wed notes...

[IE]

It might go down as the steal of the year: Jeremy Giambi comes to Philadelphia in exchange for bench player John Mabry on May 22. In 27 games (23 starts) for the Phillies, Giambi has batted .288 with seven homers, five doubles and 15 RBI.

It could be a steal - if Giambi stays healthy and hot.

He's not healthy right now. He has missed all or parts of seven of the last eight games with right-wrist tendinitis. He probably won't play tonight, either, continuing to treat the wrist with ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and electrical stimulus. He has concentrated on getting his rest. He might get a couple of games in during the four-game set with the Expos, which precedes the All-Star Game.

"I figure I'll rest a couple of days, then play a couple, then take it easy during the All-Star break," Giambi said.

Swell plan. But what about the stroke that has made him such a steal? Not only is he not playing but he isn't even swinging. Won't it disappear?

"Nah, I'm not worried about that," Giambi said. "At this point in the season I've had about 400 at-bats, counting spring training. I've found my swing slot."

The Phillies just hope he doesn't lose it before the end of next week.


=====
Moehler returns tonight; interest holds for Weaver

July 3, 2002





BY JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER




CHICAGO -- Right-hander Brian Moehler will start tonight against the White Sox, the Tigers announced after Tuesday night's game.

Moehler hasn't pitched in the majors since the first week of last season because of major surgery on his right shoulder. His return comes amid indications that the Tigers will try to trade him soon.

To make room on the roster, left-handed reliever Jamie Walker was sent to Triple-A Toledo. Walker has struggled for much of the season when he enters games with runners on base, a situation that represents his most important job.

Starter Mike Maroth will replace Walker as the lone left-hander in the bullpen until the All-Star break arrives Monday. Maroth's next start will be in a doubleheader against Chicago a week from Saturday. Moehler will start the other game.

Within about a week after the doubleheader, the Tigers must decide who is leaving the rotation. By then, the Tigers might have been able to trade Moehler, presuming he shows he can pitch competitively despite not having regained all of his pre-surgery velocity.

For now, Moehler, 30, becomes one of six starters in what normally is a five-man rotation.

"He's a battler," said catcher Brandon Inge. "He's a smart pitcher. I think pitching is going to be second nature for him, like riding a bike."

INTERESTED? Although the Red Sox have scouted right-hander Jeff Weaver recently, Boston doesn't have any significant, immediate interest in acquiring Weaver, a source familiar with the situation said.

Weaver's start Saturday in Boston figures to be his only appearance in Fenway Park for a while.

Clubs that could still be interested in Weaver include Seattle, St. Louis and Arizona. San Francisco also might have the players to deal for Weaver -- and might want to get him so National League West rival Arizona can't.

The Tigers don't face a financial urgency to trade Weaver. He is signed for three more seasons beyond 2002. He is not a pending free agent for whom president and general manager Dave Dombrowski must make the best deal now so Weaver doesn't walk in November.

Weaver's case differs notably from that of Bartolo Colon, the ace right-hander Cleveland swapped to Montreal last week for three minor leaguers. Colon can be a free agent after next season, so this was a prime time to deal him.

Several weeks ago, Dombrowski let other clubs know that Weaver was available at the right price. Officials with other clubs say the price for the right-hander generally is three players who are either big leaguers or potential big leaguers.

That's a high price, and there's no sign Dombrowski has dropped it.



NOTEBOOK: Leftfielder Bobby Higginson, who has been out 3 1/2 weeks with a pulled left hamstring, said he doesn't expect to play until after the All-Star break. . . . Dmitri Young's two homers Tuesday night were the first of his seven this season that didn't come at Comerica Park, the league's most spacious ballpark. . . . The Tigers are on a pace to score fewer than 600 runs for the first time in a full, non-strike season since 1975. . . . Randall Simon returned Tuesday after missing two games with a sore left ankle.

 

[IE]

A heavy schedule and an unavailable Ugueth Urbina prompted the Red Sox to decide to carry an extra pitcher, Wayne Gomes, to replace injured infielder Carlos Baerga yesterday.

Urbina, the Red Sox' closer, threw 52 pitches on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves, leaving him unable to pitch in yesterday's doubleheader sweep (2-1 and 6-4) of the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

Sox manager Grady Little said that Urbina was ``fine'' and would be available tonight.

With the Sox having to play three games in two days and four in three days, the team decided, for one day at least, that it needed pitching more than infield help.

Gomes' contract was purchased from Triple-A Pawtucket, where the 29-year-old right-hander pitched strongly, holding opposing batters to a .173 average and posting a 2.18 ERA in 41 innings. Gomes was a late April pickup for the Sox after being released by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went a combined 6-3 with the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants last season. He has a career 29-21 record with 28 saves and a 4.60 ERA in 301 major league games.

