Atlanta Braves interested in Boston Red Sox pitcher Brad Penny, according to sources

The Braves already have made moves to augment their rotation, calling up super prospect Tommy Hanson to make his major league debut on Sunday, after summoning Kris Medlen last month. But Atlanta might not be done adding pitching.

Penny

Atlanta is one of the teams in conversation with the Boston Red Sox about veteran right-hander Brad Penny, according to sources, at a time when the Red Sox have been doing their own research on Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

As the Braves do their background work on Penny, this is part of what they have ascertained: The 31-year-old right-hander started horribly for the Red Sox, but he has pitched better in recent starts, allowing three earned runs or fewer in five of his past six starts.

Overall, Penny is 5-1 with a 5.63 ERA, with his velocity increasing as the season has progressed, and his penchant for generating fly balls might make him a better fit in the National League, and in a pitchers' park, such as Turner Field.

The Braves already have the makings of a good rotation, with Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez and Jair Jurrjens -- and now Hanson. Kenshin Kawakami has made 10 starts, mustering a 4.63 ERA. The Braves currently rank fourth in starters' ERA, at 3.90.

Atlanta's bullpen, however, has been a problem -- the Braves ranked 17th among 30 teams in relief ERA, at 4.32.

It is unclear whether Atlanta would have interest in Penny as a starter or as a reliever; if the Braves added Penny to their rotation, they could shift Kawakami into their bullpen.

Kawakami has been effective, generally, through the first 45 pitches of his starts, but opponents have an OPS of 1.042 against him in pitches 46 to 60.

The Braves have a reputation among other teams for being precise in their accounting, so it may be that they could be motivated to move Francoeur -- who is hitting .251 this year, at age 25 -- partly to free up money. He is making $3.38 million in salary this year, while Penny is making $5 million, plus incentives.

Earlier this week, the Braves released Tom Glavine, who would have earned $1 million on the first day with the team, and acquired center fielder Nate McLouth from the Pittsburgh Pirates for three prospects.

The Braves and Red Sox match up with other pieces and parts, as well, if they were to expand their conversations beyond Penny and Francoeur.


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Tim Kurkjian: What it's like to hit against Randy Johnson

The most fitting tribute to the greatness of Randy Johnson came 12 years ago when Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson benched his three best left-handed hitters, Rafael Palmeiro, B.J. Surhoff and Roberto Alomar (a switch-hitter, but an injury prevented him from batting right-handed) in the first and fourth games of the American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners.

"Raffy told me that he'd like to play against Randy," Johnson said before Game 1 of his first baseman, who had hit 38 homers and driven in 110 runs that season. "But he told me that Randy could mess him up for two weeks. That was all I needed to hear."

Randy Johnson has been messing up hitters for 22 years. He is one of the 10 to 15 best pitchers of all time, the third best left-hander and one of the most intimidating presences on the mound. That's why left-handed hitting Larry Walker turned his batting helmet around and stood in the right-handed batter's box against Johnson in an All-Star Game. That's why John Kruk feared for his life when Johnson playfully threw over his head in another All-Star Game.

Ask any hitter, and he has a story about a really bad or terrifying at-bat against Johnson. The combination of Johnson's size (6-foot-10), his release point (low three-quarters, creating a slinging action), his velocity (upper 90s) and his calcifying slider has made him almost every hitter's least favorite pitcher to face. Fittingly, the player with the most career at-bats against Johnson did horribly against him -- Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was 7-for-59 with zero RBIs and 30 strikeouts.

Here are a few hitters talking about Johnson:

•Adam Dunn, Nationals: Dunn, a left-handed hitter, is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts against Johnson. "I don't feel bad about those numbers," Dunn said with a smile. "It was miserable facing him; it is still miserable. I don't know what it was like when he threw 98 [mph] with a slider at 90, but now when he pitches, it's worse. Back then [about eight years ago], you had a chance to walk, but now, he has such great command. He walks very, very few people. He doesn't throw the slider 90 like he used to, but it's 86, and it's filthy."

