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| Monday, March 12 | |||||
| Jeter lined out twice and grounded out | |||||
| TAMPA, Fla. – New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter went
0-for-3 in his spring training debut Sunday against the Montreal
Expos.
After missing eight exhibition games because of an inflamed
right shoulder joint, Jeter was scratched Saturday with a viral
throat infection.
"My throat is still sore, but yesterday I had a fever," Jeter
said. "Finally the shoulder is all right and you get sick. It's
been pretty frustrating."
Jeter did not have a fever Sunday and said his shoulder has been
pain free.
"You don't know until you play," Jeter said. "You can take
all the ground balls you want, but until you get into a game
situation, you're not going to know."
Jeter lined out twice – to second base and right field – against
Expos' right-hander Britt Reames. He grounded out to third in his
final at bat in the fifth inning against Bob Scanlan.
"I don't like watching," Jeter said. "If it was the regular
season, they said they would have let me play. They said there is
no need to rush it, it's spring training, so they put me on the
slow program."
Jeter is also scheduled to play in Monday's game against the
Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers.
Sheffield gets his first hit of the spring JUPITER, Fla. – A day after dropping his trade request, Gary Sheffield got his first hit of the spring. Sheffield snapped an 0-for-10 slump by tripling in the fourth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Sunday. "I'm not a politician or anything like that," Sheffield said. "I'm just a baseball player and a family man, and I'm going to get back to doing those two things." Sheffield got his first hit off Cardinals prospect Jason Karnuth in the fourth and scored on a single by Chris Donnels. Sheffield said he'll make the best of his situation. "I know guys respect me in this locker room and we have a mutual love for each other and mutual respect," Sheffield said. "I said what I said and I'm happy with it and we can move on and try to win a championship." He didn't want to talk about what changed his mind. "I'm going to leave that where it is," he said, "and just focus on baseball." Sheffield was booed before each of his three at-bats, not that it bothered him. "I felt relaxed," he said. "I'm just letting my ability take over again. My bat speed feels like it's back and I see the ball real big because I'm just relaxed up there." Center field Jim Edmonds missed on an over-the-shoulder catch on the play as the ball glanced off his wrist. Edmonds, a four-time Gold Glove winner, indicated he was in spring training form in the field. "That's a ball I'm expected to catch," Edmonds said. "He hit it hard but it died in the wind." Edmonds caught Sheffield's liner to end the fifth, a play he said was perhaps more difficult. Wagner strains groin after two pitches VALENCIA, Venezuela – Houston closer Billy Wagner, coming back from elbow surgery, gave the Astros a scare Sunday when he left the game against Cleveland after two pitches. He grimaced in pain after throwing a 98 mph fastball to Tim Laker in the eighth inning. He conferred with pitching coach Burt Hooton for a minute and then walked slowly off the field. Wagner has a mild strain on the left side of the groin and took himself off the field as a precaution. "I didn't want to continue doing anything with it, so I just came off," Wagner told The Houston Chronicle. "I felt a strain during warmups but I decided to see what I could so." Wagner was the league's top closer in 1999, with 39 saves and a 1.57 ERA. Last year, he had only six saves and a 6.18 ERA and missed the final three months of the after undergoing surgery on his left elbow. Adam Everett's two-run homer in the ninth inning gave the Astros an 8-8 tie in the second game of the two-game trip to Venezuela. Sosa sustains minor injury, will miss Monday's game MESA, Ariz. – Mark Grace carried the lineup card out to home plate Sunday as he returned to the Chicago Cubs' spring-training facility for the first time as a visiting player. Grace then walked and singled in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 13-3 victory over the Cubs. Arizona got 18 hits. Sammy Sosa hit his second homer of the spring for the Cubs. He also was nursing a sore left shoulder and cuts on his finger and elbow. Sosa sustained the minor injuries chasing down a double by the Diamondbacks' Greg Colbrunn in the fifth inning. Sosa was scheduled to travel with the team to Tucson to face Colorado, but will stay back in Mesa for treatment for the injuries instead, according to a Chicago Tribune report. Grace, a Cub for 13 years until signing with the Diamondbacks last December, received warm applause from most in the crowd of 10,564. He credited Arizona manager Bob Brenly for the idea of carrying the lineup card out. Brenly also waited until Grace took his position at first base in the bottom of the fifth before removing him from the game. Again, Grace was greeted by polite applause. "He kept trying to get me standing ovations; we just never could get one," Grace said. "It was neat. My car knew how to get here, that's for sure." Orioles may know