Baerga, who strained his left hamstring on Monday running out a grounder, does not believe his injury is as severe as the strained hamstring that has kept second baseman Rey Sanchez sidelined for nearly a month. Fifteen days on the disabled list, with an All-Star break tossed in the middle, is expected to be enough time for Baerga to heal.

Still, he was disappointed at having to go on the DL for the first time in his career and also at a time when he was told that he would be playing more, at second base and as designated hitter.

``I want to make sure I come back healthy,'' Baerga said. ``I'll come in early, get my treatment and then be a cheerleader.''

Oliver let go

During the second game, the Sox announced that they requested unconditional release waivers on left-hander Darren Oliver, who was designated for assignment on June 25.

Oliver was obtained in the trade of Carl Everett. Oliver was 4-5 with a 4.66 ERA this season as a starter and long reliever. He was more ineffective than the statistics might suggest. . . .

Lou Merloni, who tripled in the Red Sox' two runs in the first game against the Blue Jays' Scott Cassidy, homered off Cassidy in his last appearance against him in Toronto on May 29. Merloni's home run was a game-tying shot

 

[IE]

July 3, 2002 -- The Expos shocked the world by trading for Indians ace Bartolo Colon and GM Omar Minaya, with his eye on raiding his former team, isn't done making a splash. Minaya is interested in prying hard-throwing closer Armando Benitez from the Mets, The Post has learned.
Minaya and his former boss, Steve Phillips, made a deal earlier this season when the Mets acquired right-handed setup man Scott Strickland from the Expos. Since-traded Bruce Chen was the centerpiece of that deal.

Benitez, who typically dominates unless the opposition is the Braves or Yankees, has saved 19 games in 21 opportunities this season. He has a 2.56 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings for the Mets.

 

[IE]

Despite last night's 10-5 win over Cleveland, it was the latest chapter in Roger Clemens' recent funk. He gave up three runs in five innings, and was forced out of the game after 74 pitches with a cramped right leg, likely from the 95-degree heat.

Clemens felt the discomfort with one out in the fifth, and stayed in long enough to get the last two outs.

"We don't know [how bad it is]. We'll know [today] when he comes in," Joe Torre said. "His leg was cramping up on him, and we didn't want to take any chances. We'll see if he's able to make his start on Sunday. Safety first."

Torre said Ted Lilly would start Sunday if Clemens can't go.

After winning seven of his first nine decisions, Clemens is just 1-1 in his last eight starts. The six-time Cy Young winner hasn't won since June 9, and is 0-1 with a 7.08 ERA in his last four.

"My leg just shut down," Clemens said. "I'm glad I was able to get through the fifth."

 

[IE]

Carlos Febles returned to action Tuesday as a defensive replacement.

Rick Helling left Tuesday's game in the top of the sixth inning with a high right ankle sprain.

 

[IE]

MIAMI--Cubs manager Don Baylor was especially forthcoming and provocative about his tenuous situation on a Florida Marlins radio pre-game show Tuesday.

With the Cubs on pace to lose 96 games after ending the first half of the season with a 33-48 record, the noose seems to be tightening hour by hour. And Baylor sounded as though he is feeling the pressure.

Even before the Cubs lost to the Marlins 9-7, their seventh loss in their last eight games despite Sammy Sosa's major-league-leading 28th home run, Baylor might have driven himself closer to being removed. He la-mented the offseason departures of Eric Young and Ricky Gutierrez, said Andy Mac-Phail can remove him if that's what he wants and attacked the premise that a manager should motivate his players.


''Andy Mac-Phail is the president and general manager,'' Baylor told radio station WQAM when he was asked about being under pressure. ''If he wants to make a change, make a change. I've been fired once [by the Colorado Rockies], and I recovered. I'll recover again if that happens. My wife and I talk about it, but we don't think about it every single day. I have other things that interest me.''

Baylor, who later watched his team fall behind 4-0 after three innings and never take the lead, likened his situation to that of New York Yankees manager Joe Torre when Torre was the skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1990 to 1995.

''I coached for Torre in St. Louis, and they felt the same way about him--'OK, let's run him out of town,''' Baylor said. ''Now he's the toast of the town in New York. You've got to be in the right place at the right time.''

Baylor alluded to the losses of second baseman Young and shortstop Gutierrez, neither of whom the Cubs re-signed. Young is playing for the Milwaukee Brewers and Gutierrez for the Cleveland Indians.

''When you lose Young and Gutierrez, guys who were 1-2 at the top of your lineup, it makes a difference for all of us,'' he said. ''[Corey] Patterson is not a true leadoff hitter at all. It's more out of necessity.''

Baylor also reacted strongly when he was asked about motivating the Cubs.