THE BEST AGAINST RANDY JOHNSON

Top 5 Hitters (OPS)
Min. of 20 plate appearances

HITTER OPS 

1. Rene Gonzales 1.480 

2. Albert Pujols 1.478 

3. Chipper Jones 1.299 

4. Ty Wigginton 1.250 

5. Cory Snyder 1.163 

Top 5 Hitters (BA)
Min. of 20 plate appearances

HITTER BA 

1. Rene Gonzales .500 (8-for-16) 

2. Bob Melvin .452 (14-for-34) 

2. Randy Velarde .452 (19-for-42) 

4. Jose Reyes .450 (9-for-20) 

5. Reed Johnson .429 (6-for-14) 

5. Albert Pujols .429 (9-for-21) 

Most Home Runs Against

HITTER HR 

1. Chipper Jones 6 

2. Juan Gonzalez 5 

2. Manny Ramirez 5 

2. Frank Thomas 5 

5. Six players tied 4 

Most RBIs Against

HITTER RBI 

1. Manny Ramirez 17 

2. Paul Lo Duca 14 

3. Ellis Burks 13 

3. Phil Nevin 13 

5. Four players tied 12 

Tony Gwynn, a lifetime .338 hitter, once said he thought left-handed hitters had a better chance against Johnson's slider because they could see it coming at them, as opposed to right-handed hitters, who lost track of it as it disappeared over their back shoe. Dunn laughed and said, "That's Tony talking, and that's asinine. I'd much rather see something coming into to me than going away from me -- especially when he starts it behind you in the batter's box. The slider is unhittable for a left-handed hitter. I'd bet the farm it's coming, and I still can't hit it. I got a hit off it once, and I wanted to keep the ball."

Dunn said of Johnson's pursuit of 300 wins: "He's one of the greatest pitchers of all time. I don't feel that bad, believe me, how I've done against him. When he's gone, after the wins and all those strikeouts, I'll say, 'Hey, it was good knowing you. I'll miss you, but I won't.'"

•Brian Giles, Padres: Giles is 3-for-32 with two walks and 13 strikeouts against the Big Unit. "I really pride myself on being disciplined with the strike zone, but I can't read the spin on his fastball; I can't tell if it's a fastball or slider," he said. "There's no consistent spin. That makes it extra, extra tough, and my numbers against him are obvious. I've tried all those things [moving up in the box, moving closer to or farther from the plate], and nothing has worked. I don't know if he really hides the ball, but I can't see the release point."

Giles is about 5-10, a foot shorter than Johnson.

"When he's standing on the top of the mound, for me, it's like looking up at the top of a mountain," Giles said. "Because he's so tall, he has that extra extension. It's like he's two or three feet closer than every other pitcher. I know what I've done against him, and I won't miss him. When he has retired, that will be one less left-handed [pitcher] that I have to face."

•Chipper Jones, Braves: He is 13-for-36 with six home runs. "It's feast or famine with me and Randy. He gave me the sombrero [four strikeouts in one game] the other night," he said. "That's my first sombrero by one pitcher. I have five hat tricks [three strikeouts in one game] by one pitcher, and Randy has three of them. There was once a time when he was fairly predictable, and I got him into some predictable counts, and I hit him.

"But he has re-invented himself like [Tom Glavine] did with the Mets, using the inside part of the plate. Now Randy has a little changeup and a split. When I saw him the other night, he'd lost nothing off his slider. He had the short one, the one with a little break at the end and the big sweeping one. He's still 6-10 and 94-95 [mph]. He's the most physically dominating pitcher I've ever faced. Throw in dominant stuff, and it's doubly tough."

Johnson threw a perfect game against the Braves in 2004.

"I don't think I even foul-tipped a ball in that game," Jones said. "The Randy Johnson from that night is … is electrically unhittable. I've also seen him make a ton of mistakes, but his stuff is so good, he gets away with them. If he's on, and your swing is off even a little, he's going to get you, and he's going to make you look really bad. I don't know how left-handed hitters hit him. I thank God every day that my dad made me a switch-hitter."

