Wells Has Diabetes; Padres Are Optimistic

San Diego Padres left-hander David Wells has Type 2 diabetes, which the team says is controllable.

"It's something he'll have to manage and something we'll have to help him manage," chief executive Sandy Alderson said yesterday. "It's not unprecedented by any means."

Wells's condition was diagnosed two weeks ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in yesterday's editions.

Asked if he feels less energy at times, Wells said, "It depends." He declined further comment.

Manager Bud Black said Wells needs to meet with doctors.

"From what I've been told, it'll be manageable," Black said.

The 43-year-old signed a one-year contract in January to return to his hometown Padres as the No. 5 starter. The 6-foot-3, 248-pound Wells has often battled his weight, and was scratched from a start late last season because of gout in his right foot.

· REDS: If Ken Griffey Jr. is ready to play on Opening Day, he will be in right field.

Manager Jerry Narron said he expects to start Ryan Freel in center because Griffey is still working his way back from a broken left hand. The longtime center fielder was injured in the offseason while wrestling with his kids.

"Right now, that's what our plan is. We would have loved for him to be available Opening Day to play center field -- it just didn't work out," Narron said.

· MARLINS: Dontrelle Willis will be Florida's starting pitcher when the team opens the season at Washington on April 2.

It's the second straight Opening Day start for the left-hander, who went 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA last season.

"He's the guy that's been here the longest," Marlins Manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He's the leader of that pitching staff and he's the guy we want there for the matchup."

· DODGERS: The pitcher who made more headlines for his rocks than his lobs during training camp this spring was reassigned to Los Angeles's minor league camp.

Matt White, a 29-year-old left-hander, discovered a valuable rock quarry behind a house he bought from an aunt three years ago in western Massachusetts. But while everyone else wanted to talk about his possible fortune, White wanted to stay focused on baseball.

The reliever allowed one earned run and two hits in 7 1/3 innings. He said he will be sent to Class AAA Las Vegas, where he is likely to be a situational left-hander.

· TIGERS: Hard-throwing Joel Zumaya didn't figure in the decision as Detroit beat the Reds, but he'll be remembered by the crowd.

Zumaya was frequently clocked at 102 mph by the new electronic screen installed atop the fence in center, and one pitch registered 103 mph.

"There's a gun in every major league park. I know that," Tigers Manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't mind it at Comerica Park. It's part of show business. But I'm not a fan of it in spring training."

Zumaya, who gave up a single in two innings, struck out Mark Bellhorn on a 102 mph heater to start the seventh, then followed by fanning David Ross on a tantalizing 85 mph pitch.

· RANGERS: Three years after changing its stadium name to Ameriquest Field, Texas severed a 30-year naming rights deal with struggling lender Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and rebranded its home field as Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The new name is almost identical to The Ballpark in Arlington, the stadium's name before the reported $75 million sponsorship with Ameriquest was announced in 2004.

· BRAVES: Chipper Jones missed his fourth straight game with a sore muscle in his right side and might try to return to the lineup today.

"He'll want to play and I don't know if I'll let him," Manager Bobby Cox said.