Wagner suffers another setback
NEW YORK -- A vexing sequence of events has taken place within Billy Wagner's left arm, and now has threatened to end his season.
First, there was swelling, which became too much to bear during this month's opening series in Houston. Then, there was rest, aimed at healing his left arm. And now, more than two weeks later, an additional MRI has revealed increased inflammation in a tendon of Wagner's left elbow. So the Mets closer will not return this week, as team officials once hoped, and could potentially miss the remainder of the season.
"I want to play," Wagner said. "I want to compete. There's only so much time in a career, and I want to get out there and help my teammates."
The Mets continue to express confidence that Wagner can indeed return this season, though they remain quite concerned of his health. Because rest did not improve Wagner's left arm -- the swelling has only increased over the past two weeks -- the Mets must proceed forward without him in their plans.
Wagner won't be able to throw off a mound until doctors reexamine him and find no additional damage, which can't occur until after the swelling subsides. In the interim, he will proceed with all other baseball activities and a light program of catch.
"Our doctors have pretty much recommended that he rest some more," general manager Omar Minaya said. "How much time? We don't know."
Wagner said that he explored other options, including a possible cortisone injection that would allow him to pitch through the injury. But the risk of compounding his medical problems seemed too great, and so Wagner will continue with only his standard regimen of anti-inflammatory medication.
Originally hitting the disabled list on Aug. 5 due to a strained tendon in his left forearm, Wagner pitched in a simulated game and made one rehab appearance for Double-A Binghamton, which left him in a bit of pain. Not surprisingly, the notion of his injury being a forearm strain eventually melted into the reality that he had suffered elbow inflammation -- and possibly worse.
The Mets would not discount the possibility that Wagner may have suffered structural damage in his elbow, admitting only that they won't know for sure until the swelling subsides. So they'll instead proceed with the patchwork bullpen that has struggled in Wagner's absence.
"We'll just try to match up the best way we can," manager Jerry Manuel said.
Although the most likely closer candidate remains Aaron Heilman, he has posted a 12.91 ERA over nine August outings and has proven ineffective in recent ninth-inning stints. The Mets recently demoted another candidate, rookie Eddie Kunz, back to Triple-A to make room for Luis Ayala, but too many questions surround Ayala's velocity for him to step into the role. And none of the other bullpen options -- Scott Schoeneweis, Duaner Sanchez, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano -- have been effective on a consistent basis.
The Mets kicked around the idea of converting John Maine into a closer earlier this month, but Maine's health has prevented them from making that move. And the other candidates -- namely Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey -- are currently too valuable as starters for Manuel to reassign them to a different role.
So Manuel will instead use his current relievers as individual matchups might dictate.
"The thing that I want to be careful of is anointing someone [as the closer], and then that doesn't work out," Manuel said. "That's where we are now."
Wagner, for his part, disagreed, noting that a closer's effectiveness hinges in large part upon job security -- regardless of short-term success.
"The only reason Billy Wagner is Billy Wagner is because when I blew a save, they put me back out there the next day," Wagner said. "It's totally a feeling of you're the guy that's going to get the ball regardless of who you are, and what you did yesterday."
But Manuel's Mets are in a pennant race, and he can't afford to experiment with handing only one man the keys to the ninth inning.
What's clear is that whoever does ultimately earn the job will do so by providing the type of stability that this bullpen has lacked in recent weeks. If the Mets have designs on winning the division, they'll need to find one, two or a half-dozen men who are capable of closing out wins without incident.
"I do not necessarily determine the role," Manuel said. "The relief pitchers determine the role. Everybody gets an opportunity to get out there and see what they can do, however they do it. If they do it well, they'll get another opportunity. And it's not always result-based. It's how you compete."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Brew Crew's streak hits seven
SAN DIEGO -- Shut-down starting pitching is apparently getting contagious for the surging Milwaukee Brewers, and no one is happier than slugger Prince Fielder.
"That means we have more time to hit," Fielder said.
Jeff Suppan continued the team's string of strong starts, mostly breezing through eight innings of a 5-2 win over the Padres on Tuesday at PETCO Park which pushed the Brewers to a season-high 18 games over .500.
Former Padre Mike Cameron hit a solo home run and made a series of slick plays in center field, and Fielder blasted a go-ahead, three-run home run for the Brewers, who improved to 12-2 on the road since the All-Star break. They moved within three games of the National League Central-leading Cubs, who were rained out on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
"Starters' success will let you play a long time," said Cameron, who spent the previous two seasons playing for the pitching-rich Padres in pitcher-friendly PETCO Park. "It gives you the opportunity to play later on in the fall."