Jones' last game against Johnson might be that four-strikeout game.

"I really do hope that I've faced him for the last time," Jones said. "When he's finally retires, I'll be the first one to give him a standing ovation and a pat on the back on the way out."

THE WORST AGAINST RANDY JOHNSON

Bottom 5 Hitters (OPS)
Min. of 20 plate appearances

HITTER OPS 

1. Rafael Palmeiro .096 

2. Bret Boone .174 

3. Steve Sax .184 

4. Eric Davis .211 

5. Kevin Jordan .229 

Bottom 5 Hitters (BA)
Min. of 20 plate appearances

HITTER BA 

1. Craig Grebeck .000 (0-for-21) 

2. Steve Sax .038 (1-for-26) 

3. Rafael Palmeiro .048 (1-for-21) 

4. Eric Davis .056 (1-for-18) 

5. Candy Maldonado .059 (1-for-17) 

Most Strikeouts Against

HITTER K 

1. Rickey Henderson 30 

2. Dean Palmer 25 

2. Sammy Sosa 25 

4. Jim Leyritz 24 

5. Tim Salmon 23 

•Kevin Millar, Blue Jays: He is 8-for-48 with 14 strikeouts against Johnson. "I am terrible against him," he said. "I went 4-for-4 against him one day with Florida with a double and a home run, and I don't think I've gotten a hit off him since. And he struck me out a bunch of times. A lot of guys haven't seen him at his best. I've seen him at 98 mph with a 90 mph slider. He is the most dominating pitcher I've ever seen. He only threw two pitches -- that was it, the fastball and the slider. The slider would come out of his hand -- it was a strike -- then it would end up over your back shoelace. Slider, back shoelace. Slider, back shoelace. Slider, back shoelace. And his size was so different than anyone else. You're not used to it. Take any pitcher's release point, then add a foot and a half, and that's his."

•Jack Wilson, Pirates: He is 3-for-21 with seven strikeouts and one home run against Johnson. "You start with the appearance," he said. "He's 6-foot-10. When he throws, it's like he's right on top of you. He has a deadly slider and a changeup. It's an uncomfortable at-bat. I faced him when he was with the Diamondbacks, and he was pretty explosive with that 90 mph slider. It comes in at the same angle as the fastball. So you're gearing up for the fastball. You think it's the fastball, and you say, 'There it is,' and then it's gone. I think it's the greatest strikeout pitch ever, right up there with Nolan Ryan's fastball and curveball. Randy's slider might be the best slider in the history of the game."

What about the home run?

"I singled my first at-bat against a fastball, so I figured a slider had to be coming the next at-bat," Wilson said. "He threw one over my feet, but I got the bat head to it before it went down too far. When it goes down too far, it cannot be hit. I get excited at any home run I hit, but to hit a home run off Randy Johnson. That's something that you tell your children about. That's something you tell your grandchildren about. That's pretty special."

•Nate McLouth, Pirates: "I've never batted against him. That's one of those days where I didn't go knock on [Pirates manager John Russell's] door and tell him to put me in there," he said. "When I face him, I hope it's in spring training when the stats don't count."

•Placido Polanco, Tigers: He is 14-for-38 with six strikeouts against Johnson. "My approach against him is the same as against everyone else, but more against him: I try not to do too much," he said. "I'm so short, his release point is right at my eyes. I faced him a lot when I was with Arizona and I was with St. Louis. If you do too much, he's got you."

•Brian Roberts, Orioles: He is 2-for-18 against Johnson. "He still throws fairly hard," he said. "The toughest thing for me was thinking you were getting a heater in, then it's a slider, and there's not much time to figure out what's coming … but I did get two hits off him."

•Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals: He is 2-for-3 against him with a home run. "I've enjoyed it, facing him," he said. "I never faced [Roger] Clemens, but I faced [Greg] Maddux and [John] Smoltz. Randy is a big guy. I can only imagine what he was like 10 years ago when he was throwing 98. But to be that big, and that durable, is a tribute to how hard he works."

“

What's the worst thing Randy Johnson can do to you? He can kill you .

