Baseball

Chicago deals Quentin

to Padres for prospects

Being traded from the Chicago White Sox to his hometown San Diego Padres couldn’t have been more convenient for All-Star outfielder Carlos Quentin.

“I get a call and they said I’ve been traded to San Diego. I’m already here,” the 29-year-old Quentin said on a conference call shortly after the trade was announced Saturday.

Four years after trading Quentin from Arizona to the White Sox, new Padres general manager Josh Byrnes is bringing him home.

San Diego gave up minor-league pitchers Simon Castro, a right-hander, and Pedro Hernandez, a left-hander.

Quentin hit 107 home runs and batted .257 in four seasons with the White Sox.

“Improving our offense is a priority this offseason, and the acquisition of Carlos gives us a proven middle-of-the-order bat,” Byrnes said. “We specifically targeted Carlos because of his production and his hard-nosed style of play.”

San Diego hit the fewest homers in the major leagues (91) and had the lowest batting average in the National League (.237) last season.

Ex-Mariner Laffey, Blue Jays agree on deal

The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league contract with left-hander Aaron Laffey and invited him to spring training.

Laffey, 26, appeared in 36 games for the Mariners last season and had a 4.01 earned-run average. He was selected off waivers by the New York Yankees from Seattle in August.

Tennis

Murray hires Lendl

Andy Murray of Scotland hired Ivan Lendl, an eight-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments, as his coach in a bid to earn a major title.

The fourth-ranked Murray, 24, will begin working with the Czech-born Lendl, 51, as he prepares for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 16.

“It was important to me that any new person joining my team was able to add fresh insight,” Murray said in a statement. “Ivan’s impact on the game is unquestionable and he brings experience and knowledge that few others have, particularly in major tournaments. I look forward to working with him going forward.”

Djokovic defeats Ferrer

Novak Djokovic of Serbia routed David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-1 to win the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.

Soccer

Blackburn stuns Man U

Blackburn pulled off the biggest surprise of the English Premier League season, defeating host Manchester United 3-2 to spoil Man U manager Alex Ferguson’s 70th birthday.

Manchester United erased a 2-0 deficit on second-half goals by Dimitar Berbatov. But Grant Hanley scored the winner on a header off a corner kick in the 80th minute, capitalizing on a mistake by goalkeeper David de Gea for his first career goal for Blackburn.

The loss by the defending champions prevented Man U from ending 2011 in first place.

Manchester City can go three points in front by winning at Sunderland on Sunday.

Blackburn started the day at the bottom of the standings in the 20-team league.

Ferguson pledged to stay as Manchester United’s manager for at least another three years.

Elsewhere

• Teddy’s Promise beat Sugarinthemorning by 2 ¼ lengths to win the Grade I La Brea for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Teddy’s Promise, trained by Ron Ellis and ridden by Victor Espinoza, ran 7 furlongs in 1 minute, 20.47 seconds. She paid $35 to win in the $300,000 race.

Seattle Times news services

Two professional sports projects in San Diego County are among the construction projects likely to be curtailed by Thursday’s court decision upholding the Legislature’s move to abolish local redevelopment agencies and shift the money to the state government.

Without redevelopment funding, a plan for a 9000-seat baseball stadium in Escondido to lure a minor league team appears doomed. City officials had tentatively earmarked $50 million in redevelopment funds to build a venue for a San Diego Padres farm team now playing in Tucson.

Padres principal owner Jeff Moorad purchased the Portland Beavers and moved the team to Tucson for the 2011 season, with the goal of moving the team to Escondido once a park was built. If the Escondido move is not possible, Moorad has said he will probably sell the Tucson Padres.

In San Diego, the court decision ends any thought of using redevelopment funds to build a downtown football stadium for the San Diego Chargers to replace Qualcomm Stadium and keep the team from moving somewhere, like Los Angeles.

Without redevelopment funds, the city would be more dependent on bond funding or have to design a project in which a stadium is only part of an entertainment complex. Mayor Jerry Sanders has promised to unveil a financing plan by the end of March, with a public vote to follow.

The Chargers have floated the idea of a project that includes an expansion of the waterfront convention center and a new stadium nearby — although that project has critics.

“We never believed redevelopment money would be available once the Legislature and governor acted last year,” said Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani. “Even had the court today ruled the other way, we felt the governor and Legislature would just have found some other way to get at the money. Hence our combined stadium-convention center expansion idea.”

–Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Credit: Gregory Bull / Associated Press