leading 4-2, but imploded. It started slowly - walk, one-out base hit. Then came a hit batsman to load the bases, followed by one run scoring on a wild pitch and the tying run coming home on a sacrifice fly.

Momentum lost.

The Bulls (24-15, 12-3), seeking their first NCAA regional appearance since 2002, open a three-game Big East series against second-place West Virginia (28-9, 11-4) on Friday night at 7 at Red McEwen Field. The Big East Tournament is May 19-23 at Clearwater's Bright House Networks Field - with an automatic NCAA bid going to the champion.

Stetson's Jackson gets national honor

Stetson University junior Danielle Jackson (Northside Christian) was named Golf World Magazine's National Women's College Player of the Week. Jackson led Stetson to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship, firing a 3-under-par 69 in the final round at Victoria Hills Golf Club in DeLand. The Hatters erased a three-stroke deficit and beat Campbell by two shots. Led by Jackson, Stetson shot an even-par 288, a league record, in the final round.

Hitting the books

Florida State University freshman point guard Luke Loucks (Clearwater) received the team's First Year Academic Achievement Award at FSU's men's basketball banquet. Loucks earned a 3.45 grade-point average during his first semester on campus.

Sprague resigns AD position

Sarasota Riverview High School's John Sprague, 60, said he will continue to coach football, but he is resigning his athletic-director position. Sprague has held the dual role since 1981.

Dontrelle Willis heads to Double-A

LHP Dontrelle Willis, who last month was placed on the disabled list by the Detroit Tigers for an anxiety disorder, pitched seven innings for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in a Florida State League game on Tuesday night. He allowed eight hits and struck out two (with no walks) in a 4-0 loss to the Clearwater Threshers. Willis said he's headed to Double-A Erie and is hopeful of soon rejoining the Tigers' major-league team.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to University of Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, a former standout tight end with the Bucs and long-time assistant football coach at USF. Magee turns 46 today.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Wednesday's trivia question:

Gene Branton, a tight end from Texas Southern who played at King High School, was a sixth-round selection by the Bucs in 1983. Branton played in three regular-season games with the Bucs. Louisville wide receiver J.R. Russell (Gaither) was taken by the Bucs as a seventh-rounder in 2005 but never played in a regular-season game.

Thursday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

With Fred McGriff (493), Luis Gonzalez (354) and Tino Martinez (339), Jefferson High School has produced the most prolific trio of home-run hitters in major-league history. Of those three, who had the most postseason homers?

Check for the answer in Friday's Wake-Up Call.

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