”-- Former infielder Jeff Huson

•Juan Pierre, Dodgers: He is 5-for-31 against Johnson and has been hit three times. "I decline to talk about him," Pierre said politely through a Dodgers PR guy, "because I still have to hit against him."

•J.T. Snow, formerly of the Giants and Angels: He was 4-for-26 against Johnson and was hit in the head by Johnson 11 years ago in spring training. "Everyone's ESPN highlight nightmare," Snow said a year after being hit. Snow got his left wrist up in time to deflect a 97 mph fastball, but the ball hit him in his left eye. Snow said he remembers lying in the dirt, blood gushing from his eye. "It felt like I had been cold-cocked, like in a fight," he said. "All I could hear was my wife screaming in the stands."

"It was one of the worst things I've ever seen," said then-Giants manager Dusty Baker. "You know how a boa constrictor squeezes a mouse before he eats it? That's what J.T.'s eye looked like. It was that tight. If you had touched his eye, it would have popped out. I never thought he'd play again." Snow did, a tribute to the courage all good hitters have.

•Jeff Huson, former infielder for several teams: He faced Johnson twice; he walked once and struck out once. He put Johnson's intimidation best, comparing it to other sports: Most other sports don't have the fear or the danger that a hitter has facing Randy Johnson.

"What was the worst thing that Michael Jordan could do to you?" Huson said. "He can go dunk on you. He could embarrass you. What's the worst thing Randy Johnson can do to you? He can kill you ."


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Cleveland Indians' Grady Sizemore hits DL with elbow problem

CLEVELAND -- The Indians have placed All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow inflammation and called up utilityman Chris Gimenez from Triple-A Columbus.

Sizemore

The Indians announced the moves on Sunday before their home game against the New York Yankees.

Sizemore had struggled at the plate and not played much in the field recently because of the injury. He went 1-for-4, hitting his team-leading ninth homer Saturday night against the Yankees, but is hitting only .223 overall.

A year ago, Sizemore had career highs of 33 homers, 90 RBIs and 38 stolen bases while batting .268.

Gimenez can catch, and was needed as a backup to Kelly Shoppach. He will start in place of Victor Martinez, who left Saturday's game with a left knee contusion.

X-rays were negative and Martinez, batting .350 with seven homers and 36 RBIs, said he hopes to be able to play soon.

"It's very sore and I can't play today, but it feels much better than I thought it would," Martinez said. "When it happened, I was in so much pain.

"I put a lot of ice on it overnight and did a little workout in the training pool this morning. It feels a lot better. Not good, but better."

Martinez fouled off a pitch from former teammate CC Sabathia and rolled around face down in agony Saturday night. He told manager Eric Wedge that he wanted to stay in the game, but needed assistance to get down the dugout steps after grounding out.

Martinez has been splitting time between catcher and first base this season. A year ago, Shoppach got increased playing time and led all AL catchers with 21 homers when he took over for Martinez, who missed more than two months recovering from right elbow surgery.


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Philadelphia Phillies' Brett Myers out indefinitely with injured hip

PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies pitcher Brett Myers says he wants to try to keep pitching despite his injured right hip and is seeking a second opinion. But he will have surgery right away if that's what he must do -- and hope he can make a late-season return.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Myers had an MRI exam on Thursday that revealed fraying and possible tearing in the labrum of the hip joint.

Myers

Myers could miss his next start or land on the disabled list.

"I don't know what I am going to do," Myers said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. "First I am going to get a second opinion. ... I am going to explore every option I need to keep pitching, but if he tells me, 'It's over, you need to have [surgery] now or you could cause damage,' I will have it. I have to. It's a no-brainer.

"If he tells me rehab and anti-inflammatory medicine will take care of it, I'll pitch through it."

Myers (4-3) left in the sixth inning of Philadelphia's 6-2 loss to the Florida Marlins on Wednesday after giving up five runs. He had allowed just six runs in 21 innings in three previous starts.

Myers said pitching through pain is nothing new for him.

