Sunday, April 14, 2002
Dodgers pitcher Brown injures right elbow
Leaves game in second inning
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Los Angeles pitcher Kevin Brown left the Dodgers' game in the second inning Saturday night against San Diego with an injury to his right elbow.
Dodgers spokesman Dave Tuttle said the club is not sure of the exact nature of the injury, but said it was either a strained muscle or scar tissue release.
Brown, 37, underwent surgery to repair a torn flexor muscle in his right elbow on Sept.27. Brown, who was making the 401st career start of his 15-year career, was on the disabled list three times last year.
Brown threw a 93 mph fastball to Tom Lampkin when the injury occurred. Almost as soon as Brown released the ball, he hopped once and held his right arm at his side.
MARINERS: Seattle designated hitter Edgar Martinez had surgery Saturday to remove a ruptured hamstring tendon and is expected to be out more than a month.
Seattle trainer Rick Griffin said the 45-minute surgery performed by Texas Rangers team orthopedist Dr. John Conway went well. The procedure of removing the tendon is still relatively new, which makes it difficult to determine the recovery time.
“By having surgery, the recovery period is shorter than if it healed on its own,” Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. “Let's just wait and see.”
Piniella said the 39-year-old Martinez would be out at least four to six weeks. But that might be an optimistic estimate.
The procedure was similar to what former Rangers outfielder Ricky Ledee and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter had last year. Both of those younger players were out longer than that.
Ledee, 27 at the time, was recalled by the Rangers two months after his surgery. Carter, 24, had surgery Oct.15 and didn't play again for seven weeks.
Griffin said Martinez is expected to make a full recovery, but refused to speculate how long that might take.
Martinez, who injured the left hamstring Thursday, was out of the hospital Saturday. He remained at the team's hotel when the Mariners played the second game of their four-game series at Texas.
“I saw him at the hotel. He was in pain, a little groggy ... a whole lot groggy, actually,” Piniella said. “But the doctor seemed to think everything went well.”
Martinez was limited to 42 games in 1993 after he injured his left hamstring in a spring training game. He came back twice that season, but reaggravated the injury both times.
Martinez will be on crutches three to five days. He was expected to begin rehabilitation today.
He got hurt while running out a grounder in the ninth inning of Thursday's 8-4 victory that completed a four-game sweep at Anaheim. He had to be helped off the field.
The Mariners put Martinez on the 15-day disabled list Friday when an MRI exam revealed the ruptured tendon in the back of his left knee.
Martinez, a .319 career hitter going into this season, was off to a slow start at .243 (9-for-37) with no homers in 10 games.
TWINS: Second baseman Luis Rivas has a fractured left forearm and probably will miss two to four more weeks.
Team doctor Dan Buss said an MRI exam revealed the small crack in a bone just below the wrist on Rivas' left arm. Rivas hasn't played since being hit by a pitch from Kansas City's Dan Reichert on April 3 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list two days later.
Rivas had two sets of X-rays, both of which were negative, but lingering pain and stiffness in his arm this week prompted the Twins to conduct the MRI.
Jay Canizaro and Denny Hocking are filling in at second base in Rivas' absence.
CARDINALS: Barring complications, St. Louis broadcaster Jack Buck could return home from the hospital this week, his son said.
Since being hospitalized Jan.3, the elder Buck has undergone surgery to remove an intestinal blockage, then battled a series of infections — including pneumonia — before having brain surgery last month to control Parkinson's disease.
Joe Buck told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that that procedure has helped his 77-year-old father considerably.
“The only real question left is nutrition,” said Buck, a Fox broadcaster who this season has been filling in for his father on Cardinals radio broadcasts. “They have experts seeing him to see if they can put some weight back on him. Other than that, all the other health issues look good.”
Jack Buck has been using a ventilator periodically to assist his breathing, but his son said he could be off that device within days.
“He has some good days, some bad days, but more good than bad,” Joe Buck said. “But he could be home in a week, give or take (a few days).
“That's the most positive news of all. What's left is building his strength back up and getting some weight on him and continuing to move in the direction he's moving.”
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Dodgers pitcher Brown injures right elbow
