Rowand breaks ankle, out 4-6 weeks

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Phillies centerfielder Aaron Rowand suffered a broken left ankle Monday night when he collided with second baseman Chase Utley chasing a pop fly off the bat of Cubs first baseman John Mabry and is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks, the Phillies confirmed today.

The news was first reported by the Daily News on Philly.com earlier this morning.

Rowand will return to Philadelphia to see a foot specialist, once he is medically cleared to fly, the Phillies said.

He had been taken to the hospital after the Phillies' 6-5 win over the Cubs for what were termed precautionary X-rays.

This is Rowand's second trip to the disabled list this season. He missed 2 weeks with a broken nose and fractures around his left eye after his crash into the wall at Citizens Bank Park in May.

The Phillies are 2 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds after reaching .500 last night for the first time since June 19.

It was not immediately apparent what moves the team, which had placed closer Tom Gordon on the DL after the game, would make. It's possible that two position players will be recalled from the minors. The Phillies had been carrying 13 pitchers, leaving manager Charlie Manuel with a short bench.

In the short term, Shane Victorino would mosty likely take over in centerfield with Pat Burrell in left and David Dellucci in right.

 

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Mets get 'closer' to Green

The Mets are closing in on Diamondbacks outfielder Shawn Green, though sources familiar with the discussions cautioned that no deal is final until the sides agree to exact financial terms.

GM Omar Minaya and Diamondbacks counterpart Josh Byrnes are said to be in very active communications the past few days.

"It's moving, but I can't tell you whether it's going to happen or not," one source said. "It's closer than it was last week."

Green is owed roughly $1.8 million for the rest of this season. He's due $9.5 million in 2007 and has a $10 million option for '08 that can be bought out for $2 million.

Mets and Diamondbacks brass have been haggling over the money figures, according to sources, who indicate Green's no-trade clause is now a nonissue. The 33-year-old Green is hitting .283 with 11 homers and 51 RBI in 417 at-bats for the Diamondbacks, who want to dump his salary and find playing time for rookie Carlos Quentin.

Green recently acknowledged the writing is on the wall about a deal. He was not in the starting lineup last night, and he bristled last week when he sat consecutive games while healthy.

"Am I surprised? Yeah, I'm a little surprised," Green told The Arizona Republic about the bench time. "I don't think there's anything that needs to be read into it. The direction they want to go is pretty clear."

The Mets started the season with Cliff Floyd and Xavier Nady, but with Floyd on the DL and Nady traded to Pittsburgh, they have recently used a rotation of Endy Chavez, Lastings Milledge, Michael Tucker and Ricky Ledee in left and right field.

They begrudgingly shipped Nady to the Pirates to obtain Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez once Duaner Sanchez separated his shoulder in a taxicab accident and required season-ending surgery. Floyd hasn't played for the Mets since Aug. 8. Because of his sister's death after a long battle with cancer, Floyd left Port St. Lucie to mourn with his family, and only recently returned to the Mets' complex to continue his recovery from Achilles tendinitis.

Milledge, despite a three-hit game Saturday, is hitting .238. And while he's clearly part of the Mets' future, the organization could use a more proven bat in the postseason until he matures.

Green is a close friend of Carlos Delgado from their days together in Toronto. He attended the Met cleanup hitter's wedding in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, last winter.

A two-time All-Star who has finished in the top 10 in MVP balloting in both leagues, Green is in his 12th full major-league season. He had a career-high 49 homers with the Dodgers in 2003 and has averaged 158 games a season since '98.

He is able to be traded after the July 31 deadline because he cleared waivers. Any deal would figure to cost the Mets low-level minor-league talent since the Diamondbacks' primary motivation is clearing salary.

 

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Truth is....

Rowand broke his ankle trying to run fast