Orioles' reliever Simon denied bail in Dominican

Baltimore Orioles reliever

Alfredo Simon

was denied bail yesterday and will remain in jail in the Dominican Republic on an involuntary manslaughter charge.

The 29-year-old pitcher is expected to stay in jail for a year while officials investigate a fatal shooting on New Year's Eve.

Simon's lawyer has said he was firing celebratory shots in the air. A bullet killed 25-year-old Michel Castillo, and injured his brother, 17-year-old Starlling Castillo, in the city of Luperon in Puerto Plata.

Defense attorney Dinosa Dilone said she plans to appeal the ruling.

A judge had earlier ruled that Simon could be held for up to a year pending trial. Simon could face up to 2 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Simon joined Baltimore in 2008 but was quickly sidelined with an injury. He went 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA last season and had 17 saves.

In other baseball news:

* The New York Mets' owners have met with baseball commissioner Bud Selig to discuss the team's finances. A person familiar with the meeting told the Associated Press it involved owner Fred Wilpon, team president Saul Katz and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and took place at the commissioner's office. The Wilpons announced Friday they will consider seeking a minority partner to invest in the Mets. The Wilpons were sued last month by trustee Irving Picard, who is seeking to recover money for the victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

* Shortstop Alexei Ramirez and the Chicago White Sox have agreed in principle to a new contract that guarantees $32.5 million over 4 years through 2015, according to reports. Chicago already had exercised Ramirez' $2.75 million option for 2011.

* Former Kansas City star Willie Mays Aikens, who served almost 14 years in federal prison on gun, bribery and cocaine charges, has returned to baseball as a minor league coach for the Royals.

* Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will need 10 days to recover from a leg muscle injury sustained during his quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open.

* Thomas Dold, of Stuttgart, Germany, has won the Empire State Building Run-Up for the sixth straight year. Dold dashed up 86 flights of stairs in 10 minutes, 10 seconds, beating last year's winning time by 6 seconds. The race features 1,576 steps, from the lobby to the outdoor observation deck of the famous Manhattan building.

* Five-time Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe, 28, of Australia, said he will end his retirement with the goal of swimming at next year's London Games.

* Authorities said Venezuelan horse racing jockey Eibar Coa is facing a domestic-battery charge after an alleged altercation with his wife at their South Florida home. Last year, Coa posted his 4,000th victory as a jockey.

* Michael Andretti's IndyCar team has added Mike Conway as its fourth driver for the 2011 season. The 27-year-old English native drove for Dreyer & Reinbold in 2010 but missed the final 4 months of the season after a frightening crash late in last year's Indianapolis 500. He had multiple fractures in his lower left leg and a compression fracture in his back. Conway had three top-10 finishes last season.

* Clemson starting linebacker Brandon Maye has received his release from the school and is expected to transfer.