Matt Harrington

Palmdale infielder Tyrone Culver will likely miss the rest of the season after separating his left shoulder before a game against Thousand Oaks on March 9. Culver, a senior, injured his shoulder when he dove for a ball and landed awkwardly during warm-ups. He sustained the same injury during his sophomore football season. Even if Culver is cleared to play later this season, he may sit out.

In the span of three years, Matt Harrington has plunged from the No. 7 pick in the Major League Baseball draft to No. 711, a freefall costing him millions. The 21-year-old pitcher from Palmdale was selected this month for the fourth time, in the 24th round by the Cincinnati Reds. But as three major league teams already have learned, drafting Harrington is no guarantee of signing him. He turned down $4 million from the Colorado Rockies as a first-round pick in 2000, then $1.

The Colorado Rockies did not alter their offer to Matt Harrington by the Tuesday deadline set by the pitcher, probably ending negotiations between the team and the former Palmdale High star. Harrington, selected seventh in the amateur draft last year, asked the Rockies to amend their most recent offer, a $4 million, seven-year deal that included a $1.5 million signing bonus. Harrington is seeking $4 million over four years with a $2.4 million bonus.

The Colorado Rockies' No. 1 pick in the 2000 draft is suing his former agent for negligence in California State Superior Court. Pitcher Matt Harrington, selected seventh overall out of Palmdale High, alleges that agent Tommy Tanzer advised him to hold out for a $4.95-million bonus because the Rockies would never withdraw their original offer of $4 million. When the Rockies removed their offer, Harrington re-entered the draft in 2001. After turning down $1.

Think Matt Harrington had something to prove? The man on the mound was a man on a mission, atoning for one of the lowest points of his rapidly rising baseball career at Palmdale High. You could say Harrington was on his game, striking out 10 batters during a 4-2 victory over Lancaster in a Golden League baseball game Wednesday at Lancaster. Harrington hit two doubles and a single in four at-bats for Palmdale (9-5, 3-1 in league play), which avenged a 12-1 loss to Lancaster last month.

Former Palmdale High pitcher Matt Harrington will meet today with Colorado Rockies officials in Denver in a significant step in slow-moving and sometimes acrimonious contract negotiations between the two sides. Harrington, the only unsigned first-round pick from the amateur baseball draft last June, will visit the Rockies with his parents. Tommy Tanzer, who has represented Harrington, will not be present, but said he supported the efforts of the Harringtons.

The negotiations between Matt Harrington of Palmdale and the Colorado Rockies have reached another impasse. The Rockies rejected a recent counterproposal of $4 million over four years, including a signing bonus of $2.4 million, submitted by Harrington and his agent, Tommy Tanzer, on Tuesday. The counterproposal was in response to the Rockies' offer last week of $4 million over seven years, including a signing bonus of $1.5 million.

Pitcher Matt Harrington, from Palmdale High, will reenter the amateur baseball draft if he does not receive a new contract offer from the Colorado Rockies by Tuesday, his agent said. Harrington, No. 7 pick in last year's draft, has been offered a $4-million, seven-year deal by the Rockies but is seeking the same amount over four years. "Tuesday's the day [the Harringtons] said they want something done or it's over," said Tommy Tanzer, Harrington's agent. "They've made that clear."

Pitcher Matt Harrington has finally signed a contract . . . though not the one he initially envisioned. The former Palmdale High ace and the No. 7 pick in the June amateur draft has agreed to terms with the St. Paul Saints, an independent team in the Northern League. The right-hander has been entangled in negotiations with the Colorado Rockies since June and has been offered a $4 million signing bonus by the Rockies.

Imagine how far Palmdale High could have gone in the Southern Section Division I playoffs last season had hard-throwing right-hander Matt Harrington been healthy. Stuck on the bench for two months because of a muscle pull in his neck, Harrington wasn't around when Palmdale was eliminated by eventual champion Crescenta Valley in the quarterfinals. "It was, 'Man, I wish I could be out there,' " he said. The 6-foot-3 Harrington is back and better than ever.

