Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Notes from Monday's games
The Associated Press
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tigers-Angels
DETROIT: RHP Julio Santana underwent an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his elbow injury. If he has to sit out for a number of days, the Tigers may put him on the DL and call up someone from the minors. ... Detroit's starting pitchers entered Monday with a 2.62 ERA in their last six games. ... 2B Damian Easley, who has pain in both wrists, saw a doctor about it Monday. Manager Luis Pujols said Easley would only be used “if worse came to worse,” because of the team's lack of depth at that position. ... Easley, the Tigers' player rep was not at the union meeting in Chicago. Injured RHP Danny Patterson filled in for him and informed Easley of the decision not to set a strike date before boarding a plane back to Anaheim. “We didn't do it as a PR move. We're not going to win one way or the other. Eventually, if a strike date has to happen, we're not going to be popular. All the fans care about is that there is no work stoppage at all, that we keep playing and that we work this thing out. They don't want to hear about dollars and cents.”
ANAHEIM: Garret Anderson entered Monday leading the Angels in hitting (.312), home runs (19) and RBIs (87). The only players in club history to lead the team in all three categories while playing in at least 100 games were Wally Joyner (1987), Rick Reichardt (1968) and Chili Davis — who played in 108 games during the strike-shortened 1994 season. “Garret's done great this year, and I'm happy for him,” said Joyner, a former Angels teammate who worked Monday night's Anaheim-Detroit game as an analyst for ESPN. “The way he went about his business when I was here, a lot of people didn't care for it because it looked nonchalant and looked like he didn't care, because you never knew if he was 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. But that's not the case. Every year at the end of the year, he always had the numbers to back up how he played. He knows what to do and gives a quality at-bat every time.” ... RF Tim Salmon missed his second game after getting hit on the left hand Saturday by a pitch from Toronto's Steve Parris. “I went out and swung today — and after a few swings, I knew it's not ready,” Salmon said. ... The Angels are 6-1 in games 5-foot-8 SS David Eckstein has homered, including Sunday's 1-0 victory at Toronto. Three of the homers were grand slams. “They've all been big. He's hit seven of the biggest home runs you're ever going to see,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “Home runs for him are an accident, so I don't think there's any worry that he's going to all of a sudden try to start lifting the ball just because he's had a little success driving the ball out of the park. He's too smart for that.”
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Blue Jays-Athletics
TORONTO: The Blue Jays know they won't be without 1B Carlos Delgado, who went on the DL Sunday with stiffness in his lower back, until at least Aug. 24, but OF Jose Cruz, Jr. may not return for a couple more days. Cruz twisted his ankle on Friday night and hasn't played since. He was out of the starting lineup again Monday. “We're proceeding as if it's a mild strain,” Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said. “X-rays were negative.” The loss of two of their top power hitters has seriously hampered the Blue Jays. They entered play not having homered in a season-high four straight games. Monday's starting lineup had a combined total of 63 homers, Delgado and Cruz have hit a combined 36. The Oakland Athletics starting lineup had 105. ... 1B-OF Brian Lesher, who was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, joined the Blue Jays in Oakland on Monday night. Lesher began his career with the A's in 1996. He appeared in a career-high 46 games in 1997. He's 2-for-16 in 11 games with Toronto this season. ... RHP Esteban Loaiza was looking for his first road win since May 31 in Detroit on Monday night. The A's have been a good opponent for Loaiza, who tossed an 11-0 shutout against them on May 19 in the SkyDome. That victory in Detroit was Loaiza's lone road win of the season.
OAKLAND: LHP Mark Mulder went to Chicago, his hometown, to represent the Athletics at the players' union executive board meeting Monday. LHP Barry Zito is the A's player rep, but wanted to concentrate on Tuesday's start and alternate rep RHP Tim Hudson pitches Wednesday, so Mulder, who took the loss Sunday against the New York Yankees, got the call. “He's basically there to listen,” Zito said. “I told him he needed to take notes and he was like, 'I didn't even take notes in college.' I said 'this is the real world, dog.”' ... C Ramon Hernandez has an eight-game hitting streak, but wasn't in the starting lineup on Monday. It probably had something to do with the fact he's 0-for-13 lifetime against Blue Jays starter Esteban Loaiza. ... OF Terrence Long was back in the lineup despite leaving Sunday's game in New York early with a bruised right elbow. ... IF-OF John Mabry was hitting .356 on July 16, but following a 6-for-41 (.146) slump he's down to .302.
