AMERICAN LEAGUE: AROUND THE HORN : TARGET DATE MAY BE SOON FOR RODRIGUEZ.Byline: - Matt McHale Seattle shortstop Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975 in New York, New York), commonly nicknamed A-Rod, is a Dominican American baseball infielder. He is the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees, after having played shortstop for the Texas Rangers and Seattle is expected to return this week after missing a month recovering from surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. Mariners manager Lou Piniella ``Alex is close, and he wants to play,'' said Piniella, who has used six shortstops in Rodriguez's absence. ``We've said all along that he might be back May 14, but now he wants to play before that. I talked to our trainer and he says there's a chance we'll get Alex back Monday in Boston.'' Rodriguez, 23, with youth and determination on his side, has pushed himself after surgery, and in pre-game workouts Wednesday looked so good several Indians players watching asked if he was coming off the disabled list for the series. Rodriguez return can't come too soon for Piniella, whose struggling club could cost him his job. Wednesday, USA Today USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and surpassed two million in the 1990s. placed his odds of getting fired at 6-1. ``I opened the season at 10-1,'' Piniella said. ``I lose a couple of veteran pitchers, my odds went down.'' SAME OLD LOFTON Despite a sinus headache Noun 1. sinus headache - a headache resulting from congestion or infection in the paranasal sinuses cephalalgia, head ache, headache - pain in the head caused by dilation of cerebral arteries or muscle contractions or a reaction to drugs the blurred his vision, Cleveland's Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967 in East Chicago, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball outfielder. He bats and throws left-handed. He currently plays left field for the Cleveland Indians, with whom he has spent 10 seasons during three separate stints. went 4 for 5 with a homer and four RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in Monday and has regained his spot as one of baseball's most feared leadoff hitters. Compared to last year when Lofton hit .282 in his first year back with the Indians, he's hitting .358 (38 for 106) with 23 runs, eight doubles, three triples, three homers, 13 RBI, eight steals, 18 walks and 16 strikeouts. . . . Red Sox closer Tom Gordon Thomas "Flash" Gordon (born November 18, 1967 in Sebring, Florida) is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. Previously, he played with the Kansas City Royals (1988–95), Boston Red Sox (1996–99), Chicago Cubs , out since April 18 with an inflamed right elbow, has been throwing and hopes to start a minor-league rehab assignment next week. Wednesday's session was disappointing, but not as bad as the rest of the Boston bullpen, which has blown six of seven save opportunities and gone 1-5 with a 6.52 ERA during his absence. The Red Sox are 0-8 in games former Dodger Kip Gross Kip Lee Gross (Born August 24, 1964) in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. Gross played for four different ballclubs during his career: the Cincinnati Reds (1990-1991), Los Angeles Dodgers (1992-1993), Boston Red Sox (1999), and Houston Astros has appeared. . . . The Orioles were criticized last winter for giving Harold Baines n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. in an extra-inning victory. It came a day after the embarrassing 12-6 loss to Cuba and started the Orioles on their first three-game winning streak since last September. Actually, it has been so bad, the Orioles hadn't won two straight in 38 games. Mike Mussina is 4-1 this season. The rest of the starting rotation is 2-11, including Juan Guzman's first victory of 1999 on Wednesday night. . . . MORE BAD PITCHING Tim Belcher, a 14-game winner last year in Kansas City, has been getting rocked ever since signing a two-year, $10.2 million with the Angels. He has company. The Orioles' Scott Erickson, who led the AL in innings, starts and complete games last year, is 0-5 with an 8.44 ERA. . . . The Chicago Cubs are interested in Twins closer Rick Aguilera because of the struggling Rod Beck. Aguilera, who earlier said he would not waive his no-trade clause unless it was in a deal that would allow him to remain as a closer, seems to be relenting. It could be a good fit. Cubs president Andy MacPhail is the former Twins general manager. He is a former teammate of Cubs GM Ed Lynch, and Cubs pitcher Kevin Tapani is one of his best friends in the game. . . . The Toronto Blue Jays "Blue Jays" redirects here. For other uses, see Blue Jay (disambiguation).. The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. were in first place two weeks ago, but now they are stumbling. They had a team ERA of 4.03 (64 ER in 143 IP) when they started out 12-4, which included a 9-1 homestand. But an 11-game road trip through New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of (0-3), Anaheim (1-3) and Seattle (2-2) began a 3-10 slide. The Jays are still the highest-scoring team in the majors but entered the weekend with an ERA of 5.50 - 7.34 during those 13 games. More bad news: Joey Hamilton, who signed a three-year, $17 million contract after coming over from the Padres, had a 19.29 ERA for two starts totaling seven innings before going down with shoulder problems. Hamilton threw 50 pitches Wednesday in a simulated game and is expected to start a rehab assignment Monday. . . . FINALLY After a disappointing season last year, Tampa Bay's Fred McGriff has revived his career. McGriff set a major-league record Friday night by homering in his 34th ballpark during the regular season, a two-run shot in the third inning at Jacobs Field. Going into Saturday, McGriff had homered in four straight games and has eight homers in his last 10 games. |
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