"This has been bothering me as long I can remember," he said, according to the Inquirer. "I never knew what it was. It just became unpitchable this season."

Although Myers doesn't want to have the surgery now, he knows it's inevitable.

"I have to do it regardless. Surgery is required regardless of when I get it," Myers said, according to MLB.com. " ... But if that doctor tells me I have to have surgery now, then I'm going to do it. There's no point in even trying to [mess] with it and mess it up to where I can't walk when I'm 30."

If Myers is lost for a significant part of the season, Amaro said the Phillies first would look internally to take Myers' turn in the starting rotation, according to MLB.com. He said Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Kendrick, Andrew Carpenter and Antonio Bastardo would be the likely candidates.

If that doesn't work, the Phillies will look for a trade, Amaro said, according to MLB.com.

"That team that decides they want to be a seller? They're going to try to get the best deal they can possibly get. And if they know Brett Myers is not with us, they're going to try to get the best deal they possibly can," Amaro said, according to MLB.com. "But I'm sure there are other teams out there who are looking for the same thing. So we have to assess. And if there is a deal to be made we're going to have to assess whether it makes sense for us, not just short term, but long term as well."


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Tim Kurkjian: Time is now for Baltimore Orioles prospect Matt Wieters

BALTIMORE -- On the day before catcher Matt Wieters would make a major league debut so anticipated it was announced three days in advance, there was a different atmosphere in the Orioles' clubhouse. There was an air of excitement and expectation, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Gee, I wonder why you're here," one Oriole said to a national writer. Another veteran Oriole said with a wry smile, but without bitterness or envy, "He is the switch-hitting Jesus."

Wieters, 23, is not here to save the Orioles. He joins an expanding list of good young players to come to Baltimore in the last five years, but none arrived this decorated, with this sort of welcome. Wieters was Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year in 2008, he tore up the Arizona Fall League after last season, he hit .400 in spring training, and he has pounded Triple-A pitching at Norfolk over the last month.

[+] Enlarge

Ed Wolfstein/Icon SMISwitch-hitting Matt Wieters was batting .298 from the left side of the plate and .324 from the right side at Triple-A Norfolk.

At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds with power from both sides of the plate, and with every skill but speed, he has been compared to Joe Mauer.

"No, no," said a former catcher who has seen Wieters play, "he is Joe Mauer."

No one is that good, but Orioles manager Dave Trembley said of Wieters, "He's special. He has matured so much from one spring training to the next. He doesn't say much. He doesn't have all the answers. He's a baseball player. He's willing to learn."

Orioles GM Andy MacPhail said of Wieters' promotion: "It is time. He hit .260 in April. He hit about .360 in May. He hit in the Carolina League [last year]. We wanted to see him hit in the [Triple-A] International League. He checked that one off the list. The one thing you don't want to do with a ballyhooed prospect is to have to send him back. "

At Norfolk, Wieters hit .305 with a .387 on-base percentage and a .504 slugging percentage. He was sent there this spring to improve on his ability to hit the breaking ball, and now he's ready for the challenge of the big leagues. He comes with more than just power and a strong arm.

"He can really hit, but most big catchers who can hit supposedly aren't good at calling a game, and aren't good at blocking pitches, but he combines the two, which is very unusual," said Don Werner, the Orioles' roving minor league catching instructor.

"He has never called a game until pro ball; in college [at Georgia Tech], the pitching coach liked to do it. I asked Matt where he learned such a great feel for calling a game, and he told me growing up near Atlanta he and his dad used to watch [Greg] Maddux, [Tom] Glavine and [John] Smoltz all the time. That's a right-handed control guy, a lefty control guy and a right-handed power guy. Matt watched what those guys did to see how they got hitters out."

Not everyone is sold on Wieters. Some scouts say he doesn't present a good target and moves too much behind the plate.

"Sometimes he does have too much movement with his target," Werner said. "But that comes with experience."

