Braun sample collector says he followed protocol

BY BEN WALKER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — The person who collected Ryan Braun’s urine sample that tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone said he followed the collection program’s protocol.

Dino Laurenzi Jr. issued a statement Tuesday confirming he handled the sample submitted following a playoff game on Oct. 1. He says he has been a collector for Comprehensive Drug Testing since 2005 and has taken more than 600 samples for Major League Baseball’s drug-testing program.

“At no point did I tamper in any way with the samples,” Laurenzi said.

Laurenzi’s name emerged last week after the NL MVP’s 50-game suspension was overturned, making Braun the first big leaguer to successfully challenge a drug-related penalty in a grievance.

Braun was not available for comment Tuesday at the Brewers’ spring training camp in Phoenix. Asked for reaction to Laurenzi’s statement, Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart declined comment.

Laurenzi said he stored Braun’s sample in his basement in accordance with CDT’s protocol because there was “no FedEx office located within 50 miles of Miller Park that would ship packages that day or Sunday.”

Braun, however, has said at least five FedEx locations within 5 miles were open until 9 p.m. and there also was a 24-hour location.

Laurenzi said the operating procedure is to “safeguard” the samples at home until FedEx can ship the sample to the lab.

“There have been other occasions when I have had to store samples in my home for at least one day, all without incident,” he said.

Laurenzi added that he had “performed my job duties with integrity and professionalism, and have done so with respect to this matter and all other collections in which I have participated.”

He said he issued the statement “to set the record straight.”

In his statement, Laurenzi said he graduated from Wisconsin in 1983 and held master’s degrees from North Carolina and Loyola University of Chicago. He said he is now the full-time director of rehabilitation services at a health care facility.

Laurenzi said he was a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, had worked as an athletic trainer and done volunteer work with Olympic athletes.

Laurenzi said he had collected samples for MLB in four different years and had done collections for other professional sports leagues.

Last week, Braun said he was the “victim” of a “fatally flawed” system.

“There are a lot of things that we heard about the collection process, the collector and some other people involved in the process that have been concerning to us,” he said. “But as I’ve dealt with the situation, I know what it’s like to be wrongly accused of something, so for me to wrongly accuse somebody wouldn’t help.”

MLB had no comment, and referred instead to its statement from last week:

“The extremely experienced collector in Mr. Braun’s case acted in a professional and appropriate manner. He handled Mr. Braun’s sample consistent with instructions issued by our jointly retained collection agency,” it said.

ANGELS PHASING OUT USE OF ‘EL HOMBRE’

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Angels will phase out use of the phrase “El Hombre” in marketing campaigns involving superstar slugger Albert Pujols.

Angels Vice President of Communications Tim Mead said Tuesday that billboards using Pujols and “El Hombre” would remain up in parts of Southern California until early April.

But Mead said the franchise is aware of how Pujols feels about the phrase and will respect his wishes that it not be used further.

Pujols told reporters early in training camp that he was not in favor of being referred to as “El Hombre” as he felt it undermined the respect St. Louis baseball fans have for former Cardinals great Stan Musial, whose nickname was “The Man.”

Pujols signed a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels in the offseason.

GIRARDI SAYS KURODA IN ROTATION

TAMPA, Fla. — Now two spots in the New York Yankees’ rotation are secure.

Manager Joe Girardi indicated Tuesday that right-hander Hiroki Kuroda will join opening-day starter CC Sabathia in the five-man unit.

“We’ve got six guys for five spots … and you really can look at it as, you’ve got CC and you’ve got Kuroda,” Girardi said. “So, you’ve got four guys for three spots.”

Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia are also in the mix although Garcia and Hughes appear to be competing for the final job.

“Sometimes the five that you leave with aren’t the five that you end up with,” Girardi said. “We’ve got time, and there’s no rush. You’re going to go with what you feel are your five guys.”

Kuroda agreed to a $10 million, one-year contract last month. The 37-year-old was 13-16 with a 3.07 ERA for the Dodgers last year and 41-46 with a 3.45 ERA in four seasons in Los Angeles after a long career in Japan.

“You signed Kuroda to start, you signed all these guys to start,” Girardi said. “Kuroda has a big track history.”

Nova finished a spot ahead of Pineda in Rookie of the Year voting after this season and is in line to fill a spot. Pineda was acquired from Seattle for promising slugger Jesus Montero in January as part of a multiplayer deal and is expected to have a place in the rotation. But there is concern he lacks a solid third pitch — a necessity for a top starter — and is working on his changeup this spring.

MCCARTHY TO START OPENING DAY FOR A’S

PHOENIX — The Oakland Athletics have their opening day starter, and it’s right-hander Brandon McCarthy.

Manager Bob Melvin made the announcement Tuesday, saying McCarthy was an easy choice based on last year’s results and trades that left the team without All-Stars Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill.

The A’s open their season in Japan on March 28. Bartolo Colon gets the call to start the second game the following day.

“He was a natural pick after last year and with the pitchers we ended up trading away,” Melvin said of McCarthy. “He’s been focused this spring knowing he has to get ready a little earlier. He looks like he’s in midseason form.”

McCarthy had a career high in wins, starts, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts last season. He was 9-9 with five complete games in 25 starts, and had 123 strikeouts in 170 2-3 innings.

McCarthy also recorded a 4.92 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, the highest by an A’s pitcher since 1901. He walked 25 batters.