per ESPN.com...

The left-hander was optioned to the minors early Wednesday, hours after he blew a save for the Texas Rangers in the 10th inning against the Anaheim Angels.

"It's a disappointment for him," Rocker's agent, Joe Sambito, said.

Sambito said it would be premature to comment further because there was "too much going on."

Rocker, whose crude remarks about minorities in 1999 led to a suspension and set off a nationwide debate, was sent to the Rangers' Triple-A Oklahoma farm club.

The club had not yet made a move to replace Rocker on the 25-man roster, Rangers spokesman John Blake said in a statement.

Blake, reached later in his hotel, said the team would have no comment on the move until later Wednesday.

Rocker is 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA and one save in six relief appearances with Texas this season. He has blown two of his three save opportunities.

He was the losing pitcher in the 6-5 defeat in 10 innings at Anaheim, allowing Darin Erstad's game-winning two-run double.

Rocker was one of the top young closers in baseball in 1999, saving 38 games and helping the Atlanta Braves reach the World Series.

That offseason, Rocker made offensive comments about gays, minorities and immigrants in an interview with Sports Illustrated and was suspended for the first two weeks of the 2000 season and became one of the most despised players in the game.

He never again reached the heights of his 1999 season. He struggled with his control early in 2000 and was sent to the minors by the Braves after a confrontation with Jeff Pearlman, the reporter who wrote the Sports Illustrated article.

Rocker was soon called up and pitched well for Atlanta, but the Braves cut their ties with the reliever anyway, trading him to Cleveland in June.

Rocker lost the closer's job with the Indians, going 3-7 with a 5.45 ERA.

But new Texas general manager John Hart, who acquired Rocker in Cleveland, decided to trade for the reliever in December.

Rocker didn't have any behavior problems with the Rangers, but struggled at the job he once did so well. Put into the closer's role when Jeff Zimmerman started the season on the disabled list, Rocker blew his first save chance April 9 against Oakland.

After blowing another one Tuesday night, the Rangers had had enough.

Rocker is 11-20, with a 3.21 ERA with 88 saves in 254 major league appearances with Atlanta, Cleveland and Texas.

<img border="0" alt="[Laughing]" title="" src="graemlins/laughing.gif" />

Oh Lordy.

Unfortunately, this is gonna be a huge boost for the Oklahoma Redhawks' attendance -- in fact I foresee record attendance for as long as Rocker is in OKC. It's sorta of like craning your neck to look at a horrible car accident on the interstate -- that's when the crowds REALLY show up at The Brick (SBC Bricktown Ballpark, which is actually incredibly beautiful -- it's also going to be the site of this year's Triple A All-Star Game).

The Redhawks are actually an okay team -- sometimes better than the parent club. But the fans don't go out there in droves unless there's some noteworthy type either working his way back from injury or sent down for some reason or another.

When Rick Ankiel was sent down last year to Memphis, his first minor league start was in OKC against the Redhawks. The stands were just utterly filled, and Ankiel got shelled in front of one of the biggest crowds to ever go thru the turnstiles.

This has been THE topic on local sports radio today. One thing I find a little tiny bit revolting is the number of callers who actually are defending Rocker's comments to Sports Illustrated in 1999 -- the comments that got him into so much trouble.

I personally wish they'd sent him to the Tulsa Drillers (Double A), because, well, Tulsa sucks and I would gladly visit such a blight as John Rocker on that city anytime.

--soonerterp.

KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City (ABC affiliate) reported on its 6 p.m. newscast that apparently John Rocker has been given additional time (beyond the 72 hour window that's normal per MLB rules for a player) to decide whether or not to accept a minor league assignment.

If of course he declines the assignment, he becomes a free agent.

Hey, maybe us OKC metro-ites got a reprieve?

--soonerterp.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by soonerterp:
KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City (ABC affiliate) reported on its 6 p.m. newscast that apparently John Rocker has been given additional time (beyond the 72 hour window that's normal per MLB rules for a player) to decide whether or not to accept a minor league assignment.

If of course he declines the assignment, he becomes a free agent.

Hey, maybe us OKC metro-ites got a reprieve?

--soonerterp.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It wouldn't surprise me a bit if he didn't show up.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by JoltinJacket:
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It wouldn't surprise me a bit if he didn't show up.[/QUOTE]

Me neither.

Now today I hear that if he refuses the assignment, he could be suspended because he doesn't have enough time in the Major Leagues to become a free agent if he does not accept the assignment.

Wow, this gets better every day.

I don't think much of Johnny Rocker as a person. His views, at least what was expressed to Jeff Pearlman in SI all those years ago, are repugnant.

I used to think a great deal of him as a pitcher, when he was good, even though he was a member of a team I don't think a lot of, the Atlanta Braves.

Something happened to him after that whole SI thing, late in 1999. I still have that issue -- the cover was the 50 Greatest Athletes from Oklahoma (Highlights from the list: Mickey Mantle, Jim Thorpe, Johnny Bench, and that's about it). Part of the reason I kept it was the Rocker piece. I wanted to read what raised such a stink (Okay, the lists of 50 great athletes from each state was kinda boss, too. IIRC, SI did 50 different covers for each state).

Ever since then, something went off in his brain.

Rocker had a decent arm back in the day. He was almost unhittable as a member of the Braves' pen.

I would think he would get his head together if the press would leave him alone, but telling the press to leave a controversial subject alone is a little bit like trying to tell a pack of wolves (I mean a real pack of wolves, not folks from North Carolina State) to not eat freshly-dead animals because "you don't know where they've been."

It kinda sucks to see that once-pretty-good arm go to waste.

--soonerterp.

You know, Rocker just hasn't been the same since that whole New York thing

Rocker is a jerk; but I love watching him, he is hilarious and makes me laugh every time! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by hoops13:
Rocker is a jerk; but I love watching him, he is hilarious and makes me laugh every time! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Me too. I look forward to seeing him try to close a game, then LMAO when he blows it.

I'm a huge Braves fan, therefore I was a Rocker fan until he ran his mouth in Sports Illustrated. I lost all respect toward him after that. Whether he meant it or not...he's an idiot for saying things like that in a national magazine the size of SI!

Looks like its all over.

Now that Ivan Rodgriguez has been put on the DL, to fill his roster spot the Rangers are recalling John Rocker from the minors -- although he had yet to even set foot inside Oklahoma, let alone report to the Redhawks' digs near Downtown OKC.

The Rangers are still gonna suck, though. So might the Redhawks -- they're having a rough time too.

Oh, well, 's'ok. I don't really dig either team.

--soonerterp. (!)

Rocker was quoted as saying "What?!?! Now I have to play with minorities?!?!" <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />