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| Friday, March 23 | |||||
| Knoblauch says he's feeling comfortable | |||||
| PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Chuck Knoblauch jogged 53 steps from
the visitor's dugout on the third-base side of Charlotte County
Stadium out to left field. And then he waited.
Only in the fifth inning did he finally get to make a play,
backing up to the warning track to catch Alex Rodriguez's high
sacrifice fly.
Playing his new position against major leaguers for the first
time, that was his only play Friday in the New York Yankees' 6-5
loss to the Texas Rangers.
"I ended up throwing to the wrong base. I'll learn from that,"
Knoblauch said.
He fidgeted, hopping up on his feet. He tossed the ball to minor
league catcher Michel Hernandez, in the Yankees' bullpen down the
left-field line, between innings – and the throws were on target.
There weren't any fans to talk to, though. Sonny's Real Pit
BAR-B-Q filled a deck down the left-field line. At Yankee Stadium,
he's sure to have plenty of fans waiting to converse and critique.
"As the innings went by, it got better and better," he said.
Before A-Rod's fly ball, Knoblauch's primary action had been in
the second inning, when he watched Ivan Rodriguez's drive off Sid
Fernandez sail over his head and the left-field fence, toward a
pond that alligators call home.
Knoblauch spoke with Michael Coleman, who played center field, a
few times to go over positioning. Given Knoblauch's drive, regular
center fielder Bernie Williams had better look out: Knoblauch will
go for balls in the gap without checking if he's crashing into
teammates.
"I'm going to be out there diving for balls, trying to make
plays, trying to get any ball I can," said Knoblauch, who will
attempt to use his speed to overcome bad jumps.
A-Rod hit his fly ball with runners on first and third.
Knoblauch should have thrown to second base, Instead, he saw
shortstop Luis Sojo way over on the left side of the infield threw
to third.
"We didn't help him out any because Sojo was lined up to the
plate," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "That's inexperience."
Moved to the outfield from second because he no longer can throw
accurately to first, Knoblauch had spent just three days learning
the position, playing it in practice for two days and for six
innings during a Class-A exhibition game Thursday.
He played six innings Friday and said he wasn't nervous.
"Not really butterflies, anxiousness to get some action," he
said. "Hopefully, it will be old hat after a while."
Wright throws two hitless innings in first spring outing HAINES CITY, Fla. – Jaret Wright, recovering from shoulder surgery, pitched two hitless innings in his first spring training outing for the Cleveland Indians, a 1-0 victory Friday night over the Kansas City Royals. Wright was facing major league hitters for the first time since June 2. He had surgery Aug. 17 to repair the labrum and fraying in the rotator cuff. Wright, who walked two and struck out two, probably will begin the season on the disabled list and in extended spring training in Florida. "It went absolutely great," said Wright, who hit 93 mph on the radar run. "For a while, I didn't think it was going to happen. It was a big step for me and I'm pleased." Bartolo Colon worked six shutout innings, scattering six hits, walking none and striking out seven to improve his record to 2-1. Colon gave up one-out singles to Mark Quinn and Luis Alicea in the second, but struck out Gregg Zaun and Rey Sanchez to strand the runners. Six Royals pitchers combined to strike out a club-high 14 batters, including four by rookie starter Kris Wilson in two innings. Roberto Hernandez struck out the side in the ninth. Juan Gonzalez hit his fifth home run on a 2-2 pitch from Doug Henry in the fourth inning for the only Cleveland run. Henry, who dropped to 0-2, has yielded four home runs in seven innings. Chipper misses second straight game with sore thumb KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones didn't play Friday night against the Montreal Expos, missing his second straight game because of a sore left thumb. Jones jammed his thumb last Saturday during an at-bat against Houston. "It's black and blue," said Atlanta manager Bobby Cox. "It's not in the bone, it's tissue. The only way to get rid of it is rest." Jones also took off Sunday, but played Monday and Tuesday before deciding he could not swing properly. He was dressed and took fielding practice prior to Friday night's game, but did not take batting practice. Jones is listed as day-to-day. Return date still unknown for Hernandez PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – New York Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernandez played long toss Friday, but his return date still has not been determined. Hernandez has not made a game appearance since March 9 when he injured his right elbow. The right-hander has thrown just four innings this spring. "I think he's trying to be safe," Torre said. "He has no pain, he's assured me of that." Torre said it was possible Hernandez might throw from a bullpen mound this weekend. If that's the case, he might pitch next Tuesday or Wednesday. "You'd like to see him a couple times before we start," Torre said. "I think he needs a couple shots down here." The Yankees have not ruled out Hernandez pitching in a minor league game before his first regular season start. Shortstop Derek Jeter (right quadriceps) resumed running Friday. Although Jeter might play Sunday against the Minnesota Twins, Torre did not rule out the possibility he could play in several minor league games as the designated hitter. Tigers' Palmer still ailing, might miss opener LAKELAND, Fla. – Detroit Tigers third baseman Dean Palmer could miss the start of the season because of soreness in his right shoulder. Palmer had surgery on the shoulder this winter and is still unable to throw from third to first. He said he has felt little improvement in his shoulder from the first day of camp and will have it re-examined next week by Dr. James Andrews to see if there is a problem. "I think it's smart," Palmer said Friday. "It nothing else, it might give me some piece of mind. It's coming down to the point where we need to figure out some things." Palmer has seen action as a designated hitter this spring but has not played third base. He was scratched from the lineup Friday for the Tigers' spring training game against the Florida Marlins, and he will not play through the weekend. General manager Randy Smith and manager Phil Garner both remained hopeful that the pain in Palmer's shoulder is nothing more than part of his recovery. But both said there's a possibility of opening the season without him in the lineup. Smith said Palmer might be put on the 15-day disabled list at some point, retroactive to Friday, meaning his would miss the Tigers' first three games of the regular season. In the meantime, utility infielder Shane Halter will be the Tigers' starting third baseman.