PROSPECT RANKINGS

Heading into the 2009 season, here were the top five MLB prospects according to three different sources:

KEITH LAW

RNK PLAYER POS 

1 Matt Wieters, BAL C 

2 David Price, TAM LHP 

3 Jason Heyward, ATL OF 

4 Neftali Feliz, TEX RHP 

5 Travis Snider, TOR OF 

JASON GREY

RNK PLAYER POS 

1 Matt Wieters, BAL C 

2 David Price, TAM LHP 

3 Cameron Maybin, FLA OF 

4 Travis Snider, TOR OF 

5 Colby Rasmus, STL OF 

BASEBALL AMERICA

RNK PLAYER POS 

1 Matt Wieters, BAL C 

2 David Price, TAM LHP 

3 Colby Rasmus, STL OF 

4 Tommy Hanson, ATL OF 

5 Jason Heyward, ATL OF 

One Oriole said Wieters hit "the softest .400 I've ever seen in spring training." Another Oriole said he isn't inquisitive enough. Some say he's too big to be a catcher and will have to move to first base.

"I disagree," Trembley said. "He moves well back behind the plate. He has good footwork. No one said Mauer [who is 6-5, 225 pounds] was too big. I'd love to have that guy."

Terry Kennedy caught in the big league for 14 years, two of them with the Orioles. He was 6-3, 220 pounds and was slow behind the plate.

"When I had problem catching, they would send a catching instructor who was 5-8," he said. "And I'd say, 'What do you know about what I'm going through?""

Werner, who is 6-1, said of Wieters: "It's not about size; it is about flexibility. You can be 5-10, but if you're not flexible, you can't catch. Matt is flexible and quick on his feet. And he presents a big target back there. Some of the pitchers that I've talked to say he's so big, they feel like they're 50 feet away, not 60. If he makes the pitcher happy, I'm happy."

Wieters' promotion to the big leagues is part of "the blueprint that Andy MacPhail laid out, piece by piece, and now we're implementing it," Trembley said. " We have [center fielder Adam] Jones, [right fielder Nick] Markakis, [second baseman Brian] Roberts and some pitchers here, and some others on the way. Now it's up to us to make them better. That's the fun part."

Jones is 23, and quickly becoming a star. Markakis is 25, and already is a star. Roberts, 31, is one of the best second basemen in the league. Left fielder Nolan Reimold is 25; he just hit the first walk-off home run of his career.

Hard-throwing David Hernandez, 24, a strikeout machine in the minor leagues, won his major league debut Thursday night against Detroit. Two nights earlier, Jason Berken, 25, won his major league debut with five innings against Toronto (add in Brad Bergesen and Koji Uehara this year, and the Orioles are the only team since 1900 to have four starting pitchers win in their major league debuts).

And those two aren't rated as highly as three other Oriole minor league pitchers, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta. Plus, Brandon Snyder, the Orioles' likely first baseman of the future, perhaps next season, is tearing it up at Double-A.

“

There is a serious learning curve to catching in the major leagues. He's not going to just come right in here and hit .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs, and anchor a staff. If you want him to do well, leave him alone, and let him play.

”-- O's catcher Gregg Zaun about Wieters

But Wieters is the centerpiece of the minor leaguers. The Orioles have lost their revered spot in Baltimore. The last year they finished above .500 was 1997. The team that once sold out almost every night drew 10,130 Tuesday night, the smallest crowd in the 19-year history of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles are hoping that fans get more involved now that Wieters has arrived.

"Our fans have seen a good nucleus of young players; it's important for our fans to start to at least see the strategy of what we're doing here, and how we're going to do it," said MacPhail. "Fans in Baltimore have always had a keen interest in the Orioles' minor league system. They don't just know that Tillman is undefeated at Triple-A, and what Snyder is doing at Double-A right now. They know what's going on at [Class A] Delmarva."

Finally, there is real hope for the Orioles. It may not show in the standings for a few years, but talent is coming. And there is no more talented player in the system than Matt Wieters. The only concern among the players is that the hype might be too much, too early.

"There is a serious learning curve to catching in the major leagues," said Orioles catcher Gregg Zaun. "He's not going to just come right in here and hit .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs, and anchor a staff. If you want him to do well, leave him alone, and let him play."

