Player Status For Tuesday...

[IE]

ANH C Bengie Molina Calf missed last few games, "?" Tuesday vs Milwaukee.
ANH SS David Eckstein Hamstring missed last few games, "?" Tuesday vs Milwaukee.

BOST SS Nomar Garciaparra Achilles 15 day DL (03/31), might be activated and play Tuesday vs San Diego.

CIN OF Austin Kearns Thumb missed last few games, "?" Tuesday vs Oakland.

COL DH Mark Sweeney Hamstring pinch hit in Monday's game, "?" Tuesday vs NY Yankees .
COL P Brian Fuentes Ribs 15-day DL .

MIN DH Matthew LeCroy Arm left last game, "?" Tuesday vs New York Mets.


OAK P Ricardo Rincon Back missed last few games, "?" Tuesday vs Cincinnati.

PHIL P Billy Wagner Groin 15-day DL (05/08), expected to be activated Tuesday.

PITT OF Jason Bay Flu missed Monday's game, "?" Tuesday vs Texas.

STL 1B Albert Pujols Hamstring missed Monday's game, expected to miss Tuesday vs Chicago Cubs.

TEX P Jay Powell Elbow 15-day DL .

TOR 1B Carlos Delgado Ribs missed last few games, "?" Tuesday vs Los Angeles.
TOR P Valerio De Los Santos Arm missed Sunday's game, "?" Tuesday vs Los Angeles.

 

[IE]

Sheff set, Jeter uncertain for tonight




The Yankees expect to have Gary Sheffield back in the lineup tonight when they begin interleague play at the Stadium against the Colorado Rockies, but Derek Jeter will be a game-time decision after having his groin injury reevaluated.
Sheffield missed Sunday's game because of a stomach virus that also forced him to DH the previous two games, but GM Brian Cashman said yesterday, "I think Sheff'll be fine for (today). ... They will make a call (today) on Jeter and (Enrique) Wilson."

Jeter, who has missed the last two games, may not play for precautionary reasons.

Wilson also has a groin injury, but he is believed to be closer to fully healthy than Jeter. Wilson was available as a backup over the weekend but didn't play. The Yanks used Miguel Cairo at shortstop and Homer Bush at second on Saturday and Sunday.

Even if Jeter isn't ready to go tonight, he's still unlikely to land on the disabled list.

"The medical staff is talking about when they're going to be ready, not that they're going the other way," the GM said.

"There's no doubt we're being careful with Jeter. We don't want to lose the guy."

 

[IE]

Piazza gets designated
as hot hitter





Mike Piazza will don neither a catcher's mask nor a first baseman's glove tonight in Minnesota.
Piazza, whose .365 career average in interleague play leads all active major leaguers, will serve as the designated hitter in at least the opener against the Twins after starting at first base for the last 14 games. He has hit in 19 of his last 22 games, batting .354 (29-for-82) over that stretch with seven homers to raise his overall average to .310.

"I feel like most of the year I've been seeing the ball well," Piazza said. "Hitting is like riding a wave sometimes, you ride it as long as you can."

Art Howe indicated he would also like to give slumping Cliff Floyd (4-for-35) some DH turns during the upcoming road trip, to spare his legs from the artificial turf fields. "I'll see if I can fit that in, too," Howe said.

 

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Bonds was to accompany the Giants on their charter to Florida but still might miss a game to return to the Bay Area and be with the family of a long- time friend, whose mother died. He said he didn't know which game he'd miss.

 

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The Royals got some measure of good news after Sunday's 5-3 loss to Boston when X-rays came back negative on both first baseman Ken Harvey and relief pitch Jason Grimsley following their sixth-inning collision.

An examination on both at St. Luke's Hospital turned up no fractured bones. Harvey sustained bruising to his right wrist and forearm while Grimsley had bruising around his jaw and left forearm. Whether either of the two would miss any games has yet to be determined.

 

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No May move: Manager Tony Pena said Sunday that struggling left-hander Darrell May is still in the Royals' rotation. A move to the bullpen is a possibility but it remains just that, Pena insisted.

"It has been going across my mind, but it's not like I'm going to move anybody out," Pena said. "Right now, Darrell May is in my rotation."

"Right now" is a favorite Pena phrase which meant that May was in the rotation at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, but the situation could change by, say, noon. However, a noontime check revealed no change.

