Tigers, friends happy for Urbina
Reliever's mother found alive months after kidnapping
LAKELAND, Fla. -- When Carlos Guillen heard from his wife on Friday night
that Ugueth Urbina's mother had been rescued, he tried calling his teammate
and close friend. Not only could he not reach him, he couldn't even leave a
message.
"His answering machine was full," said Guillen with a smile.
That's fine. The Tigers can wait.
Team officials and teammates reacted with equal parts surprise and happiness
at the news that Maura Villareal had been found alive following a police raid
on a mountain resort in the southern province of Estadio Bolivar, in
Venezuela. They've been watching and hoping for the best over the last six
months, ever since she was taken hostage on Sept. 1, 2004, by a group of
kidnappers dressed as police officers.
"Big news," said Guillen when he came into the Tigers' clubhouse early
Saturday morning. "I feel very happy for him."
Added president/general manager Dave Dombrowski: "We're happy for Ugie and
his mother. We're absolutely thrilled for them. What they've had to go
through over the last six months now, you almost can't even imagine. So it's
fantastic she is safe. Our feelings are for the family, and we're extremely
happy for them."
Guillen was one of the few Tigers to speak with Urbina over the course of the
winter, most recently in the days leading up to training camp. Others have
hoped for the best and tried not to interfere.
"When that happens, you've gotta support the guy," said Ivan Rodriguez. "At
the same time, you have to [give him space]."
The peaceful end to the matter is especially comforting for Guillen and other
Venezuelans in the Major Leagues who still have family living there. White
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen hinted in December, during the Winter Meetings,
that Urbina was under pressure not to give in to ransom demands. The amount
reportedly reached as high as $6 million.
Yet as the saga continued month after month, with no encouraging news, the
idea surfaced that other Venezuelan players would contribute to a ransom
payment.
"They came up with different ideas," Ozzie Guillen said. "His friends tried
to pitch in. He's friends with a lot of people. But all of a sudden the
police said if we do that, [the kidnappers] are going to get used to it and
all the families are going to be in danger because they'll say, 'This is
easy.'
"The police said, 'Stay away from this case, we're going to handle it the
best we can.' They called a couple of times for different amounts of money,
but Ugie, myself and the people around him, we never put our noses in that
particular case because it can be dangerous. Something you say to the papers,
something you say to the media, it can cause somebody's death.
That's a relief to many.
"I think if he paid, [the kidnappers] may keep doing that," said Carlos
Guillen. "To me, that's a mistake if you pay. They would keep doing it. So
now [that police ended the kidnapping], they have to think about it."
No one from the Tigers organization had yet spoken with Urbina as of Saturday
morning. John Westhoff, team vice president and baseball legal counsel, has
acted as a contact with the Commissioner's office since learning of the news
on Friday night.
Recent developments may have hinted that a resolution was close. As recently
as last month, during Tigerfest, team officials said they'd been told that
Urbina planned to report to training camp on time, maybe even early. Earlier
this week, however, they were informed by Urbina's representatives that he
wouldn't be able to report until early next week, at the soonest, while he
dealt with personal matters at home.
It's unclear how soon Urbina could be in Florida, but that's among the least
of the club's worries.
"I'm not even approaching that subject at this point," said Dombrowski. "He
needs to do what he needs to do at this time. I'm not sure what his plans are
at this point, and I'm not even going to pick up the phone and call him today
and ask him. That'll take care of itself."
Also among those concerns is the question of how Urbina will react to
becoming a setup man for new closer Troy Percival. While Trammell plans to
have a conversation with Urbina upon arrival, he's simply glad Urbina's
family is safe and that he won't have to come to camp worried about his
mother.
"I was thinking he was going to come in here, at some point they were going
to resolve it and he'd have to leave," said pitching coach Bob Cluck. "So I'm
happy he won't be interrupted. I'm just happy for him and his family. That
has to weigh awful hard on the guy. It takes a cloud off of him coming in
here. I'm sure it's going to be easier for him. I'm not sure how he would've
functioned. It would've been hard for me."
--
To opengoodbook: 在嗎
★opengoodbook 有~~~
To opengoodbook: 你會不會在意昨天的事啊?? ._./
★opengoodbook 我忘了or2
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