Woman killed in Leyritz crash had exceeded blood-alcohol lim

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3226661



FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The woman who was killed when former World Series star Jim Leyritz crashed his SUV into her car had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.

According to a toxicology report released Friday, 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18. Florida's legal limit is 0.08. Leyritz's blood-alcohol content three hours after the crash was 0.14 percent.

Leyritz, 44, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a recently added charge of DUI manslaughter by unlawful blood-alcohol levels. He previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of DUI manslaughter with impairment in Veitch's death. Leyritz faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

"It doesn't affect the cause of the crash because he ran a red light," Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Newman said.

Leyritz's attorney, Mike Dutko, said the information could change the way the prosecution proceeds.

"Pre-crash conditions and circumstances become terribly, terribly relevant," Dutko said. "There's a lot that needs to be investigated, analyzed and evaluated here."

Police said Leyritz drove his sport utility vehicle through a red light Dec. 28 in Fort Lauderdale and crashed into Veitch's car.

Leyritz was ordered Thursday to take daily breath tests while he awaits trial on DUI manslaughter charges.

He played for six major league teams and was last in the majors in 2000, ending his 11-year career. In 1996, he homered for the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the World Series against Atlanta. The homer made it 6-6, and the Yankees won in 10 innings. New York took the series in six games for its first title in 18 years.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/mets/15129746.html

For three days, the anxiety was thick enough to clog a Met fan's pores, although there was never any doubt the deal -- the steal -- of the decade would end in a handshake. The Mets aren't just happy; they're gazing at the beautiful straight line to the postseason. Johan Santana is theirs for the next seven years, which is great news in Flushing and pure poison to the Phillies and Braves.

By even the most conservative projection, the Mets are now a 93-95 win team, automatic favorites in the East. Santana is that good, that much of a big-game presence. For $150.75 million, he had better be. That kind of money and pressure have liquefied plenty of faux tough guys in the past (think: Randy Johnson), but if anyone seems ready for the throne, it's Santana.

"He's got everything -- stuff, [guts], experience -- how can you not love the guy?" one major league talent evaluator asked on Friday. So it begins for the Mets: a renaissance, a chance to peel away the psychological flesh from last September's collapse. Here are a few questions to ponder at the dawn of the Santana era:

* Was there any chance the deal could've collapsed?

None. Zero. Less than zero. Santana didn't want to return to the Twins, but he still had all the leverage in this negotiation. The Mets had a pipedream of keeping the contract to five years, but they were desperate for a morale booster after September's collapse. Santana and agent Peter Greenberg were under pressure from the players' association to exceed the value of Barry Zito's seven-year, $126 million contract, which compelled them to lean on the Wilpon family to open the vault.

They knew the Mets could afford to write this check: the SNY Network, along with the projected revenue stream of Citi Field starting in 2009, made it impossible for the Mets to chisel down Santana. Besides, this was the beginning of a long marriage. An entire generation of Met fans is going to grow up watching Santana throw that delicious change-up. The last thing Jeff Wilpon wanted to do was sour Santana against his new franchise. So the 72-hour deadline -- theatrically stretched for an additional 120 minutes Friday night -- was just that, theater.

* Speaking of stars, how will Santana's coronation go over with Pedro Martinez?

It'll be worth watching in spring training and the first few weeks of the season. Pedro is a warm, charismatic man, easy to like and a positive influence in the Met clubhouse. But his happiness at Shea has been rooted in being the center of the Mets' universe. But Santana is the new Pedro; younger than Martinez was three years ago, with better stuff, less likely to succumb to injury.

Pedro had problems getting along with Curt Schilling in his final two years at Fenway. Granted, Schilling is more self-centered than Santana; he had conflicts with everyone in the Red Sox' clubhouse. But Pedro clearly didn't like sharing the stage. Put it this way: is it any coincidence that as soon as the Mets acquired Santana this week, Pedro's agent announced his client is seeking to extend his contract beyond 2008?

* What are Santana's strengths? Does he have any weaknesses?

His blessing is that change-up, the most devastating pitch in the big leagues today. Santana doesn't just retire hitters with that change, he demoralizes them. Given that he'll be pitching in a fly ball stadium with the gifted Carlos Beltran in center, Santana could well finish the season with an ERA in the low to mid-2's. Obviously, he'll more than compensate for Tom Glavine's departure.

Santana also thrives on a 93-95 mph fastball, which combined with a power slider and that change-up, usually clocked at 80 mph, makes him unhittable. But velocity is a key component of Santana's arsenal. He lost 3-4 mph in the final month of the 2007 season, and it's worth remembering no pitcher in either league has thrown as many innings as Santana since 2003.

For all their historic struggles against Santana, righties nevertheless managed a healthy .416 slugging percentage against him last year. And as much as Santana had dominated the American League's Central Division in past seasons, he lost to the Indians five times in 2007.

So the real question is, how will Santana react to scrutiny the likes of which he never experienced in Minnesota? Only time will tell.

* Will Santana's arrival in New York impact the Yankees?

Not yet, not unless the Bombers falter and undermine GM Brian Cashman's gamble on his young pitchers. Speaking by telephone from Tampa on Friday, Hank Steinbrenner praised the Mets for making "a good deal that's going to help them a lot." But Steinbrenner clearly had regrets about passing on Santana, talked out of a trade with the Twins by Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner.