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Rockies-Marlins
COLORADO: The Rockies on Monday claimed LHP Brian Fitzgerald off waivers from the Mariners and designated him to Triple-A Colorado Springs. To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated infielder Casey Lambert for assignment. ...The Rockies went into the Florida series with the third-worst road record in the NL and the sixth-worst in the Majors at 18-41. They last won a road series May 31-June 2 at San Francisco. ... 3B Todd Zeile has five RBI in his last three games after driving in just nine runs in July.
FLORIDA: Several Marlins are approaching milestones. 3B Mike Lowell is three hits away from 500 in his career, and OF Preston Wilson is one homer away from 100. ... C Mike Redmond batted third Monday night for the first time this season. ...The Marlins' bats have cooled off since the All-Star break. The club took .265 team batting average into the break and has a .235 since. The Marlins are 11-18 since the break. ... The Marlins finished their recent homestand 1-5 and were outscored 32-11, hitting just .192.
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Cardinals-Pirates
ST. LOUIS: RHP Luther Hackman will start Thursday's game in Pittsburgh and that performance may determine whether he stays in the rotation. Manager Tony LaRussa isn't talking about any long-range plans for that spot in the rotation. He says he'll see what Hackman does against the Pirates and, “we'll take it from there.” The Cardinals may be interested in acquiring another starter from outside the organization and they're also hopeful of getting RHP Woody Williams (left side strain) and RH Garrett Stephenson (left hamstring strain) off the disabled list soon. ... Williams may pitch a simulated game Wednesday afternoon. He threw 60 pitches before Sunday's game in St. Louis and reported no problems. The Cardinals have not set a timetable for Williams' return. He has been out since July 7.
PITTSBURGH: Monday was an unhappy anniversary for manager Lloyd McClendon. On Aug. 12, 1994, the players went on strike and shut down the season. That night's game turned out to be McClendon's last as a major league player. He was at the end of a contract and was one of the players who went to a tryout camp the following spring in Homestead, Fla. McClendon got a minor league deal from Cleveland but didn't return to the majors. McClendon spent the 1995 season in Triple-A and started his career as a hitting instructor in 1996. “I think looking back we were a little foolish to strike,” McClendon said. “I don't think it was the right thing to do. I never thought that.” Even though his career ended as a result of those circumstances, McClendon doesn't have any regrets about the way things unfolded. “Things worked out for the best,” he said. “The fact is I probably lost my passion for playing the game. It certainly worked out better.”
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Astros-Cubs
HOUSTON: Astros players representative Gregg Zaun got a ride to Wrigley Field from the union meeting at O'Hare Airport with Cubs rep Joe Girardi. The two arrived at the ballpark about 2 1/2 hours before the game. “There's some encouraging things going on, some movement,” Zaun said. “Just the fact that both sides are moving and talking the same language is good.” ... LHP Carlos Hernandez, on the disabled list since July 2 with soreness in his shoulder, was making his third rehab start Monday night for Double-A Round Rock. ... Despite Sunday's 13-3 loss to Atlanta, the Astros have won 11 of their last 16 games. They're 19-11 since the All-Star break. ... Rookie reliever Ricky Stone made his 58th appearance Sunday. The club rookie record for most games pitched is 61, by Charley Kerfeld in 1986.
CHICAGO: Despite Antonio Alfonseca's struggles, interim manager Bruce Kimm said he plans to stick with his closer for now. Alfonseca has six blown saves this year. In his last three outings, he's given up seven runs and nine hits. “I still have confidence in Antonio and I'm going to stick with it a little longer,” Kimm said. ... Sammy Sosa shared NL player of the week honors with Arizona pitcher Randy Johnson. Sosa had one of the more impressive weekends in history. He homered three times Saturday night, driving in nine runs, then followed it with a grand slam and five RBIs Sunday. The 14 RBIs in two games was an NL record. “Hopefully I can just keep it continue until the season is over,” he said. ... For the first time in three years, Matt Clement didn't celebrate his birthday by pitching. “I've pitched my last two birthdays,” said the right-hander, who turned 28 on Monday. “I missed it by one day this year.” Clement is scheduled to start Tuesday. ... Visitors have outhomered the Cubs 70-68 at Wrigley Field.
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Notes from Monday's games