No Brewers have more postseason experience than Suppan, who was outstanding for the third straight start since his dismal July 27 outing against the Astros. On Tuesday, he held the Padres to two runs on four hits over eight innings, and over his three starts since he allowed eight runs in six innings against Houston, Suppan is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA (five earned runs in 22 innings).
Over the team's last 11 games, Brewers starters are 8-2 with a 2.01 ERA and have recorded 10 quality starts of at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs, including seven such starts in a row. Milwaukee leads the National League in innings pitched by its starters.
"It helps when you have two aces in the front of your staff," Suppan said, referring to CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets, who are scheduled to pitch the remaining two games in the series here. "That's a big boost, so you just keep going. ...
"I'm a person that I'm not looking back on a season. I'm focused on what I have to do now, regardless if I've pitched well or poorly in the past. That's where my focus is. You can always look back and see trends. You look back when it's all over."
The Brewers hope Suppan continues his trend as a second-half pitcher. In 2007, his first year with Milwaukee, Suppan posted a 5.00 ERA before the All-Star break but lowered it to 4.12 afterward. Over the previous three years, Suppan had a 4.98 ERA before the All-Star break and a 3.09 ERA after it.
Suppan was quick to argue that every start is different. Manager Ned Yost was more inclined to see a trend.
"I think there's something to that, for sure," Yost said. "We saw him pitch in big games and pitching in World Series games and division playoff games to get [the Cardinals] to the World Series."
Suppan surrendered only two hits in his first five innings of work, and both came in the second, when Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff hit an 0-and-2 pitch for a solo home run and a 1-0 San Diego lead. Nick Hundley singled two batters later but was stranded. That was San Diego's only hit until Jody Gerut led off the sixth inning with another solo shot.
By then, the Brewers had built a lead. Cameron answered Kouzmanoff with a solo shot in the third off right-hander Cha Seung Baek (4-6), and Fielder ripped a go-ahead homer down the right-field line with two runners on base and no outs in the fourth.
When asked about Fielder's go-ahead blow, Cameron was quick to credit Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who went 0-for-4, including a pair of double-play grounders, one with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Hardy drew a walk leading off the fourth inning from Baek, who then surrendered a single to Gabe Kapler before Fielder gave the Brewers a lead with authority.
"It was shot out of a cannon," Yost said. "Gerut's was, too. Those are fun home runs to watch, because they're just smoked."
It was Fielder's fifth home run in his last seven road games and his 27th homer this season.
"I'm just trying to hit it on the barrel as far as I can," Fielder said.
Salomon Torres pitched the ninth for Milwaukee and earned his 23rd save.
Baek took the loss after working six-plus innings. He surrendered five runs, all of them earned after the official scorer reversed a seventh-inning Kouzmanoff error into an RBI infield hit for Kapler. Baek allowed seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts in his first career appearance against Milwaukee.
He's been an enigma for the Padres, who play home games in an extremely pitcher-friendly ballpark. Baek is 3-0 with a 2.90 ERA in five road starts since a trade from Seattle to San Diego, but he fell to 0-6 in home starts over the same span.
Suppan had no such trouble on Tuesday, when he threw an economical 98 pitches in his eight innings of work. Cameron's familiarity with PETCO Park's spacious center field certainly helped; he made at least three catches near the wall on balls that would have sailed far out of Miller Park but died in the thick ocean air.
"There were some plays where the ballpark helped me," Suppan said.
"[Suppan] played the park just right on a couple of balls," Yost said. "Used Cammy's great defensive ability in center. He just kept making pitches. Eight innings is always a great start."
Copyright 2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Griffey won't win AL Central on his own
CHICAGO -- This is not a case of Ken Griffey Jr. riding to the rescue, although his career clearly merits that sort of storyline.
Griffey does not have to carry his new club, the Chicago White Sox. He just needs to be reasonably productive. He knows this. The Sox know this. Coming from a Cincinnati club that was hopelessly out of the running in the National League Central, he arrives at a White Sox club that has spent 107 days in first place in the American League Central this season.
"It's a dream come true to play for another winning team," Griffey said on Tuesday, before his first home game at U.S. Cellular Field. "These guys were in first place before I got here. It's my job to try to keep them there."
Griffey is 38, one more reason why it no longer feels comfortable to address him as "Junior." More to the point, he is a future Hall of Famer, but a former superstar. With the Reds this year, he hit .245 with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs.
The White Sox are not getting the player who was the best in his generation during his years with the Seattle Mariners. But that is the reality and Griffey is all right with it.
