DODGERS NOTEBOOK: SHEFFIELD WOULD LIKE ANSWERS.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer OAKLAND - The Dodgers said Gary Sheffield's injured left index finger should heal during the offseason without surgery, but the left fielder said he's going to make sure about that once the season ends. ``I'm going to get all kinds of opinions because I still don't have the range of motion,'' Sheffield said. ``I busted a blood vessel blood vessel n. An elastic tubular channel, such as an artery, a vein, a sinus, or a capillary, through which the blood circulates. blood vessel(s), n the network of muscular tubes that carry blood. in my hand. I used to bust them in my fingers. That's why I do these tape jobs (on his fingers). I need to take care of it after the season.'' Dodgers medical personnel said the torn ligament in Sheffield's finger, which he injured April 25, should heal without surgery. He initially missed four games when he injured it but went on the disabled list a month later. But it still is affecting him, limiting his productivity. He admitted it's changed him into a different type of hitter, one who can't drive the ball every at-bat. It also has forced him to use a longer and heavier bat. He's increased his bat length an inch to 35 1/2 and the ounces to 33. Sheffield said the increased size of the bat allows him to put more tape on the end of it to ease the pain on his finger. ``I know I'm not as quick as I was (with the bat),'' said Sheffield, who is batting .282 with 18 homers and 44 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 . ``I don't have the confidence in being as quick as I used to be. That's why I went to the bigger bat. --Shortstop platoon: The Dodgers thought Alex Cora José Alexander (Alex) Cora (born October 18, 1975 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a utility infielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. University of Miami career was the answer at shortstop, but they've spent the last month searching for a replacement via trade. The problem is other teams want either Eric Gagne or Luke Prokopec Kenneth Luke Prokopec (Born February 23, 1978) is an Australian-born, right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. in a deal. The Dodgers don't want to deal Prokopec and they're saving Gagne in case a deal comes up for a pitcher, their top need. So Cora and Jeff Reboulet Jeffrey Allen Reboulet (born April 30, 1964, in Dayton, Ohio) was a Major League Baseball infielder. He is an alumnus of Louisiana State University. Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 10th round of the 1986 MLB amateur draft, Reboulet would make his Major League Baseball are platooning at shortstop and it might remain that way the rest of the season unless teams move significantly on their asking price for either Cincinnati's Pokey Reese Cora last started against a left-hander June 16 against the Angels' Jarrod Washburn Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974 in La Crosse, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Drafted by the California Angels in the 2nd round of the 1995 amateur draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Washburn won the final game . Reboulet was hurt then. The last time Cora started a game against a lefty when Reboulet was healthy was April 29 against Philadelphia's Randy Wolf Randall Christopher Wolf (born August 22, 1976 in Canoga Park, California) is a left handed pitcher on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Amateur Career Wolf played PONY League Baseball at West Hills, CA. . Still, there hasn't been much of a difference from an offensive standpoint. Since May 1, Cora is batting .208 (35 for 168) and Reboulet .212 (18 for 85). In fact, in limited at-bats against left-handers, Cora is batting .321 (9 for 28). --No peeking: Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a catcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the New York Mets. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004) and Florida Marlins (2004-2005). , the hottest of the Dodgers hitters, had a 3-0 count with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 15th inning and his team ahead 4-3. Did he have the green light to swing? ``I didn't even look down (for the sign) because I didn't want to have him give me the green light and then swing at something stupid,'' Lo Duca Lo Duca is the surname of the following people:
--Odds and ends: Oakland third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Eric Chavez Eric Cesar Chavez (pronounced CHA-vez) (born December 7, 1977 in Los Angeles, California) is a Mexican-American third baseman in Major League Baseball who has played for the Oakland Athletics since 1998. left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with a sprained left thumb. ... Former Dodgers utility player F.P. Santangelo, who is being paid $850,000 this season by the club because of a guaranteed contract, is batting .212 with five homers and 17 RBI in 61 games for Oakland's Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. ... Even though Sheffield has played in only 74 of the Dodgers' 91 games, he easily leads the team in walks with 55. Shawn Green is second with 37. ... Broadcaster Rick Monday is on vacation and with the game not on television in Los Angeles, Vin Scully wasn't in Oakland. It left Ross Porter alone on the radio broadcast for all 15 innings. Porter said the last time he went solo on a broadcast was Aug. 23, 1989, when the Dodgers beat Montreal 1-0 - in 22 innings. DODGERS vs. PITTSBURGH Time: 2:05 p.m., at PNC Park. TV/Radio: No TV; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish). Matchup: The Dodgers will find out how much the three bullpen sessions and eight days between starts helped RH Kevin Brown (7-4, 3.02 ERA), who makes his first start since the All-Star break. Brown is 1-1 with a 4.96 ERA in his past three starts. He was the losing pitcher in Seattle's 13-0 win July 6. RH Jason Schmidt (5-4, 5.22) makes his 12th start for the Pirates. Schmidt has yielded 67 hits and walked 24 in 62 innings. Monday - Dodgers RH Eric Gagne (1-4, 5.42) vs. Pirates LH Joe Beimel (4-4, 4.65); Tuesday - Dodgers RH Terry Adams (4-3, 5.05) vs. Pirates LH Jimmy Anderson (5-8, 4.67). - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): photo Photo: GARY SHEFFIELD Once the season ends, the outfielder wants more than one opinion on his ailing finger. Box: DODGERS vs. PITTSBURGH (see text) |
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