''I get sick and tired of people saying you have to motivate,'' he said. ''Motivation, everyone talks about it, but that's a bunch of [bleep] if I ever heard it. Sometimes people get carried away with that term. I don't think I ever had to be motivated by a manager.''

Baylor also was questioned by Chicago reporters about whether some players had stopped listening to him and whether some even had quit on him. He was irritated by the query.

''It's a long ways until the season is over,'' he said. ''It makes a long season for everybody if guys quit. Stop listening? What do you mean by 'listening'? They get a chance to play. Listening? I don't have a meeting every single day. I have talks with guys from time to time, but as far as listening, I don't put any [stock] in that.''

Asked whether he thinks the Cubs are playing hard for him, he gave an interesting answer.

''I see signs of certain times they do and other times ... ,'' he said. "When we get shut down hitting-wise, I mean, it's a lot different. If your team is hitting .275 or .280, we're not having this conversation. But when you're hitting .230 and .240, pretty much dead last in the National League, your pitching has to be second or third in the league, then you're right there. You can't do it with the struggles we have had offensively. Squeezing for every run every day hurt our team a lot.''

Baylor is feeling the pain, but he is trying some pain management by saying MacPhail can fire him if he wants. It's a sign of how uncertain his job status has become with 1-1/2 years left on his contract.

 

[IE]

MIAMI--Kerry Wood usually doesn't watch himself on tape. But he said Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild called him into the film room the other day, and he saw someone that he hasn't seen in years--a Kerry Wood at the top of his game.

Wood made a rare study of his mechanics when he struck out 20 Houston Astros on May 6, 1998, and compared it to a tape of one of his games this season. To him, it looked like two vastly different pitchers, and he vowed Monday to get back to the pitcher who was National League Rookie of the Year in '98.

''I looked pretty good as a rookie,'' Wood said. ''I look pretty funky right now. My mechanics don't even compare. They're not similar at all. We're trying to get back to what I used to do and get rid of all the [stuff] that somehow I picked up. I know I had a surgery [reconstructive right elbow April 8, 1999] and mechanics are going to change, but I would like to get back to using my back leg more and driving off it.''

Just taking time to look at his mechanics on film was a first for Wood.

''It's the first time I've ever actually watched me [on tape],'' he said. ''I usually watch the pitches and where they go.''

Wood began working on altering his mechanics Sunday in hopes that he can improve in Wednesday's start against the Florida Marlins. But Wood laughed about the major reconstruction project in revamping his pitching form.

''It's going to take more than one or two side sessions in the bullpen if I want to get my mechanics back to the way I was as a rookie,'' Wood said. ''I got so much [stuff] that's messed up, it's not even funny. It's going to take time to change things. I'm not going to go out next start and worry about mechanics ahead of getting guys out.''

He knows the essence of what's missing. It's the way his fastball used to rise and hop over hitters' swings.

''I don't have that life on the ball I used to,'' Wood said. ''Instead of the ball shooting up and taking off the last seven or eight feet, it seems like it's fading like a sinker. And I don't throw a sinker. The biggest difference I saw on the tapes was the extra life. It seems like it's non-existent now.''

Look Wednesday for Wood to concentrate on getting more of his back leg into his delivery as he pushes off the pitching rubber. He also will try to keep his front shoulder straight to the plate rather than turning it.

''My back leg is straight the whole time,'' he said of his current downfall. ''I've got no drive off the back leg. I'm falling off the mound. My power should come from legs, and I'm not using the back leg. There is all kinds of [stuff] that's out of whack. I've been getting by with it, but it's not going to last.

''It has everything to do with mechanics, but mechanics isn't everything. I just don't want to think about mechanics when I'm out there. I didn't think about them a few years back. The more I tried to make my mechanics perfect, the further I got away from what I used to do.''

Wood is coming off a bad start against the White Sox and pitched poorly against them both times this season. But that shouldn't overshadow the fact he has had a good season overall and remains a shining light for the Cubs' future as a pitcher, clubhouse leader and quality person.

''I realize I'm 25 and I have a lot of years ahead of me, and a lot of stuff I'm going to figure out,'' he said. ''But I still feel I should be getting guys out and not having the problems I am having. No one can put expectations higher than I put on myself.

''My two worst starts [this season] were against the White Sox. I really haven't had too many games where I have given us no chance and been blown out. I expect about three starts like that a season, but not any more than that. So I have to make myself have a good second half.''

 

[IE]

First baseman Jeff Conine, who has been on the disabled list since June 15 with a strained right hamstring, probably won't play in this series against the Anaheim Angels. But Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said Conine could be ready for the Texas series, which begins Friday.

Conine continued to test the hamstring with running exercises yesterday. The Orioles could hold him back until after the All-Star break, but they need his bat back in the lineup.

Conine is batting .262 and, despite his absence, is still second on the team in RBIs with 45.

"We'll make that call somewhere in the next three or four days," Hargrove said of his return.


Ponson's blister OK

Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson had to leave Sunday's start after two innings because of a blister on his right middle finger, but he played long toss yesterday and isn't expected to miss Saturday's start.

"I don't think it's going to cause him to miss his next start," Hargrove said. "If it does it does, but I don't think it will."








The St. Louis Cardinals, who were looking for starting pitchers before the death of Darryl Kile, have a scout in Anaheim to watch the Orioles this week. Tonight's starting pitcher, Scott Erickson, is a potential target

 

[IE]

Mariners Manager Lou Piniella apparently has given Rafael Soriano no more margin for error.

Soriano, the 22-year-old right-hander, lasted 3-1/3 innings last night against the Kansas City Royals, allowing seven hits and three runs. In his previous start Thursday against Oakland, he lasted 2-1/3 innings, allowing five hits and three runs.

"Soriano has a nice, young arm. We've given him eight starts, but it's looking like he's not quite ready for this level," Piniella said. "We'll see what we do Sunday (his next scheduled start), but I think we'll go in another direction."

Piniella likely will move Ryan Franklin into the rotation Sunday. With right-handed reliever Jeff Nelson back from elbow surgery, the club would prefer to keep another extra left-hander, John Halama, in the bullpen. Piniella also doesn't like two soft-tossers (Jamie Moyer and Halama) in the rotation.

Soriano, with a mid-90 mph fastball, was called up from Class AA on May 10. He earned a save in his major-league debut, then had a series of decent no-decision starts but his last two starts have been diminishing returns and increasing numbers.

"I was not (pitching) very good. What happened tonight is the location of my fastball was not working," Soriano said.

 

[IE]

Baseball: 62 homers hit in major leagues on Tuesday; most ever

Associated Press

Published Jul 3, 2002
A record 62 home runs were hit in the major leagues Tuesday night, breaking the mark of 57 set April 7, 2000.

Jay Gibbons' second homer of the night for Baltimore off Anaheim's Scott Schoeneweis broke the record.

The hitters didn't stop after that.

Los Angeles' Eric Karros connected against Arizona's Greg Swindell, Oakland's Olmedo Saenz hit a game-winning two-run shot against Minnesota's Eddie Guardado, and Kansas City's Mike Sweeney and Raul Ibanez homered off Seattle's Kazuhiro Sasaki.

Ibanez's homer was his second of the day, making him the record ninth player to hit at least two in a game Tuesday. The previous mark was eight, on May 19, 1999.

There were 30 homers hit in the American League, topped by a record-tying 12 in Chicago's 17-9 victory over Detroit.

San Francisco and Colorado combined for 10 of the 32 homers in the NL in the Giants' 18-5 win at Coors Field.

San Francisco's Damon Minor, Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Reggie Sanders each homered twice as the Giants became the 16th team to have three players with multiple homers in a game. Barry Bonds, who set the major league record with 73 last season, didn't hit any.

Magglio Ordonez and Sandy Alomar of the Chicago White Sox, Detroit's Dmitri Young, Houston's Lance Berkman also homered twice.

Sammy Sosa hit his major league-leading 28th homer for the Chicago Cubs, one more than Berkman.

There were four grand slams hit Tuesday, by Shinjo, Ordonez, the Yankees' Jorge Posada and Montreal's Fernando Tatis.

 

[Chenker]

Ie- sorry to put this in this thread....

who do you have getting hit hard in the Boston/Tor game and Sd/Stl game?

Thanks-

Chenker.

 

[IE]

Both Halladay and Burkett should be gone by 5th and
Simontachi is in a position to have non-quality start today.

 

[IE]

ah yes, remember that Jimmy "Move" well......
86 pitches

======

Roy Oswalt (8-5, 3.24 ERA) hopes for better luck than he received at Cinergy Field on April 18. In that game, he pitched seven scoreless innings before Jimy Williams decided to lift him with a 2-0 lead. The bullpen blew the lead, and the Astros lost 5-4 in 10 innings.

?Has success against: Sean Casey (1-for-9), Todd Walker (2-for-12) and Barry Larkin (0-for-4).

?Has struggled against: Adam Dunn (3-for-9, one HR).

 

[TORONTO-VIGILANTE]

great stuff I.E!!!

:toast:

makes for good reading on my vacation time....

 

[IE]

Oakland First baseman Scott Hatteberg was a last-minute scratch from the lineup last night because of tendinitis in his right biceps. Hatteberg, who aggravated the injury during batting practice, said the discomfort was minimal. But he will miss at least two games because he was scheduled to sit out today's game against Twins left-hander Johan Santana.