"Everybody gets older," he said and then added with a small smile: "You hope to get older. I was glad that this team took a chance on me. That means a lot to me and my family."
"It's not the Griffey we know, but he still knows what he's doing," was the way White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen put it. Guillen said that his first message to Griffey was that he did not have to carry the load for this team. That was a reasonable introductory remark.
Still, this is Ken Griffey Jr., a man with 608 home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards. He is still a presence. That presence is not felt in an overbearing way. It's the opposite. Griffey, typically, still wears his fame in an extremely understated manner. He played as a star, but he never acted the star. On Tuesday, in his introductory Chicago press conference, he spoke with candor and humor and admitted to some nervousness. But it was all done in a very soft voice.
What he has done in the game speaks volumes itself. It's why Guillen said "I think it's great having another Hall of Famer wearing a White Sox uniform." And that was why, before his first at-bat on Tuesday night, Griffey received a long and loud standing ovation from the crowd at U.S. Cellular Field.
The storybook ending that was seemingly required from these circumstances was only partially realized in the ensuing game. Griffey didn't have much to do with the outcome, going 1-for-6 and striking out three times. But the White Sox battled back from a five-run deficit against the Detroit Tigers to send the game to extra innings. Then, after Tuesday night had turned to Wednesday morning, the White Sox triumphed, 10-8, in the 14th inning on a three-run homer by Nick Swisher.
Griffey played center, his position for the vast majority of his career, but one he has not played regularly since 2006. General manager Ken Williams made it clear that Griffey is not seen as the regular center fielder. Griffey will at least occasionally play right field and serve as the designated hitter. On those days when he is not in the lineup, he will still be a presence as a potential left-handed bat off the bench.
For all that Griffey might be able to bring to the South Side, the core problems of the White Sox at the moment have nothing to do with Griffey, or anything that Griffey can help, for that matter. Those core problems are the persistence of the Minnesota Twins, and, over the last three weeks, a pitching slump by the White Sox staff.
Over the last 20 games, a pitching staff that had been solid and more over most of the season has had an ERA of 6.36.
"Our ballclub is going through a pretty tough time now," said Guillen, who is under a two-game suspension for an altercation with umpires that occurred on Sunday in Kansas City. "We have to win every series we play. The way we're pitching now I don't know if we will. I don't care how many Ken Griffeys we bring to our ballclub, we have to start pitching."
And that is the Griffey acquisition in context. He won't win this by himself. He certainly won't lose this by himself. The chances are that his very positive presence and his remaining skills will be of measurable, if not overwhelming assistance to the White Sox in the last two months of the season.
Beyond that, Griffey deserves at least one more chance to perform for a contending team. The achievements of his career and what he has meant to the game merit at least that much.
For more than a decade, the only argument about Griffey's work was whether he or Barry Bonds was the greatest player in the game. No matter where you stood on that issue then, in retrospect, Griffey was the one who didn't change body types or require a larger helmet. The rest of us appreciate that, too.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Lackey, Rasner to face off on TBS
NEW YORK -- When John Lackey and Darrell Rasner take the mound at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon, one will be coming off an unforgettable performance while the other will be coming off an outing he'd probably rather forget.
The two will square off to close out a four-game series between the Angels and the Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET in Sunday's TBS Game of the Week.
Lackey came within two outs of a no-hitter against the Red Sox on Tuesday night before Boston's Dustin Pedroia connected on a line-drive single in the ninth. The no-no was spoiled, but the righty walked off the field with a complete game under his belt.
"You're not going to get a better pitched game than that, for sure," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Tuesday. "Unfortunately, that ninth inning, he didn't finish the no-hitter or shutout, but against that lineup, to pitch that well and that deep into the game, that's a great game by John Lackey."
The 29-year-old Lackey (9-2, 2.93) has won eight of his last 10 games and recorded deep outings, throwing at least six innings in eight of those games.
Before he pitched six-plus innings against the Orioles on Tuesday night, Rasner had not thrown six full innings since June 6. The righty has posted just two wins in his last 10 outings, a combination of tough luck and shaky performances, and he has struggled to find consistency.
Rasner fell behind early on Tuesday, but managed to hold Baltimore to just two runs in six innings before he gave up a single and hit a batter to start off the seventh. He watched from the dugout as those two runners eventually scored. Despite the loss, Rasner said he was able to pull some positives from the outing.
"I had to battle from the get-go I felt with my command, and I got through that," he said Tuesday. "So personally, I felt good. It just would have been nice to come away with a win today for the team."