Pedro dominates again but gives up Casey HR PEORIA, Ariz. – Ichiro Suzuki is starting to find his hitting stroke. Suzuki, a seven-time batting champion in Japan, hit his second spring home run of the week in a 9-8 loss by the Seattle Mariners to the Chicago Cubs in a split-squad game Friday. "If he's done all that damage in Japan, I would think that he would have a successful career here, too," Cubs coach Rene Lachemann said. "That's not like playing in Triple-A baseball or Class A baseball." Suzuki's two-run shot in the third inning came off right-hander Jon Lieber, a 12-game winner for the Cubs last season. The Mariners' left-handed leadoff hitter hit the ball off the back wall of the Cubs' bullpen in right field. "They have good pitching over in Japan," Lachemann said. "It's not like he hasn't seen good pitching before." Teams in spring training have been pitching Suzuki inside. Suzuki now is beginning to adjust. "He moves around a lot at the plate," Lachemann said. "We got in on him pretty good, but he opened up and that's what good hitters do. You have to make adjustments. Now, he's starting to pull the ball." Suzuki went 2-for-3 to raise his spring batting average to .352 (18-for-51) and also get his first walk of the spring in 15 games, too. "He's swinging the bat with some power," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. "He got a good fastball up in the zone and he turned on it. It was a hit-and-run actually and he hit it out of the ballpark." Sammy Sosa and Roosevelt Brown of the Cubs, and Edgar Martinez of the Mariners also homered. It was Sosa's seventh homer of the spring and Martinez's fourth.
Nagy impressive again for Indians
Just call Biggio Mr. Bull's-eye TUCSON, Ariz. – Mike Hampton became the first Colorado pitcher this spring to throw seven innings and Larry Walker hit a two-run homer as the Rockies beat the Anaheim Angels 8-5 Friday. Todd Hollandsworth added four hits and two RBI for the Rockies, who pounded Anaheim starter Ismael Valdes for eight runs and 13 hits in six innings. Hampton, carrying lofty expectations after signing an eight-year, $121 million contract in December, allowed three runs and seven hits. He walked his first three hitters of the spring but got three double plays and struck out five. The left-hander needed 12 pitches to retire the side in each of the first, second, third, sixth and seventh innings. Overall, he threw 98 pitches, 61 for strikes, and made a nice play to start a double play in the fourth. "I'm right where I need to be at this time," Hampton said. "If the regular season was to start tomorrow, I'd feel pretty confident that I'd be ready to go, but it will be good to get one more outing and get ready for Opening Day." Valdes, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in January, has struggled this spring, allowing 17 earned runs in 15 2-3 innings. David Eckstein, seeking a chance to replace injured Adam Kennedy at second base, had three hits and an RBI for the Angels. Sexon hits sixth homer PHOENIX – Richie Sexson hit his sixth home run of the spring and right-hander Jamey Wright allowed one run in six innings as the Milwaukee Brewers beat a split squad of Seattle Mariners 3-1 Friday. Sexson's homer, a two-run shot off Mariners starter Paul Abbott (0-1), pushed his exhibition RBI total to 16. Sexson, acquired from Cleveland in a multiplayer deal July 28, hit a three-run shot Thursday. Wright, who will square off against Los Angeles ace Kevin Brown in the season opener April 2 at Dodger Stadium, turned in his best performance of the spring. He allowed four hits and one run. He struck out six of the 21 hitters he faced and did not issue a walk. Seattle's only run came in the fifth, on Manny Alexander's RBI single. Allen Levrault, David Weathers and Curtis Leskanic followed Wright to the mound and each allowed one hit. The four Brewers pitchers combined to strike out 11 hitters. Jose Hernandez had two hits for the Brewers, who scored their other run on a sacrifice fly by Ron Belliard.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | ALSO SEE Spring report: Bonds comes back from break with blast | ||||