Ripken's status within days FORT MYERS, Fla. – Cal Ripken could start swinging a bat for the first time this spring in the next week. Ripken has been taking it easy since reporting to Baltimore's camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., because of a cracked rib on his right side. But Orioles manager Mike Hargrove believes that could soon change. "It may be shorter than a week to 10 days," Hargrove said. "We may know something within the next one to three days, as far as where he's at with this. "You hate to put time limits on it for the simple reason that it's absolutely going by how he feels. Monday will have been four weeks. They said 2-to-4 weeks." The cause of the injury remains something of a mystery, though Ripken has speculated it might have occurred during one of his basketball games at his home gymnasium. He had trouble drawing a deep breath his first week in camp, but no longer experiences pain in the ribcage from the simplest activities. He's been careful, however, not to twist his body or reach too far with his right arm and negate the healing that's taken place. Ripken, who didn't accompany the Orioles to Fort Myers, Fla. for Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox, is expected to inform trainer Richie Bancells of his progress and suggest a more aggressive approach to preparing for his 21st season. The Orioles have been leaving such decisions to Ripken, who has been on the disabled list three times in the past two seasons. He appeared in only 83 games last season, the fewest of any complete season in his major league career, because of inflammation in his lower back. "There will come a time when he's going to go to Richie and say, 'I feel pretty good,' and have the doctor check him out, and from whatever the doctor says, he'll proceed to the activities he can do, like swinging a bat. And the comfort or discomfort will dictate how much he can do," Hargrove said. Hargrove has been using Jeff Conine, Mike Kinkade, Ivanon Coffie and Jose Leon at third base this spring. Conine most likely would be the starter if Ripken isn't available for Opening Day. Rangers' reserve outfielder Ledee out with injury PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Texas outfielder Ricky Ledee, the Rangers' most versatile outfielder and most attractive trade bait, will be out for at least a week with a pulled left hamstring. Ledee sustained the injury Saturday after chasing down a fly ball in the fifth innings of Texas' 10-2 victory over Baltimore. The Rangers planned to conduct on MRI to determine the extent of the injury. This spring, Ledee has started in both right field and center field. If healthy, he's the fourth outfielder behind Ruben Mateo, Gabe Kapler and Rusty Greer. All three of the starting outfielders were out with injuries at the end of last season. Ledee, acquired in a trade with Cleveland last July 28, is hitting .250 (3-for-12) this spring. General manager Doug Melvin said Ledee has also been the most asked about player on the team. The New York Yankees inquired about Ledee before spring training and the Montreal Expos are looking for a left fielder. Also, starting center fielder Gabe Kapler left Sunday's game against Cincinnati after two innings due to a bruised right hand. Kapler was hit by a pitch from Reds starter Scott Williamson. Kapler wanted to stay in the game. He returned to Port Charlotte for further tests Sunday, but expects to be fine and not miss any action. Segui homers twice for Orioles FORT MYERS, Fla. – David Segui hit two home runs and starter Jose Mercedes retired the last 12 batters he faced Sunday as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 10-2. Segui, who has never hit more than 20 homers in a season, batted in Albert Belle's old cleanup spot and homered from each side of the plate. Belle ended his career last week because of a degenerative hip condition. Segui doesn't feel the pressure to produce as Belle did. "I don't change the way I hit whether I am hitting ninth or fourth," he said. "It's just nice to take good swings. It's spring training, You really don't concern yourself so much with results as with timing." Segui, batting left-handed, hit a two-run homer in the first inning off starter Rolando Arrojo, then added a right-handed solo shot in the seventh off Kent Mercker. Chris Richard also homered for the Orioles, who had 11 hits. Mercedes, the Orioles most effective pitcher last season at 14-7, gave up four hits in five innings, but did not allow a hit after Dante Bichette's second-inning single. "We have a lot of good arms on the team. It's just a matter of if they step up," Segui said. The Orioles scored four runs in the second on Richard's homer, a double by Brady Anderson, a single by Delino DeShields, and a sacrifice fly by Mike Bordick. Arrojo was lifted after giving up six earned runs and six hits in two innings. "Fundamentally, he was just out of sync," Red Sox catcher Scott Hatteberg said. Tomo Ohka held the Orioles hitless for the next three innings until giving up three runs in the sixth on Brian Roberts' two-run double and an RBI single by Anderson.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | ALSO SEE Spring report: Tests show El Duque has mild forearm strain | ||||