Sunday will mark Rasner's first appearance against the American League-leading Angels. Lackey is 3-3 in seven career starts with a 3.49 ERA at Yankee Stadium, and he holds a 4-7 career record with a 4.81 ERA overall against the Yankees.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Pirates rally in 11th to even series
CINCINNATI -- It's not to say that manager John Russell wasn't confident in his bullpen. It's just that he had watched enough leads vanish already on Tuesday night that he wasn't about to be satisfied with just a one-run lead.
And with that mentality, he sent shortstop Jack Wilson to the plate swinging in the 11th inning of a tied ballgame in a situation that typically screams "bunt."
Russell's decision proved crucial, and his instinct couldn't have been more on target, as Wilson catalyzed a two-run inning that would ultimately stand in a mentally exhausting, but gutsy, 6-5 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
"I've been kind of watching the last few games, and every time we've played for one run, it hasn't been working out for us," Russell said. "It was at the point in the game where playing for one run wasn't going to do us any good."
A two-run lead hadn't worked in the eighth, as Damaso Marte surrendered a two-run homer to Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips that erased a 3-1 lead. It was the second blown save in four days for Marte, with both blown saves being the result of home runs.
A one-run lead then wouldn't hold in the 10.
After riding a two-out, RBI double by Jason Michaels to reclaim the lead in the top of the inning, closer Matt Capps would blow his second save in as many days, and the Pirates' second of the game, when he allowed the Reds to match that run with one of their own in the bottom half.
So bunting for one run in the 11th, well, that was out of the question.
"I think after our attempts the last couple of days, [we were] tired of going to small ball," said Wilson, who admitted having to do a double-take at the sign from third-base coach Tony Beasley. "It worked out real well for us."
Wilson came to the plate behind Xavier Nady, who led off the inning with a pinch-hit double. With the intention of trying to drive the ball to the right side of the field, Wilson did a little better, lacing a line drive toward right fielder Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey made a diving attempt at the ball, only to watch it skip under his glove and all the way to the wall. Nady scored easily, while Wilson hustled to third.
"We needed that bounce," said Wilson, who finished with a three-hit night. "He catches that ball, I don't think [Nady] makes it over, and it's a different ballgame."
Russell's decision to let Wilson swing away then paid off two-fold, as outfielder Nate McLouth followed with a line-drive single to left-center field to give the Pirates a necessary two-run cushion.
"In this ballpark, against [that] team, you never feel safe, no matter how many runs you are up," McLouth said afterward. "We feel fortunate to come out with a win."
There would be no collective exhale, however, as the Pirates took the field to protect that lead. With the entire back end of the bullpen already having been exhausted, Russell was left with two options, T.J. Beam and Romulo Sanchez, both of whom had been called up from Triple-A over the weekend.
Russell summoned Sanchez for the right-hander's first big league appearance of the season and his first Major League save opportunity.
Sanchez would struggle with his control, throwing only 13 of his 25 pitches for strikes. Despite allowing the Reds to creep back to within one run, however, Sanchez would get outfielder Corey Patterson to fly out with the potential tying run on third.
"To bring Sanchez into that situation is tough for anybody, especially in his first outing," Russell said. "Usually those games are decided by something funny, something out of the ordinary."
Despite the two blown saves, this would be a night where often-unsung members of the Pirates 'pen would carry the load.
There was reliever Sean Burnett, who preserved a 3-3 tie in the ninth after giving up a leadoff single. Denny Bautista and John Grabow, too, deserve credit for bailing starter Zach Duke out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the sixth by allowing the Reds to score just once.
"It's fun to watch the guys continue to battle and come back," Russell said. "It's just one of those things when you play these guys at home; they're tough to beat."
Duke's start would be all but lost by the end of Tuesday's game. He finished five-plus innings, allowing just one run on six hits. His command wasn't as precise as it had been in recent starts, but as Doug Mientkiewicz said afterward, in reference to Reds starter Edinson Volquez: "You know going into this game, you can't give up many, and Duke did an amazing job."
In the meantime, Duke was staked to an early lead on RBI hits by Jose Bautista and Adam LaRoche, before Mientkiewicz's sacrifice fly in the third scored Ryan Doumit. It came after Doumit was nearly thrown out trying to scamper back to third after going too far towards home.
Duke also benefited from run-saving defensive plays by Wilson and Mientkiewicz early on. Wilson's leaping catch saved a run in the first, while Mientkiewicz made both a sliding catch and picked up his first career outfield assist as he relayed the throw into Wilson, who then completed a putout at the plate.