The speculation was fueled by a good four-inning showing from left-hander Brian Anderson, who relieved May in Saturday night's 8-4 loss to the Red Sox. Anderson had been sent to the bullpen to work out his problems after going 1-7 as a starter. May's record is 2-8.

Gonzalez wades in: Right fielder Juan Gonzalez's latest therapy is walking in the pool in the Royals' training room. He's on the disabled list with a lower back strain.

Trainer Nick Swartz said walking against water currents helps a player get into physicial shape in a "no physical-pounding situation" as opposed to being on a treadmill.

Gonzalez, who last played May 21, probably won't be able to resume practicing on the field for several more days.

At Surprise, Ariz., right-hander Kevin Appier threw 37 pitches in live batting practice, using both breaking pitches and fastballs for the first time since going on the disabled list with a forearm strain.

On Wednesday, Appier is scheduled for another session of about 45 pitches. The earliest he could begin throwing in games would be June 14. He faces a minor league rehabilitation assignment before rejoining the Royals.

Three other right-handed starters, recovering from surgery in Arizona, are on schedule. Runelvys Hernandez could be ready to pitch in the Instructional League next fall. Kyle Snyder could begin a throwing program in July, Miguel Asencio in August.

 

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Chipper Jones doesn't want to be misconstrued. Yes, he thinks a proposed return to the infield could help stabilize the Atlanta Braves' inconsistent lineup.

And yes, regular duty at first or third base might help Jones limit further damage he could inflict on a gimpy right hamstring.

But Jones bristles at suggestions he would leave an everyday job in left field to increase his fading chance to pass Mel Ott, Willie Mays and possibly Sammy Sosa as the only NL player with 100 RBIs for nine straight seasons.

"It's not what drives me," said Jones, who has just 13 RBIs in 34 games. "If I don't get to 100, it's no big deal because I know it was the injuries that prevented me from attaining it."

With the Braves off Monday and preparing to play today in Detroit, manager Bobby Cox will write Jones' name in the lineup for the first time in a week. Jones, who's likely to be Atlanta's designated hitter in six games against the Tigers and Chicago White Sox, prefers playing the infield, but not at the risk of reinjuring his tight hamstring.

Jones' initial injury occurred April 11 when he was diagnosed with a mild strain after leaving in the sixth inning of a 10-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs. One week later against Florida, Jones was chasing Luis Castillo's triple in left-center when he fell on the Turner Field warning track after failing to catch the ball. He lay on his back clutching his hamstring before a cart carried him off the field.

Losing mark

After going on the disabled for just the third time in his career and the first since 1996, Jones watched as the Braves went 6-10 without him.

"It's tough for us because we built our entire lineup around Chipper Jones," Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz said. "He's not somebody you can replace."

Though Jones returned May 8, the injury reoccurred last Tuesday as he ran out a grounder. Jones limped off the field and slammed his helmet in frustration once he reached the dugout.

The 1999 NL MVP has only pinch-hit twice since then, reaching Saturday on a fielding error by Philadelphia third baseman Tomas Perez and popping up Sunday against Kevin Millwood.

"I don't understand why this string of injuries is happening," said Jones, whose .232 average is 75 points below his career mark. "It's frustrating."

He tried to make the most of a bad week by reporting early to take infield at first base, a position he's never played before, and at third, where he started from 1995-2001. Returning to left field doesn't appear to be an option for Jones, at least any time soon.

"I don't know that it's going to be long term," Jones said. "It might not, but it's an opportunity to get me in the lineup every day and relieve some of the stress on my bad leg and get healthy so that when our whole team is back and healthy, wherever the need may be, I can go there and be a healthy baseball player and not worry about the hamstring. Whether it be left or first or third or whatever."

Other options

Though nobody ever would compare his play at third to a Hall of Famer like Brooks Robinson, Jones could upgrade a position that's suffered since Vinny Castilla left as a free agent and Mark DeRosa was given the job entering spring training.

DeRosa has 10 of Atlanta's NL-leading 50 errors. First base is an option for Jones, too, with Adam LaRoche out the next six weeks with a separated shoulder and 45-year-old Julio Franco better suited to pinch-hit.

 

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After watching Billy Koch allow 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks (1 intentional) in Sunday's disturbing 5-4 loss at Seattle, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen appears to finally have lost confidence in his unreliable closer.