"I'm disappointed, I'm still kind of disappointed," Hank Steinbrenner said. "I could've gotten [Santana], but I listened to my partner [Hank] and my general manager. Otherwise, what's the point of having a general manager? I did it to make everyone happy. But that doesn't mean we won't be wishing we didn't have Santana. We'll just have to see what happens."

If that sounds like a warning to Cashman, who's in the final year of his contract, maybe it is. For now, Steinbrenner will have to live with the reality that baseball's top left-hander is in Flushing, not in the Bronx, and the Mets' path to the postseason is now shorter than the Yankees'. Get ready for one, long party at Shea this summer.

E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com

For three days, the anxiety was thick enough to clog a Met fan's pores, although there was never any doubt the deal -- the steal -- of the decade would end in a handshake. The Mets aren't just happy; they're gazing at the beautiful straight line to the postseason. Johan Santana is theirs for the next seven years, which is great news in Flushing and pure poison to the Phillies and Braves.

By even the most conservative projection, the Mets are now a 93-95 win team, automatic favorites in the East. Santana is that good, that much of a big-game presence. For $150.75 million, he had better be. That kind of money and pressure have liquefied plenty of faux tough guys in the past (think: Randy Johnson), but if anyone seems ready for the throne, it's Santana.

"He's got everything -- stuff, [guts], experience -- how can you not love the guy?" one major league talent evaluator asked on Friday. So it begins for the Mets: a renaissance, a chance to peel away the psychological flesh from last September's collapse. Here are a few questions to ponder at the dawn of the Santana era:

* Was there any chance the deal could've collapsed?

None. Zero. Less than zero. Santana didn't want to return to the Twins, but he still had all the leverage in this negotiation. The Mets had a pipedream of keeping the contract to five years, but they were desperate for a morale booster after September's collapse. Santana and agent Peter Greenberg were under pressure from the players' association to exceed the value of Barry Zito's seven-year, $126 million contract, which compelled them to lean on the Wilpon family to open the vault.

They knew the Mets could afford to write this check: the SNY Network, along with the projected revenue stream of Citi Field starting in 2009, made it impossible for the Mets to chisel down Santana. Besides, this was the beginning of a long marriage. An entire generation of Met fans is going to grow up watching Santana throw that delicious change-up. The last thing Jeff Wilpon wanted to do was sour Santana against his new franchise. So the 72-hour deadline -- theatrically stretched for an additional 120 minutes Friday night -- was just that, theater.

* Speaking of stars, how will Santana's coronation go over with Pedro Martinez?

It'll be worth watching in spring training and the first few weeks of the season. Pedro is a warm, charismatic man, easy to like and a positive influence in the Met clubhouse. But his happiness at Shea has been rooted in being the center of the Mets' universe. But Santana is the new Pedro; younger than Martinez was three years ago, with better stuff, less likely to succumb to injury.

Pedro had problems getting along with Curt Schilling in his final two years at Fenway. Granted, Schilling is more self-centered than Santana; he had conflicts with everyone in the Red Sox' clubhouse. But Pedro clearly didn't like sharing the stage. Put it this way: is it any coincidence that as soon as the Mets acquired Santana this week, Pedro's agent announced his client is seeking to extend his contract beyond 2008?

* What are Santana's strengths? Does he have any weaknesses?

His blessing is that change-up, the most devastating pitch in the big leagues today. Santana doesn't just retire hitters with that change, he demoralizes them. Given that he'll be pitching in a fly ball stadium with the gifted Carlos Beltran in center, Santana could well finish the season with an ERA in the low to mid-2's. Obviously, he'll more than compensate for Tom Glavine's departure.

Santana also thrives on a 93-95 mph fastball, which combined with a power slider and that change-up, usually clocked at 80 mph, makes him unhittable. But velocity is a key component of Santana's arsenal. He lost 3-4 mph in the final month of the 2007 season, and it's worth remembering no pitcher in either league has thrown as many innings as Santana since 2003.

For all their historic struggles against Santana, righties nevertheless managed a healthy .416 slugging percentage against him last year. And as much as Santana had dominated the American League's Central Division in past seasons, he lost to the Indians five times in 2007.

So the real question is, how will Santana react to scrutiny the likes of which he never experienced in Minnesota? Only time will tell.

* Will Santana's arrival in New York impact the Yankees?

Not yet, not unless the Bombers falter and undermine GM Brian Cashman's gamble on his young pitchers. Speaking by telephone from Tampa on Friday, Hank Steinbrenner praised the Mets for making "a good deal that's going to help them a lot." But Steinbrenner clearly had regrets about passing on Santana, talked out of a trade with the Twins by Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner.

"I'm disappointed, I'm still kind of disappointed," Hank Steinbrenner said. "I could've gotten [Santana], but I listened to my partner [Hank] and my general manager. Otherwise, what's the point of having a general manager? I did it to make everyone happy. But that doesn't mean we won't be wishing we didn't have Santana. We'll just have to see what happens."

If that sounds like a warning to Cashman, who's in the final year of his contract, maybe it is. For now, Steinbrenner will have to live with the reality that baseball's top left-hander is in Flushing, not in the Bronx, and the Mets' path to the postseason is now shorter than the Yankees'. Get ready for one, long party at Shea this summer.

E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com