Pirates place Doumit on DL with broken thumb

ST. LOUIS -- Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, who broke his left thumb on a passed ball, was put on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday.

Doumit

Doumit is expected to miss at least four weeks. Surgery will not be necessary.

Doumit was hurt Tuesday night muffing a high strike in the first inning of the Pirates' 8-4 win in 10 innings over St. Louis. The switch-hitter is batting .350 with five homers and 15 RBIs.

The Pirates purchased the contract of 35-year-old catcher Raul Chavez from Triple-A Indianapolis. He was batting .306 in the minors with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 26 games.


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Tribune still plans to sell Cubs, Wrigley as package

CHICAGO -- Tribune Co. and its CEO Sam Zell rejected an Illinois state agency's plan to buy Wrigley Field and are pushing ahead to sell the ballpark together with the Chicago Cubs, a top company official said Tuesday.

Crane Kenney, the Cubs' chairman and outgoing general counsel of parent Tribune, said there still is a chance Wrigley could be sold separately to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

But after months of talks with the ISFA that have failed to produce an agreement, he confirmed Tribune is moving ahead to package the stadium together with the ballclub in a private sale that outside experts believe could fetch as much as $1 billion for the cash-crunched media conglomerate.

"We'll continue to work with city and state officials if there is a transaction that makes sense for the Cubs, Tribune and the public," Kenney said in an e-mail. "We are also moving the private process forward and expect to have the descriptive memorandum in the market within the next two weeks."

That memorandum, also known as the financial books, will give the half-dozen or so groups of prospective buyers their first detailed information about the Cubs and Wrigley.

The would-be bidders had expected to have those figures by now. Zell said on an April 17 conference call with investors that the books were expected to go out to Major League Baseball-approved bidders within 2½ weeks from then, which means the already-dragging process has run into further delays.

Zell first stated his intentions to sell the Cubs and Wrigley more than a year ago as part of his agreement to take control of Tribune.

His decision to nix the ISFA's recent $400 million proposal was first reported Tuesday by the Chicago Sun-Times. The newspaper, citing unidentified sources, said Tribune executives had concluded that its novel plan to raise financing without increasing taxes -- by selling equity seat rights at Wrigley -- could violate both Internal Revenue Service code and MLB rules.

Kenney did not elaborate on the decision. Both a Tribune spokesman and a Zell spokeswoman declined comment and ISFA's executive director, former Gov. Jim Thompson, did not immediately return a call.

The Sun-Times reported the IFSA plan called for selling several thousand seats to raise money for ballpark renovations. The ballpark purchase could have been covered by state bonds backed by future ticket revenue.


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Gossage: There's no room for Joba's antics in MLB

Hall of Famer Goose Gossage has some issues with New York Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain's expressive celebrations on the pitcher's mound.

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Al Bello/Getty Images

Joba Chamberlain let his emotions show last Thursday after striking out the Indians' David Dellucci.

"There's no place for it in the game," Gossage told reporters Monday during a tour of the Hall of Fame, according to MLB.com. "I will stand by that and I love Joba Chamberlain. I'm with him down in spring training. He's a great kid, but no one is passing the torch today. Nobody talks to them. When I broke into the big leagues, I didn't say two words all year."

Chamberlain's antics again drew attention after he celebrated after striking out the Indians' David Dellucci last Thursday. Two days earlier, Dellucci hit a game-winning pinch-hit home run off of Chamberlain.

Chamberlain gave an exaggerated fist pump and hollered after fanning Dellucci to end the inning.

"That's who he is. He's not showing anyone up. He's going to show emotion," Girardi said last Thursday. "He didn't look at Dellucci. He looked into our dugout."

That's not exactly how Dellucci saw Chamberlain's celebration.

"It is what it is. If he wants to yell and scream after a strikeout, I guess that's what gets him going," he said. "It's May baseball. The home run was in a much bigger situation. I didn't dance and scream. "If a hitter did something like that, it would be bush. It's kind of interesting how a pitcher gets away with it," he said.

Said Chamberlain last Thursday: "It didn't matter who it was, I just wanted to get them out."

Chamberlain's antics have fueled New York talk radio commentary. Now Gossage, who starred in the late innings for the Yankees from 1978 until 1983, is weighing in.

"I'm old school, I'm sorry," Gossage told reporters, according to MLB.com. "I didn't see [Dellucci] celebrating when he hit the home run."

Gossage also told The Bergen Record that Chamberlain needs to remember what uniform he is wearing. According to Gossage, playing for the Yankees carries a different set of rules.

"That's just not the Yankee way, what Joba did. Let everyone else do that stuff, but not a Yankee," Gossage told The Record on Saturday. "What I don't understand is, the kid's got the greatest mentor in the world in Mariano [Rivera]. He's one of the leaders of the team, so you'd think it wouldn't happen on that team.

"But there's no one to pass the torch anymore, no one to teach the young kids how to act. The Mets did a lot of that [celebrating] last year, and look how it came back to haunt them."

Gossage told The Record he would never have been allowed to show emotion as Chamberlain does. His teammates would have made sure of that, Gossage said.