Before tonight's interleague game against the Philadelphia Phillies at U.S. Cellular Field, don't be surprised if Guillen pulls the plug on Koch (5.40 ERA) and says he will start using Shingo Takatsu (1.27) and/or Damaso Marte (2.82) in the ninth inning.

The 35-year-old Takatsu - Japan's all-time saves leader with 260 - didn't make much of an impression in spring training. But the right-hander has been on automatic pilot while pitching 18? consecutive scoreless innings and retiring the last 13 hitters he has faced.

Guillen wouldn't be afraid to call on Takatsu to close out games.

"This guy has been outstanding for us, brilliant,'' Guillen said. "I can count on him to pitch in any situation. He didn't save all of those games in Japan by accident.''

Marte also has been pitching better lately, allowing no runs or hits over his last 6 innings. The left-hander blew 4 saves in 6 opportunities earlier in the season.

"With Marte, there was never any worry,'' pitching coach Don Cooper said. "If you look at his career, he's always gotten off to a slow start. He's a guy that gets better the more he pitches, and I think that's been the case again.''

Western woes: The White Sox couldn't pack quickly enough after losing Sunday night. Since 2001, they are 8-37 on the West Coast: 1-13 at Oakland, 2-11 at Anaheim, 5-13 at Seattle.

"I don't know,'' starting pitcher Esteban Loaiza said when asked to explain the White Sox' poor showing out west. "We want to win every single game we play.''

The Sox make two more trips to the West Coast this season. They play four games at Oakland (July 15-18) and three games at Anaheim (Sept. 10-12).

The White Sox played well enough to be at least 3-2 on their trip, but closer Billy Koch blew two games and the Sox limped home at 1-4.

"We played some good baseball,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. "But it wasn't a good road trip.''

Lost in the shuffle: Carlos Lee extended his major-league-best hitting streak to 22 games Sunday. And even though he drew 3 walks, Frank Thomas was 0-for-2 as his 15-game hit streak came to an end.

While Lee and Thomas have received plenty of publicity for their prowess at the plate, Willie Harris has quietly put together a 10-game hitting streak.

Over his last 20 games, Harris is batting .377 (29-for-77) while splitting time between second base and center field.

"I don't want Willie, or any of my players, to worry about, 'I've got to get 5 hits today to play tomorrow,'?'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I think (Harris) is swinging the bat a lot of better.

"The only thing I want from him, hopefully he can try to steal more bases, no matter if he's out or safe. You're not going to be out at second base unless you try. I want him to be more aggressive on the bases.''

Harris is the team's fastest baserunner, but he has stolen only eight bases in 10 attempts this season.

 

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Interleague play will allow Bowa a chance to get an extra bat in his lineup, as the designated hitter will be used in the AL city. Jim Thome will likely get some time at DH this week, with Chase Utley playing first base. Bowa can also use Jason Michaels and Ricky Ledee at DH.

Because of injuries to Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla, Ryan Madson will make his first major-league start tonight. The rookie righthander had been a starter throughout his minor-league career. He has been a standout in the bullpen this season.

Bowa will watch Madson closely. Fifty or so pitches may be his limit.

"I'm just pitching a little earlier in the game," Madson said of starting. "I'm going to take it one inning at a time - try to get three outs, sit down, try to get another three outs, sit down, try to get another three outs. I'll approach it like that."

Extra bases. Closer Billy Wagner will be activated before the game and Wolf will be placed on the disabled list. Wagner's return will allow relievers to slide back into their regular roles. Tim Worrell converted eight of nine save chances while Wagner was out... . Wade said the Phils were leaning toward activating veteran Brian Powell from the disabled list to start Saturday in Minnesota. However, 21-year-old righty Elizardo Ramirez continues to be discussed as a possibility, Wade said.

 

[cooz3]

IE..just a heads up..Pedro Martinez has been wearing a wrist brace
on his right wrist due to discomfort in the wrist..he claims that its a no big deal and there is no injury...he also has been throwing on the side in between starts for the first time since he has been in boston ..to change some of his mecahnics he thinks may be flawed...

just thought i would add..
good luck

cooz

 

[IE]

thanks for the heads-up cooz3,

you can post any updates anytime, no prob....keep them coming!