GONZALEZ AILING, THOUGH BACK IN JETHAWKS LINEUP PLAYER BEANED, POSSIBLY INTENTIONALLY.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News LANCASTER -- JetHawks outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was back in the lineup Monday for a second straight day after missing most of the previous week with a back injury. But Gonzalez, considered one of baseball's premier prospects, hasn't been the same, going a combined 0 for 14 since suffering the injury, believed to have occurred in connection with his being hit by a pitch in the back of the neck in a July game against Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. . Gonzalez was back in the lineup two days after the beaning incident in a game against Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga (răn`chō k  'kəmäng`gə), city (1990 pop. 101,409), San Bernardino co., S Calif. , but was shut down after complaining
of back pain after his first at-bat the next day.
He did not take batting practice during last week's three-game series at Visalia, and he didn't start hitting in the cage until Friday. Gonzalez was struck by a Jose De La Cruz de la Cruz is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning 'of The Cross.'
JetHawks manager Brett Butler Brett Butler can refer to different people:
``We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if (the back injury) is from that, but I have to assume that's probably the case,'' Butler said. Butler suspects that the incident was intentional, coming in retaliation for a brushback pitch In baseball, a brushback pitch is one thrown in such a way that the batter must move back to avoid it. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batter, but to force him to back off the plate, and be wary for the rest of the at bat. a JetHawks pitcher threw in the eighth inning, when Inland Empire attempted to steal a base with a five-run lead, violating what's considered baseball's unwritten etiquette. Butler said that Inland Empire pitching coach Scott Budner -- who held the same position in Lancaster in 2000 in the last year of its affiliation with the Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Mariners have played in Safeco Field. -- placed several calls expressing concerns about Gonzalez's well-being. ``That really showed me something,'' Butler said. Going into Tuesday, Gonzalez was batting .304 (113 for 372) with 18 homers and 86 RBIs, which led the California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth . He ranked second in the league with a .554 slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (abbreviated SLG) is the most popular measure of the power of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats: and was second in extra-base hits with 54. Baseball America  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . ranks the JetHawks right fielder fourth among the parent Arizona Diamondbacks' organizational prospects. ``If he does nothing else this year, he has already shown that he's very valuable to this organization, and he's probably one of the top five (prospects) in the country,'' Butler said. ``His health is our No. 1 concern.'' Deal: Seeking to bolster their starting rotation for a late-season playoff push, the Diamondbacks dealt former JetHawks pitchers Garrett Mock and Matt Chico to the Washington Nationals in exchange for veteran right-handed pitcher Livan Hernandez. As a result of the deal's trickle-up effect, JetHawks pitcher A.J. Shappi was assigned to Double-A Tennessee. Mock, a power right-hander, was 4-8 with a 4.95 ERA at Tennessee. The left-handed Chico was 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA at Tennessee after starting the season in Lancaster. Both were considered to be among Arizona's top pitching prospects. ``You have to give up something to get something,'' Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes told mlb.com. Shappi struggled at the start of his third stint in Lancaster but won eight of the past 10 decisions and was 8-7 with a 5.58 ERA. Comeback kids: Jereme Milons' opposite-field three-run homer in the eighth inning capped a six-run rally and culminated one of the most exciting comebacks in franchise history as the JetHawks overcame a nine-run deficit in a 13-10 victory over Lake Elsinore on Sunday. Sunday's win was the JetHawks' 11th in their past 13 home games and their 17th win in 21 regular-season games against the Storm at Lancaster going back to last season, a stretch that included a 10-9 win June 4 in which they overcame a seven-run deficit. gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: JetHawks outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is back in the lineup but not fully recovered from a back injury. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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