"I'm trying to think of what would've happened if I did what Joba did, especially if I was a rookie," he told The Record. "The veterans would've sat me down so fast, it would've never happened a second time. Truthfully, there would've never been a first time."


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Reds' Griffey left out of starting lineup vs. Marlins

CINCINNATI -- Ken Griffey Jr. joked about his absence from the Cincinnati Reds' starting lineup against Florida on Tuesday night.

Ken Griffey Jr.

Right Field
Cincinnati Reds

Profile

2008 Season StatsGMHRRBIROBPAVG3841817.338.250

"It's a good, solid benching after a dropped ball, from what I understand," he said in mock anger. "Let's not call it a day off."

The 38-year-old Griffey, hitting .250 with 18 RBIs, is without a home run in 63 at-bats since connecting against Houston's Chris Sampson on April 23.

Griffey dropped Mike Rabelo's fly ball for an error Monday that allowed two unearned runs to score, but that was not a factor in the decision. Reds manager Dusty Baker had planned for Griffey to be out of the lineup Tuesday.

Baker originally intended to rest Griffey on Sunday in New York, then started him.

"Winning the second of the doubleheader on Saturday threw a monkey wrench into that," Griffey said. "We were trying to win the series."

Griffey, three home runs shy of 600, was not in the starting lineup for the third time in 40 games.

Baker, who often fills out lineup cards for each game of a series before it begins, had his lineup for Tuesday stocked with more right-handed batters than normal against left-hander Mark Hendrickson.

"He sure didn't want a day off," Baker said of Griffey. "You've just got to do it. It has nothing to do with the game last night."


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Rangers place Millwood on 15-day disabled list

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers placed right-handed pitcher Kevin Millwood on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right groin on Sunday before Texas' game against the Oakland Athletics.

Millwood

The Rangers called up right-hander Doug Mathis from Triple-A Oklahoma to take Millwood's roster spot. Mathis is 5-0 with a 3.55 ERA in seven starts for Oklahoma, but will pitch in relief for Texas.

Millwood left Saturday night's game against Oakland in the first inning after throwing 12 pitches to three batters, recording two outs. Millwood was injured on his 11th pitch. After he threw one more, he put his hands on his knees in obvious discomfort before being removed from the game.

After Millwood's exit, five relievers allowed four runs over 8 1/3 innings in Texas' 6-4 victory.

Millwood, the Rangers' No. 1 starter, is 2-3 with a 4.88 ERA in nine starts this season. Last season he had two stints on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

The Rangers also outrighted right-hander Kazuo Fukumori, currently with Oklahoma, off their 40-man roster.


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Cintron called back up to big leagues with Orioles

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Baltimore Orioles purchased the contract of infielder Alex Cintron from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday and optioned right-hander Bob McCroy to their top farm club.

Cintron is a career .277 hitter in 598 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox. He hit .243 with two home runs and 19 RBIs last season with the White Sox.

"He is a second baseman-shortstop," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "He's a switch hitter who has got experience playing in the big leagues. He gives us some depth. I've never seen him play before. We'll see what we've got."

Trembley said Freddie Bynum is his "shortstop until he shows he can't do it," while the 29-year-old Cintron will be primarily a utility player.

Cintron was in spring training with the Chicago Cubs, but was released. The Orioles signed him to a minor league contract and he hit .288 in 16 games with Norfolk.

"I'm so happy right now I'm here and to be back in the big leagues," Cintron said. "Hopefully, I can fit well and help the team win games. I'm glad they've given me the chance."

Second baseman Brian Roberts, who left Saturday's game with a bruised left foot, and catcher Ramon Hernandez, who was a late scratch Saturday with soreness in his left wrist, were not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Kansas City Royals.

Trembley said both could play, but with the day off Monday that both should be ready to go Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox.


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Blue Jays' Wells out 6-8 weeks with broken wrist

CLEVELAND -- Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells is out six to eight weeks with a broken left wrist suffered when he made a diving catch in Friday night's game against the Cleveland Indians.

Wells

Wells was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday; also on the DL is right-hander Jeremy Accardo, who is suffering from tightness in his right forearm.

The reliever was 0-3 with a 6.57 ERA and four saves in 16 games for the Blue Jays.

"There's no use complaining because that won't help," manager John Gibbons said. "We'll try to play our best with the players we have. That's all we can do.

"If this job was easy, it wouldn't be any fun."

The Blue Jays recalled infielder Joe Inglett and purchased the contract of right-hander Armando Benitez from Triple-A Syracuse.

With a runner on first base, Cleveland's Franklin Gutierrez hit a fly ball to shallow right-center. Wells raced in and caught the ball inches above the ground, then rolled over twice and remained in a kneeling position.

"It didn't feel good then and as the night went on it gradually got worse," Wells said. "I felt something grab in my right hamstring just before the catch. I guess that will be healed in plenty of time before I'm ready now."

The center fielder got to his feet, but remained bent at the waist with his right hand holding his right thigh as head trainer George Poulis came out to attend to him. Wells walked back to the dugout.

Shannon Stewart came in to play left field, Brad Wilkerson moved from left to right and Alex Rios switched from right field to center.

"I want to stay with the team and give my support," Wells said before Saturday's game. "I'm a part of this team, though for a while it's going to be as a cheerleader."


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