Right-hander Matt Harrington was impressive in his first public workout since last summer, throwing three perfect innings Saturday against participants in an open tryout in the San Diego Padres' minor league camp at Peoria, Ariz. Harrington, the Padres' second-round draft pick last June and a first-round pick by Colorado in 2000 from Palmdale High, consistently reached 91 mph with his fastball. He's coming off shoulder soreness that forced him to stop pitching last summer for the independent St.

Mark Prior of USC was regarded as the nation's top baseball prospect, a pitcher some believe capable of stepping into a major league rotation as soon as he signs a professional contract. The Minnesota Twins, however, selected Minnesota high school catcher Joe Mauer with the first pick in Tuesday's amateur draft, allowing the Chicago Cubs to take Prior with the second. Prior, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior right-hander, was far from disappointed. "Today has been a great day," he said.

It's the seventh game of the World Series. Matt Harrington is on the mound. His ultimate dream never has changed. In this version, though, the scene has shifted to a never-never land of the horrific and absurd, what one might imagine as the result of too much garlic, too many anchovies on late-night pizza. Harrington is pitching in Minnesota for a team called the St. Paul Saints. The opponents are the Fargo Redhawks, not a big leaguer in the bunch.

Palmdale infielder Tyrone Culver will likely miss the rest of the season after separating his left shoulder before a game against Thousand Oaks on March 9. Culver, a senior, injured his shoulder when he dove for a ball and landed awkwardly during warm-ups. He sustained the same injury during his sophomore football season. Even if Culver is cleared to play later this season, he may sit out.

The Colorado Rockies did not alter their offer to Matt Harrington by the Tuesday deadline set by the pitcher, probably ending negotiations between the team and the former Palmdale High star. Harrington, selected seventh in the amateur draft last year, asked the Rockies to amend their most recent offer, a $4 million, seven-year deal that included a $1.5 million signing bonus. Harrington is seeking $4 million over four years with a $2.4 million bonus.

Pitcher Matt Harrington, from Palmdale High, will reenter the amateur baseball draft if he does not receive a new contract offer from the Colorado Rockies by Tuesday, his agent said. Harrington, No. 7 pick in last year's draft, has been offered a $4-million, seven-year deal by the Rockies but is seeking the same amount over four years. "Tuesday's the day [the Harringtons] said they want something done or it's over," said Tommy Tanzer, Harrington's agent. "They've made that clear."

Matt Harrington, the seventh pick in the amateur baseball draft in June, is meeting with Pierce College coaches today or Saturday to discuss enrolling at the school. Harrington, a former pitcher at Palmdale High, has not come to terms with the Colorado Rockies. He is believed to be seeking a package similar to the $5.3 million deal outfielder Joe Borchard signed with the Chicago White Sox on July 28.

It was only a couple months ago that Matt Harrington bubbled with excitement after being selected in the first round of the amateur baseball draft. Taken No. 7 by the Colorado Rockies, the Palmdale High pitcher was overjoyed--a multimillion-dollar contract was surely on the way and he was eager to embark on a career he hoped would take him and his 97 mph fastball to Coors Field. All that was missing was his signature on a contract.

The negotiations between Matt Harrington of Palmdale and the Colorado Rockies have reached another impasse. The Rockies rejected a recent counterproposal of $4 million over four years, including a signing bonus of $2.4 million, submitted by Harrington and his agent, Tommy Tanzer, on Tuesday. The counterproposal was in response to the Rockies' offer last week of $4 million over seven years, including a signing bonus of $1.5 million.

Last week's detente has been nudged aside in favor of business as negotiations continue between Matt Harrington, former Palmdale High pitcher, and the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies' most recent proposal, which came via fax Wednesday, has been rejected by Harrington, though the Rockies are open to a counter-proposal.