"I just try to get it to Jack as quick as possible, and let Jack do the rest," Mientkiewicz said.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
New York's Manuel, Beltran fined; Umpire Runge disciplined
Manager Jerry Manuel and outfielder Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets have received undisclosed fines for their conduct during the bottom of the fourth inning of their Club's game against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday at Shea Stadium. Manuel was fined for his aggressive conduct and Beltran was fined for arguing balls and strikes. Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.
In addition, Major League Baseball announced today that Umpire Brian Runge has been suspended for one game for his conduct, which included making contact with Manuel, during the incident. Runge's suspension will be served immediately. Mike Port, Vice President of Umpiring for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Warthen bringing own style to table
ANAHEIM -- Rattling off a list of his new pitchers on Tuesday afternoon, Dan Warthen allowed a wry smile to crawl across his face, just as the names "Johan Santana" and "Pedro Martinez" spilled across his lips. He let out a low chuckle, then continued.
"They already know how to pitch," Warthen said.
The challenge will be with everybody else. Warthen, named the new Mets pitching coach on Tuesday, comes to the team with none of the fanfare and expectation that shadowed Rick Peterson throughout his tenure in Queens. Perhaps the fact that Peterson spent his days under atypical scrutiny helped lead to his sudden demise. But then again, Peterson was never a typical pitching coach to begin with.
He was an artist and a scientist all at once, with confidence to match. And that worked at first, but as the days wore on and the losses mounted, the Mets needed a change. So on the same day that he dismissed manager Willie Randolph, Mets general manager Omar Minaya also cut ties with Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto.
"I certainly didn't sign with the Mets to be here," Warthen said. "I didn't think this was going to happen. My respect for Rick Peterson is above all. I don't think anybody works any harder, prepares any better, and Willie's the same way. I am surprised."
His experience fits the job description. Warthen has been a pitching coach for the Tigers, Padres and Mariners, and most recently filled the same role for Triple-A New Orleans. Then, late on Monday night, Minaya offered him a job to replace a close friend.
"We just needed to make a change," Minaya said. "I thought one move was not going to be enough."
Warthen first met Peterson in 1978, back when the two were Minor League teammates in the Pirates' system. They remained friends over the next three decades, while each forged a name for himself in the coaching community.
Peterson's name grew bigger during the first part of this decade, when he helped develop Oakland's "Big Three" of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. That work, more than anything, earned him a job with the Mets -- where he remained until Tuesday.
And in New York, too, he earned praise. Combining some unorthodox techniques -- blind bullpen sessions, to name just one -- with an emphasis on psychology, Peterson helped Tom Glavine reinvent his style at the end of his career, and he helped John Maine transform from a middling prospect into a potential ace. But he struggled with other pitchers, remaining unable to solve Oliver Perez's puzzling inconsistency, and taking heat after reportedly proclaiming that he could "fix" Victor Zambrano in 10 minutes.
The Mets traded their top pitching prospect, Scott Kazmir, for Zambrano, and Peterson couldn't back up his boast.
So now, years after that trade, Peterson is gone. His methods have been replaced by those of Warthen, who claims he isn't as "meticulous" as his predecessor. Warthen believes in pitching to contact, in stretching out both starters and relievers and in embracing manager Jerry Manuel's philosophy of defining strict bullpen roles.
More importantly, the new kid in the clubhouse believes in hinging his success on those around him.
"There's a plethora of information among all the coaches here," Warthen said. "They've got a great deal of information for me, and I want to use it all. I learned that a long time ago."
Some philosophies will change among that group now that Randolph is gone, and others won't. Manuel promoted longtime friend Sandy Alomar to bench coach following Tuesday's round of dismissals, plugging Ken Oberkfell in as the new first-base coach and Luis Aguayo as the third-base coach. The ideas will surely flow.
"Sandy and I have been good friends for along time," Manuel said. "Where he is now in his career, he can sit next to me and kind of give me that wisdom and insight on the game that I can appreciate."
And that's just the idea.
Warthen, for one, has already gone to work, overseeing Maine's bullpen session on Tuesday -- "I love this guy's arm," he said -- and scheming of ways to improve his rotation. He wants to stretch out Maine and Mike Pelfrey even further, to use his relievers for more than an inning each and to encourage Martinez to keep working with Perez.
"I've heard that Pedro has been in his ear a little bit," Warthen said. "If that works, let's go. I don't have an ego that way."
Perez has the skill, Warthen said, if not the confidence. Same with Pelfrey. Same with Maine. Warthen believes that he can help all three of them.
"And with guys like Santana and Pedro," he said, "if they need a cup of coffee, I'm going to be there."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
|
