DODGERS NOTEBOOK: VALENTIN INJURY MINOR.Byline: Tony Jackson
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer DENVER - Dodgers 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 Jose Valentin, who left Saturday night's game after being hit by a pitch on the right wrist and writhing in pain for several minutes, might return to the lineup as soon as tonight. Although he arrived at the park with a sheath on his wrist, Valentin was available to pinch-hit in Sunday's game against Colorado. Valentin said the cold weather might have been the reason he felt so much pain when he was hit. ``You see the ball bearing right in on you, but you have nowhere to go,'' he said. ``It's not fun. I got hit square. It got part of the bat, but it got me first, that's for sure. My (first) reaction was one of just being scared, knowing that it hit my right wrist and thinking it was probably a broken wrist.'' Valentin immediately left the game and was taken for precautionary X-rays, which were negative, but trainer Stan Johnston already had a sense the injury wasn't as severe as it looked. ``Stan came out and opened my wrist, and I didn't feel any pain,'' Valentin said. ``He opened up my fingers, and the feeling started coming back.'' Norihiro Nakamura Norihiro Nakamura(中村 紀洋, born July 24, 1973) is a Japanese professional baseball third baseman. Career He was born in Osaka, Japan, and spent almost all of his professional career in Japan with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. played third base Sunday, something manager Jim Tracy
Francis made his major league debut on August 25, 2004, against the Atlanta Braves, losing the 8-1 decision. started for the Rockies. Elsewhere on the injury front, Tracy said closer Eric Gagne (elbow) might throw off a mound for the first time within the next couple of days and that left fielder Jayson Werth Jayson Richard Gowan Werth (born May 20, 1979 in Springfield, Illinois) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He has usually been a bench player, but injuries to regular right fielder Shane Victorino and his backup Michael (wrist) is ``getting close'' to taking batting practice with the club. As expected, the Dodgers placed right-hander Elmer Dessens Elmer Dessens Jusaino [deh-SENZ] (born January 13, 1971 in Hermosillo, Mexico) is a pitcher on the Colorado Rockies. He bats and throws right handed. He is 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. His 2007 salary is $1.7 million. His pitching speed can reach 90-93 mph. (shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list before the game to clear a roster spot for Brad Penny Bradley Wayne Penny[1] (born May 24, 1978 in Blackwell, Oklahoma)[2] is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers.[3] Early career , who was activated so he could make his season debut against the Rockies. --Running game: Dodgers catcher Jason Phillips worked with bullpen coach/catching instructor Jon Debus over the weekend on controlling the opposition's running game, a season-long bugaboo. Phillips entered Sunday's game having thrown out just two of the 14 runners who had attempted to steal on him. San Diego was successful on six of six attempts during last week's two-game series, including five stolen bases in the first game. ``We have three sinkerball sink·er·ball n. Baseball A pitched ball that sinks sharply as it reaches the plate; a sinker. guys, and teams notoriously run on sinkerballers just to avoid the double play,'' Phillips said. ``It's not even trying to steal a base, per se. And the other thing is that sinkerballers rarely use the slide step (to hold runners close) because it throws off their sinker Sinker A bond whose payments are provided by the issuer's sinking fund. Notes: A portion of these bonds are retired by the issuer each year. See also: Sinking Fund, Super Sinker Sinker to some extent because they can't get out front. And, a sinkerball always challenges a catcher (throwing out runners) because the ball is always down in the zone.'' --Positive Saenz: Olmedo Saenz started for just the fifth time this season and the first time since last Monday despite the fact he entered the day batting .471 (8 for 17) with three doubles, a home run and nine 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 . Saenz was one of the league's most reliable pinch-hitters last season and thus has become so valuable off the bench that he rarely cracks the lineup. Not that he minds. ``I understand my role,'' Saenz said. ``I know what I'm here for, and I have no problem with it as long as we're playing good baseball. I would like to play a little more, but I have been doing this my whole career. I will never go into a manager's office and complain about playing time. I signed with the Dodgers for a reason, and that was to do this. But if there are days when somebody needs a day off or whatever comes up, I'm always ready (to start).'' Saenz is a career .284 pinch-hitter, with seven home runs. Tony Jackson,(818) 713-3675 tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Norihiro Nakamura played third base Sunday against Colorado in place of injured Jose Valentin. David Zalubowski/Associated Press |
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