That starts tonight.


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Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano receives 6-game suspension

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano was suspended for six games by Major League Baseball on Thursday for his tirade this week during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Zambrano's agent, Barry Praver, said the penalty, which included a $3,000 fine, a source told ESPNChicago.com, will not be appealed. The suspension began Thursday night and barring rainouts Zambrano will be eligible to pitch next Thursday at Atlanta.

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The Cubs ace threw a baseball into left field, slammed his glove against the dugout fence, and used a bat to smash a Gatorade dispenser in the Cubs' dugout after he was ejected Wednesday with Chicago leading 2-1 in the seventh inning of a 5-2 victory Pittsburgh.

"I apologize for that. Like I said, I should have more control of myself in that situation," Zambrano said after the game. "I just wanted to get out of that inning and win the ballgame. I didn't say a bad word. I should have gone to the clubhouse and keep watching the game. I apologize for throwing the ball and the other things."

With Nyjer Morgan at third, Zambrano's wild pitch just got away from catcher Geovany Soto. Zambrano covered the plate for Soto's throw, Morgan slid and umpire Mark Carlson ruled him safe.

Zambrano jumped up, argued and was ejected after he appeared to nudge Carlson. Zambrano then pointed in Carlson's face and gave him the ejection sign.

He then fired a ball into left, tossed his glove and took a bat to a dugout drink dispenser before heading to the clubhouse.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, cited Zambrano for "inappropriate and violent actions on the field and in the dugout."


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Tampa Bay Rays place Scott Kazmir, Troy Percival on DL

MIAMI -- Scott Kazmir is out for at least a couple of weeks, and Troy Percival's career may be over.

Both pitchers were placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday by the Tampa Bay Rays before the start of their series against the Florida Marlins.

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Kazmir, who has a left quadriceps strain, remained with the team. The team is expected to call up David Price to take his place in the rotation when it comes up Monday.

The 39-year-old Percival, sidelined by right shoulder tendinitis, flew home to California to discuss his baseball future with his family.

Percival gave up two runs in one-third of an inning Thursday against Oakland.

"I spoke to him after the game," manager Joe Maddon said. "He felt he was inconsistent in how he felt, and his arm was really bothering him after the game. He was distraught, and he went home to think about things for a little bit. I wouldn't be surprised if he chooses not to come back."

Kazmir is 4-4 with a 7.69 ERA. He said his thigh has bothered him since the Rays' series at Boston two weeks ago.

"I felt something," he said. "I felt I was putting way too much pressure on it, and I've been fighting it ever since. You feel it when you're landing."

The Rays recalled right-hander Dale Thayer and shortstop Reid Brignac from Triple-A Durham, and they'll make another move to call up a starter to take Kazmir's turn Monday at Cleveland. Maddon said he'll go with a closer by committee in Percival's absence.

Percival, a four-time All-Star, ranks eighth on the career saves list with 358. He's 6-for-6 this season but has a 6.35 ERA, and the DL stint is his fourth since the beginning of last year.

"There is only so much you can do when you get to be that age," Maddon said. "He has done everything he could to be a big contributor. He's just not feeling he can be that right now."

Kazmir, who went 12-8 for the AL champions last year, gave up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings in his most recent start Wednesday, a loss to Oakland. Over his past five starts he has allowed 31 runs in 23 innings.

The left-hander said his arm feels fine, and he doesn't anticipate a long layoff. Maddon said the timetable for Kazmir's return is "open-ended, no rush, get it right."

"I've always been concerned that when pitchers start telling me their leg bothers them, there's the potential for the arm to be next," Maddon said. "We just felt it would be wise to back off and wait until it has calmed down."

Kazmir said the injury stems from changes in his motion after he was sidelined with a strained left elbow early last season.

"It was me developing bad habits after I came off the DL in 2008 and protecting my elbow," he said.

Thayer, who will make his major league debut at age 28, had six saves with an 0.93 ERA at Durham. Brignac was hitting .291 with three homers and 15 RBIs.


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